Does a Predator Need Prey? Examining the Evolving Terminology of Predatory Publishing

Abstract

The term “predatory publisher” was introduced by Jeffrey Beall in 2010 as part of an ad hoc approach to name an emerging concept in the field of scholarly publishing. Ten years later, the concept is still evolving, and the scholarly community continues to question whether the term is appropriate or sufficient. Given that an understanding of this concept and term is a necessary precursor to developing scholarly publishing literacy skills, we examine the concept-term unit through a terminological lens in order to better comprehend how it has developed over the past decade.