Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why do physicians publish in predatory journals?

Skeptical Scalpel, MD
Physician
June 19, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share

A new study found several senior academic surgeons had published papers in what used to be termed “predatory journals.” The newer, gentler term is “solicited publishing,” but it defines the same pay-to-play, low-quality publications.

Surgeons from the University of California, San Diego examined 110 emails sent to the senior author from 29 publishers during a six-week period and early 2017. Nearly all were requesting manuscript submissions. The 29 publishers represented 113 different surgery journals most of which had existed for two years or less. Only 12 were indexed in PubMed, and of the 9 that mentioned a self-reported impact factor, the median was 0.24 which means they had less than one citation per article in the last two years. The median publication fee for the 88 journals posting the information was $755.

Emails from the publishers contained a mean of 9.6 grammatical errors, possibly because more than half had addresses in foreign countries, and of those with U.S. addresses, 30 percent were residential.

Of emails received, 81 percent proposed topics unrelated to the recipients’ practice or field of interest.

The UCSD investigators attempted to contact the senior authors of the 117 papers from academic institutions and not surprisingly received just 14 responses. Eight of these senior authors claimed they had not published in a journal that solicited publications (either they were untruthful or perhaps worse, had no idea that the journal was one that solicited manuscripts) and six admitted they knew they had published in a fringe journal. Two papers involved work that was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In their discussion, the authors wondered why academic surgeons would publish in journals with low or no impact factors or not indexed in PubMed and pointed out the studies might never be cited. I can answer that. The goal is to publish somewhere — anywhere — not necessarily to achieve high numbers of citations.

That 117 papers from U.S. academic centers were published in bogus journals is embarrassing.

We are in the midst of a lingering Twitter debate about my last post calling for the abolishment of mandatory research involvement as part of the training of all residents. Some academics didn’t get it. I didn’t say everyone should stop doing research. What I said was it shouldn’t be required of every resident.

Academic programs can still involve their residents in research, but let’s hope the research is worthy of publication in legitimate journals.

“Skeptical Scalpel” is a surgeon who blogs at his self-titled site, Skeptical Scalpel.  

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

5 ways assembly line medicine harms patients

June 18, 2018 Kevin 1
…
Next

Becoming a doctor is the epitome of delayed gratification

June 19, 2018 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
5 ways assembly line medicine harms patients
Next Post >
Becoming a doctor is the epitome of delayed gratification

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Skeptical Scalpel, MD

  • The hospital CEO who made a surgical incision. What happened?

    Skeptical Scalpel, MD
  • Medical error is not the third leading cause of death

    Skeptical Scalpel, MD
  • Should speed-eating contests be banned?

    Skeptical Scalpel, MD

Related Posts

  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous
  • Beware of pseudoscience: The desperate need for physicians on social media

    Valerie A. Jones, MD
  • When physicians are cyberbullied: an interview with ZDoggMD

    Monique Tello, MD
  • Surprising and unlikely rewards of social media engagement by physicians

    Lisa Chan, MD
  • Physicians who don’t play the social media game may be left behind

    Xrayvsn, MD

More in Physician

  • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

    Chrissie Ott, MD
  • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

    Ryan McCarthy, MD
  • Why reforming medical boards is critical to saving patient care

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • Why heart and brain must work together for love

    Felicia Cummings, MD
  • How pain clinics contribute to societal safety

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Private practice employment agreements: What happens if private equity swoops in?

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Conditions
    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden dangers of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements

      STRIPED, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Conditions
    • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

      Chrissie Ott, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Private practice employment agreements: What happens if private equity swoops in?

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Conditions
    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Reframing self-care as required maintenance for physicians [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden dangers of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements

      STRIPED, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Conditions
    • Implementing value-based telehealth pain management and substance misuse therapy service

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • How an insider advocate can save a loved one

      Chrissie Ott, MD | Physician
    • Why medical notes have become billing scripts instead of patient stories

      Sriman Swarup, MD, MBA | Tech
    • A powerful story of addiction, strength, and redemption

      Ryan McCarthy, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...