Cambodia’s academic future is under threat. A growing number of students — especially PhD candidates — are publishing in predatory journals to meet their study requirements. This critical issue undermines both the credibility of Cambodian academia and the future of research in the Kingdom, necessitating urgent attention from policymakers, universities, academic leaders and academics.
While empirical data on predatory publishing by Cambodian students and researchers are limited, anecdotal evidence points to its rise among Cambodian students and faculty.
As a researcher who has closely observed this phenomenon, I am convinced there has been a sharp rise in predatory publishing among Cambodian PhD students and even their advisors, some of whom hold senior government or university positions. Despite the lack of research data on this matter, anyone who follows academic publications emanating from Cambodia closely will notice this troubling issue.
In recent years, Cambodia has seen a surge in academic publishing, particularly among postgraduate and PhD students. Much of this increase is driven by the requirements that PhD students in Cambodia must fulfil defending while their final thesis. According to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport’s guidelines for doctoral education, PhD students are required to publish at least one journal article to meet the requirements for their final thesis defence.
The recent increase in academic publishing has also been fuelled by the implementation of the professorship system, which in 2023 awarded more than 300 Cambodian academics, both university leaders and faculty members, with professorial titles. A key requirement for these titles is evidence of research, such as books and journal articles. Specific requirements for professorship can be found in the Guidelines for the Evaluation, Selection and Appointment of Professorial Titles in the Education Sector, published by the education ministry in May 2024.
In 2023, after two rounds of evaluation, a total of 328 academics across seven public higher education institutions were awarded professorial titles: 32 as Professors, 58 as Associate Professors and 238 as Assistant Professors.
While the implementation of professorial titles and the strengthening of the quality of PhD training reflect a positive shift toward cultivating a research culture in Cambodia, they have brought to the spotlight a worrying trend: the rapid rise of predatory publishing.
What is predatory publishing?
According to an article in Nature, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, predatory journals and publishers “are entities that prioritise self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterised by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices”.
Jeffrey Beall, a librarian and library scientist who created the well-known Beall’s list, a list of potentially predatory open-access publishers, noted that “predatory publishers are dishonest and lack transparency. They aim to dupe researchers, especially those inexperienced in scholarly communication. They set up websites that closely resemble those of legitimate online publishers and publish journals of questionable and downright low quality”.
He argued that because their primary goal is profit, predatory publishers tend to accept nearly all research papers for publication. Rejecting any submitted manuscripts means rejecting money or revenue.
In simple terms, predatory publishing refers to academic publishing practices where journals or publishers prioritise profit over scholarship. They typically charge authors publication fees — sometimes modest ($50-$100), sometimes substantial ($500-$1000 or more) — while offering little or no peer review, editorial oversight or indexing in recognised databases. In many cases, what authors submit to them is accepted for publication, irrespective of quality.
Risks of predatory publishing
As students are pressured to meet degree requirements, they tend to turn to predatory journals that promise rapid review and guaranteed acceptance, often at the expense of academic quality and integrity. Some students are first-time authors, so they may not be aware of the risks associated with predatory publishing. If their advisors, research offices or universities do not inform them about this critical issue, their academic work could end up in predatory journals, potentially resulting in a loss of credibility or rejection by the wider academic community.
Publishing in predatory journals carries significant disadvantages for students and researchers. Articles published in these journals are often disregarded by the academic community because they lack proper peer review and editorial standards. As a consequence, the research may not be recognised, cited or taken seriously. In fact, publishing in predatory journals is not only just a waste of time and money, but it can also damage individual reputations and diminish the reputation of their institutions and the broader research community.
The crisis of predatory publishing
Many Cambodian universities now require their PhD students to publish before defending their thesis, as this is one of the prerequisites for PhD graduation. However, clear guidance on where and how to publish is often limited. Students with little exposure to international publishing norms are particularly vulnerable to predatory journals. They may not be aware of the risks associated with it. If their supervisors are unfamiliar with the nuances of academic publishing, both the supervisors and the PhD students may submit their research papers to these journals. In the long run, this publishing practice can damage the quality of research output and reduce the credibility of the knowledge sector in Cambodia.
It is disheartening to see the rise of predatory publishing among Cambodian academics and students despite the prevalence of information about predatory publishing and its associated risks. The most troubling aspect is that even established academics — some holding professorial titles — continue to publish in predatory journals, normalizing low-quality and unethical publishing practices and sending the wrong signal to the next generation of scholars.
So even when senior figures or professors publish their work in predatory journals, how can students be expected to publish in credible outlets?
As someone with a strong research interest in research development in Cambodia, I hope to see a shift in mindset and publishing practices among some Cambodian students and researchers who appear to keep contributing to the rise of predatory publishing. This publishing crisis needs to stop to pave the way for credible publishing and the development of a bright future of academia in Cambodia.
Strategies to avoid predatory publishing
Jeffrey Beall once advised that “scholars must resist the temptation to publish quickly and easily”. This is important because quick publication tends to take place at the expense of quality peer review or editorial work, resulting in low-quality or questionable publications.
To address the issue of predatory publishing, universities must provide training on research integrity, publishing ethics and academic publishing standards. Academics and students should learn how to distinguish legitimate journals from predatory ones and understand why publication quality matters more than quantity.
Supervisors also need capacity-building support to effectively guide their students in journal selection to avoid publishing in predatory journals. It is also important that the education ministry and academic institutions create and maintain an official list of potentially predatory journals so Cambodian students, lecturers and researchers can avoid such predatory or exploitative outlets.
It is also critical to foster a research culture that values originality, quality and ethical publishing practices over mere publication counts or quantity, particularly low-quality publications. This can be done with the introduction of some anti-predatory-publishing mechanisms such as sanctions or penalties in the form of reduction of teaching assignments, verbal warnings, demotion or other disciplinary measures for unethical publishing practices.
Overall, predatory publishing is not a small issue or merely an individual misstep. It is a structural challenge and a serious threat to Cambodian academia, requiring concerted efforts to address. Failing to tackle this critical problem risks compromising the credibility of Cambodia’s academic community. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to take proactive steps to guide Cambodia’s emerging research community toward ethical and high-quality publishing practices that contribute to enhancing the academic standing of Cambodian researchers and universities at the national, regional and global levels.
Kimkong Heng is a Cambodian lecturer and researcher. He is a co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Cambodian Education Forum. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
