Predatory Conferences

What are Predatory Conferences / Predatory Meetings?

In addition to the already better known problem of so-called predatory journals, the number of fraudulent conferences is also increasing. These are events which, under the guise of a scientific conference, are primarily designed for profit - e.g. through participation fees - without making a scientific contribution or meeting the usual standards.

Often, false information is given about the persons or institutions involved in the organization, about measures of scientific quality assurance, etc., or names are used that are very similar to established events of the respective scientific community.

Young scientists in particular, who are often the core target group of such providers, run the risk of having to accept high costs in order to participate in poorly organized events with comparatively low quality content. In extreme cases, it can even happen that the event does not take place at all and fees paid are not refunded or not refunded in full.

What should I be aware of and what can I do?

The following tips can help you to avoid falling for a fraudulent conference organizer. These are not strict criteria, but merely indications.

• The Think-Check-Attend checklist can help you decide whether to attend a conference: https://thinkcheckattend.org/ (An analogous checklist also exists for predatory journals: https://thinkchecksubmit.org)

• Warning signs that may indicate dubious providers include, in particular, aggressive or flattering advertising (usually by e-mail), which often addresses researchers (especially young scientists) directly and may make positive reference to their publications. Unscientific language and grammatical errors, few details about the event, no physical address but only e-mail addresses (possibly without institutional affiliation) are further possible warning signs.

• Other signs can be, for example High participation costs, non-transparent costs or hidden fees, guaranteed participation with a lecture or request for lectures outside one's own field of expertise, unknown organizers and small venues, indications of a lack of peer review, a dubious web presence or a very unspecific or broad and multidisciplinary topic.

• Tourist venues, participants or sponsors who are unrealistically prominent in relation to the event, as well as references to the unauthorized use of names or images or the borrowing of names from well-known specialist conferences should also give rise to critical scrutiny.

• Talk to other researchers in your field about reputable and dubious providers and important and established conferences. If you are unsure whether you should attend a conference that seems interesting, ask your colleagues whether they are familiar with the event, or check whether you know keynote speakers, board members or publications from the proceedings or their publisher.

• An internet search (e.g. "[conference name] predatory") or the use of blacklists can also be helpful. The conference database ConfIDent, which has a workflow for sorting out dubious conferences and provides metadata on the events, can also help.