Top Russian university officials’ predatory publishing record points to deeper malaise

Researchers based at Russian institutions are more likely to publish in predatory journals if their university leader already does so, according to new analysis.

The authors of the study, analysed the work of 1386 rectors — the most senior officials at Russian universities — over a 10-year period and found that 149 officials had published in journals classified as potentially predatory in another study. What’s more, the rectors found to have been publishing in predatory journals had been doing so for an average of eight years, the study found.