We saw a message (see main image) that suggests that there is a black market for MDPI vouchers. In essence (it appears) that if you have an MDPI voucher, worth $1,000, if you give that up, then they will give you an authorship position on a paper.
We have the following questions about the information in the image shown.
- It looks like “they” are looking for people who have an MDPI voucher (value of $1,000). If you do, you are invited to provide key information.
- In return, “for every $1,000 voucher” they can provide you with a free position in one of their articles, either as first or second author.
So, how does this work?
- Do you have to give up your voucher? If so, presumably these unethical people will then use it for something else. Support #PaperMills perhaps?
- What journal do you get offered in return? Do you think it will be a Scopus or a Clarivate journal, or could it be something of lesser quality (side stepping the “does Scopus/Clarivate = quality” debate)? Could it even be a predatory journal?
Here are some questions for #MDPI, should they wish to answer.
- If you issue a voucher, presumably, it is to a named author or reviewer?
- We assume that each voucher has a unique code, so that if a voucher is redeemed, you know who it was assigned to?
- Can any voucher be used by anybody, or only the person that it was issued to?
These are genuine questions as we have not had any personal experience with your voucher initiative.
The original Facebook post can be seen at: https://facebook.com/groups/reviewer2/posts/10160702082780469/
Note: You may have to be a member of the group to read it and, of course, it could be deleted/edited at any time.
We originally tweeted about this issue. The tweet can be seen here.