Predatory Publishing – What Medical Communicators Need to Know
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Predatory publishing – what medical communicators need to know Andrea Bucceri,1 Peter Hornung, 2 The problem of predatory turn to ineffective and harmful treatments and Thomas M. Schindler3 journals checklist. You may already have heard about “predatory The practices of predatory publishers journals”, also known as pseudo-scientific undermine the credibility of science. This will 1 Dove Medical Press Limited, London, journals whose sole purpose it is to siphon off directly affect medical communicators because United Kingdom money from authors. These journals use the open they are part of the scientific endeavour. Medical 2 Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Ressort access (OA) model to publish just about communicators make science accessible. If Investigation, Hamburg, Germany anything as long as the authors pay the required sources are fouled with bogus science, the texts, 3 Boehringer Ingelheim Phama, Medical fee. The deal is: you pay the money, we publish documents, and summaries based on them will Writing Europe, Germany without looking at the article too closely (if at also be bogus and the work of medical all). The author gets a publication to add to the communicators will be devalued. curriculum vitae and the publisher gets the Correspondence to: money. Unlike genuine scientific journals, Thomas M. Schindler predatory journals shortcut the peer-review Open access publishing and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma process entirely or substitute it for a superficial how the problem came about Biberach, Germany pseudo-review. OA publishing makes articles freely accessible Thomas.schindler@boehringer- Medical communicators may be aware of online upon publication. Contrary to ingelheim.com predatory journals but may have thought of them subscription-based publishers, whose published as a peripheral phenomenon. This perception articles are only accessible after payment of a fee needs to change. or via a subscription, OA publishers cover their Abstract The number of predatory journals has risen publishing costs by charging authors a publi - The rise of ”predatory journals”, also known dramatically in recent years and so has the cation fee upon acceptance of a manuscript.6 as pseudo-scientific journals, poses a risk to number of articles published in them. Data from Since it began in the early 2000s, OA publishing the integrity of science and therefore medical the Northern German Broadcasting Network has grown to become a well-established publi - communicators need to know about their suggest that, globally, some 400,000 scientists cation model, and currently, many funding practices. Upon receipt of a publication fee, from all fields have published in such journals.1 agencies and international organisations require predatory journals publish manuscripts One company, OMICS, accused of platforming that the data derived from the research they fund regardless of their scientific merit, very often predatory and low-quality journals, prides itself be published in an OA journal.7-10 without any peer review, and without on publishing over 700 journals generating tens The success of OA publishing in science and providing editorial services. To maximise of thousands of articles per year.2,3 The problem medicine has opened the door for a new type of profit, such journals disregard all aspects of has become so big that the US fraud that exploits the need of scientific integrity and foster the Federal Trade Commission has Medical authors to publish their results dissemination of bad and bogus science, recently obtained a ruling of $50 for career advance ment and to lobby materials, and conspiracy theories. million against OMICS for communicators may obtain fund ing. These fraudulent Publishing in predatory journals can have dire deceptive business practices.4,5 be aware of predatory publishers are now widely consequences for authors, their careers, and Predatory publishers harm journals but may have known as “predatory publishers” the reputation of their institutions. Medical science and society as a whole. By thought of them as because of their aggressive and communicators can help authors avoid falling publishing bad science and by damaging tactics.11 To maximise prey to predatory publishers. making it available, they under - a peripheral profit, they want to attract and mine trust in science and phenomenon. publish as many manuscripts as scientific progress. Their activities This perception needs possible. Articles are published allow bogus work to be quoted to change. without the usual standards and and entered into the literature. pro cesses that genuine publish - Bad science as a starting point ers adhere to.10-12 Predatory may lead other scientific investigations astray. publishing is therefore best defined as the Predatory journals take away money from exploitation of the OA-publishing system for the taxpayers or grant-giving charities that was made sole purpose of making a profit, while neglecting available as part of research grants. Even worse, key aspects of scientific rigour and publication when uninformed patients in desperate situations ethics. get hold of unfounded, bogus research, they may The number of predatory journals is rising.13 28 | September 2019 Medical Writing | Volume 28 Number 3 Bucceri et al. – Predatory publishing – what medical communicators need to know Those who publish their good research in predatory journals are unintentionally upgrading the bad and false science also published there. Their fraudulent activities are fuelled by the need To mislead authors, some predatory journals has led to an increase in the number of articles of researchers to publish results to advance their carry names that are similar or even identical to published in these journals and, in turn, possibly careers and increase their chances to obtain well-known established journals. This is a form even the citation of their articles in policy funding.11,14 In some countries, professional of hijacking because these journals aim to divert documents and medical guidelines. Because advancement in science and medicine is directly submissions intended for genuine scientific most predatory journals do not perform a proper linked to the publication record through a point journals. By misleading authors, they seek to get peer review, they serve as a venue for badly system.15 Many universities and research hold of scientifically sound content that they can conducted science. It is therefore not surprising institutions require that PhD students publish then use to obscure the nature of their that conspiracy theorists, such as anti-vaxxers and their work in a journal – regardless of its quality business.16,17 climate change deniers, use these outlets to – before awarding a degree. The increasing number of predatory journals publish.18,19 Some predatory publishers do www.emwa.org Volume 28 Number 3 | Medical Writing September 2019 | 29 Predatory publishing – what medical communicators need to know – Bucceri et al. perform a pseudo peer-review process, after article published in a predatory journal because predatory journal but want to withdraw it later which they accept manuscripts regardless of the it did not meet the standards of a genuine will often not succeed because the journal may recommendations of the peer reviewers.20,21 journal? Was the authors’ priority not scientific want to upgrade its reputation by keeping it. Although the traditional peer-review system integrity but speed of publication? Authors who are denied withdrawing their work has its flaws, it remains the best way to evaluate Researchers who have submitted their work have essentially lost the opportunity to publish scientific content. It has served its purpose quite accidentally to a predatory journal may want to in a genuine journal because this would well since its systematic implementation in the withdraw it upon realisation. This, however, is constitute a second publication of the same 1970s. One possible way forward is imple - often not possible or only permitted after paying content. menting “open peer review”. This ensures full an additional fee. Scholars who publish their It is important for authors that their research transparency to the reader as both the names and research in a predatory journal waste the time, is permanently available to the scientific affiliations of the reviewers and their comments effort, and money spent conducting it. Public community. With predatory publishers, however, are available online.22 money or third-party funds are permanent archiving and accessibility wasted and are no longer available for are not ensured. Should a dubious The dangers of using genuine research. If scientists are Most predatory pub lisher go out of business, the predatory journals for aware of the predatory nature of a journals do not articles published by them may no authors and their institutions journal and nevertheless publish their perform a proper longer be available. In addition, there The opportunity to publish anything in predatory work there, they may even be liable to have been cases where articles were journals is tempting for some researchers who pros ecution. They are liable for using peer review. simply republished under different want to publish irrelevant or inconclusive results funds on dubious journals and by author names and with slightly for the sake of career advancement.13 However, incurring expenses for travelling to scientifically different titles without consent of the initial this carries some long-term risks and authors worth less confer ences offered