4 ms·
IME, and as the article also kind of says: paper mills target academics from developing countries. Academics who have trouble competing because of lack of funds
by stephantul 2y ago
IME, and as the article also kind of says: paper mills target academics from developing countries. Academics who have trouble competing because of lack of funds, or lack of proper support from their universities, language barriers, cultural barriers, etc.
As you mention, being in academia is tough. Some people just can't compete, and then get lured into accepting offers like these. In a way, I think this is similar to how vulnerable government officials get bribed. It's not something you do unless you're rock bottom, and don't see anywhere else to go.
- hyeonwho4 2y agoAnother large client base for paper mills are doctors in countries where English is not a common language, and doctors are ranked based on publications rather than clinical work: they don't have time or training in research, their clinical work is in their native language, but promotions being entirely tied to publication count sets up a strong incentive to launder publications. Hospital admins aren't the most savvy about which articles in which journals are respectable, so they check boxes based on impact factor. The doctors write one paper themselves (to give seminars on) and pad their resume with a few papers nobody will ever ask questions about.