R Dal-Ré1, A Marušić. 1. Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Avda Reyes Católicos 2, E-28040 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has expressed its concerns about predatory journals using the list of ICMJE Recommendations (ICMJE-R) followers to "gain the appearance of legitimacy." We assessed the presence of potential predatory journals on the ICMJE-R list and their adherence to ICMJE recommendations. METHODS: A random sample of 350 journals from the estimated 3,100-3,200 biomedical journals listed as ICMJE-R followers was chosen. Data collected from the ICMJE and journal webpages in English were: adherence to six ICMJE-R policies/requirements, year of journal's listing as ICMJE-R follower, discipline covered, publisher and its country of origin and existence of article processing charge. Potential predatory journal was considered as one open access journal not being a member of a recognized listing in COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, AJOL and/or INASP. RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of journals were considered to be potentially predatory; 94% of them were included in the ICMJE-R list in 2014-2018. Half were published in the United States and 62% were devoted to medicine. Adherence to five of the six policies/requirements was infrequent, ranging from 51% (plagiarism) to 7% (trial registration). Seventy-two percent of journals mentioned a policy on authors' conflicts of interest. Information on article processing charge was available for 76% journals and could not be found for 22%. Authorship policy/ instructions were significantly more present in journals with publishers from India than from the USA (53% vs 30%; p = 0.047), with no differences in the other five policies. CONCLUSION: Predatory journals should be deleted from the ICMJE-R list of followers to prevent misleading authors. ICMJE-R following journals need to be reevaluated with pre-defined published criteria.
BACKGROUND: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has expressed its concerns about predatory journals using the list of ICMJE Recommendations (ICMJE-R) followers to "gain the appearance of legitimacy." We assessed the presence of potential predatory journals on the ICMJE-R list and their adherence to ICMJE recommendations. METHODS: A random sample of 350 journals from the estimated 3,100-3,200 biomedical journals listed as ICMJE-R followers was chosen. Data collected from the ICMJE and journal webpages in English were: adherence to six ICMJE-R policies/requirements, year of journal's listing as ICMJE-R follower, discipline covered, publisher and its country of origin and existence of article processing charge. Potential predatory journal was considered as one open access journal not being a member of a recognized listing in COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, AJOL and/or INASP. RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of journals were considered to be potentially predatory; 94% of them were included in the ICMJE-R list in 2014-2018. Half were published in the United States and 62% were devoted to medicine. Adherence to five of the six policies/requirements was infrequent, ranging from 51% (plagiarism) to 7% (trial registration). Seventy-two percent of journals mentioned a policy on authors' conflicts of interest. Information on article processing charge was available for 76% journals and could not be found for 22%. Authorship policy/ instructions were significantly more present in journals with publishers from India than from the USA (53% vs 30%; p = 0.047), with no differences in the other five policies. CONCLUSION: Predatory journals should be deleted from the ICMJE-R list of followers to prevent misleading authors. ICMJE-R following journals need to be reevaluated with pre-defined published criteria.
Authors: Maximilian Siebert; Jeanne Fabiola Gaba; Laura Caquelin; Henri Gouraud; Alain Dupuy; David Moher; Florian Naudet Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-05-30 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Florian Naudet; Maximilian Siebert; Claude Pellen; Jeanne Gaba; Cathrine Axfors; Ioana Cristea; Valentin Danchev; Ulrich Mansmann; Christian Ohmann; Joshua D Wallach; David Moher; John P A Ioannidis Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2021-10-25 Impact factor: 11.069