Predatory journals and their impacts on research quality at the Eastern Technical University of Sierra Leone

The quality and legitimacy of scholarly research are seriously threatened by the emergence of predatory publications, especially in poor nations like Sierra Leone. This study looks at how Eastern Technical University of Sierra Leone (ETUSL) research quality is affected by predatory publishing. The study evaluates faculty awareness, the frequency of predatory publishing, and its effects on academic integrity, institutional reputation, and research funding using a mixed-methods methodology. The results show that although researchers are generally aware of predatory journals, there are still information gaps that cause them to unintentionally engage in these publishing activities. Financial limitations, publishing pressure, and unclear institutional journal selection procedures are some of the main motivators. The study emphasizes how important it is to raise awareness, strengthen institutional policies, and provide funding for ethical publishing procedures. Implementing training initiatives, changing policies, and creating institutional incentives to encourage research in respectable journals are some of the recommendations. To preserve the legitimacy of ETUSL's scholarly output and advance Sierra Leone's contributions to international research, these problems must be resolved.