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I am interested in citing a paper. This paper has ~30 citations from others, which is respectable and indicates that a fair number of people have also found it worth discussing. However, a fairly prominent citation discussed in this paper is of an (in my opinion) low quality article from an undoubtedly predatory journal. My gut feeling is this is a minor issue and I shouldn't be concerned with citing the work as whole, and just do not pay any attention to the problematic citation; doing so wouldn't affect my planned work. However, I was wondering if there is something I have overlooked and should be concerned with before proceeding.

WOSchrodinger
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  • Seems to be answered by this question: https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/21868/56207 – Laurel Jun 05 '21 at 00:43
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    @Laurel From what I understand, OP is not citing a paper from a predatory journal; they are citing a paper that cites another paper in a predatory journal. – Federico Poloni Jun 05 '21 at 09:02
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    You omitted the main point: why are they citing that paper? Maybe they just discuss it as existing priori work with a different approach, this is good. Maybe the whole paper is built on top of that one without questioning its validity, then that's a problem. – Marc Glisse Jun 05 '21 at 12:54
  • @FedericoPoloni The less it should be any problem to cite a paper that merely "cites" from a predatory journal if the answers say you should even be prepared to cite from such a journal yourself (if you used the work). And also explains why the citing paper in this question might have wanted to cite that paper it cited. – Vladimir F Героям слава Jun 05 '21 at 15:49
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    remotely related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/84829/4484 – GEdgar Jun 05 '21 at 17:01
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    @MarcGlisse You are correct, the problematic citation is cited it as existing work with a relevant approach. – WOSchrodinger Jun 06 '21 at 07:41
  • As @MarcGlisse said, it IS a problem if the paper you wish to cite is citing that bad paper as existing work with relevant approach. Did that paper also clearly identify the main problems with that bad paper? If not, you should seriously consider doing so yourself. – user21820 Jun 06 '21 at 11:25

2 Answers2

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It is obligatory to cite works that you use in your research. This includes bad works, works with errors, works that have never been cited, works published in bad/predatory journals, and works that were never published.

When deciding to cite something, the first thing to ask yourself is, "Did I use this in my research?" If the answer is yes, you need to cite it. If the answer is no, you may or may not need to cite it.

When deciding if you should cite a paper, disregard a citation to a predatory journal in that paper.

Anonymous Physicist
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    Personally, I strive to cite all relevant works, when that is feasible. – Anonymous Physicist Jun 05 '21 at 06:34
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    The problem as stated by the OP is unclear, but in an extreme case, if you're writing work about publications in predatory journals, most of your citations are likely to come from predatory journals. –  Jun 05 '21 at 16:26
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    @DanubianSailor This case is not only extreme, but also special, in that the reason for citing is different than in 99.99% of all cases. – lighthouse keeper Jun 05 '21 at 18:18
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So to sum up: you are concerned that citing a paper that cites a paper that might not be of the highest standard is going to reflect on your paper. I would say your concerns are groundless.

TonyK
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