Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the awareness of predatory journals among academics of
library and information science (LIS) schools in federal universities in North West, Nigeria. It
has three specific objectives and three research questions that guided the study. The research is
both quantitative and qualitative. The population of the study is 124 academic staff of LIS
schools from four universities. These are; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), Bayero
University, Kano (BUK), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) and Federal
University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) all in North West, Nigeria. The instruments used for data
collection were questionnaire and interview schedule. A total of 120 copies of the questionnaire
were distributed to academic staff, however, the number returned was 102. The interview
schedule was set and administered on four senior lecturers, one from each university. As for the
method of data analysis the data obtained from the questionnaire was analyzed using frequency,
mean and standard deviation with the aid of SPSS version 25. The findings of the study revealed
that the extent of awareness of some of the features/ characteristics of predatory journals is low;
lack of awareness, desperation at the thought of missing of promotion and pressure to publish in
international journals were among the factors influencing the academics publishing in predatory
journals among others. It was recommended that researchers should carefully evaluate the
credibility and reputation of the journals they considered for publication by investigating the
journal’s website for clear information, proper peer-review process, checkmating the genuinely
editorial members etc.
Keywords: Predatory Journals, Awareness, Academics, Library and Information Science,
Nigerian Federal Universities
Publication Date: 2024-05-15