State Program 2020-2023 and the Phenomenon of Predatory Publishing

The publication of scientific results in predatory editions, which pursue financial profit at the expense of the quality of the work, is a widespread phenomenon, especially in less developed countries. In this context, the paper analyzes the publications produced within the projects of the State Program 2020-2023, which was the main instrument for funding scientific research in the Republic of Moldova during this period. By using a specific algorithm for the identification of pseudoscientific predatory editions, it was established that in more than half of the R and D projects, the results obtained were also published in predatory editions. Publication in predatory editions affects the majority of scientific fields and institutions, including authors with the highest national scientific and honorary titles. This demonstrates a large scale of the phenomenon of predatory publishing in the scientific community in the Republic of Moldova. Among the causes of this situation, the most important are the low level of scientific publishing culture and the tolerance of this phenomenon by the institutions that finance and evaluate research projects. Publication in these journals leads to inefficient spending of public money, a negative impact on international scientific collaboration and on the professional careers of authors.