Is this a paper mill?
A recent article entitled “For Sale: ‘Your Name Here’ in a Prestigious Science Journal” published in Scientific American described paper mills, companies that — for a fee — arrange to write a paper for a customer and then get it published in a reputable journal. The customer is listed as one of the paper’s authors and gets academic credit for the publication, even though all he did was pay a fee to the company
I wonder if the company called Journal Publication might be a paper mill. Its flashy website has bold statements like “Get your research published in globally recognized journals” and “Superior consultancy provided to guarantee journal publication for your research.”
The site itself is not transparent. It provides almost no information about the company itself, such as where it is based. The domain name registration data lists Panama, but I doubt this is the firm’s location.
Mr. Phyllis D. Dow ?
The website has a professional flair to it, but closer scrutiny reveals several telling flaws, such as the testimonial above, which shows a man’s picture with a woman’s name.
Another testimonial purports to be from “Ellen A. Allen, Standford University.” I think the name is contrived, and the correct spelling of the university’s name is Stanford.
I recommend against using the services of “Journal Publication.” Save your money, write a good paper, and submit it directly to the journal. I think that most of the papers that companies like this one manage to get published will eventually be discovered and retracted.
Addendum: After I drafted this blog post, I learned of an additional brand likely from the same company called The Research Publication.
