LAUSR

The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) and the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) recognize the challenges to scientific publishing being posed by predatory journals and their publishers, which employ practices undermining the quality, integrity and reliability of published scientific research. This joint position statement complements several other sets of guidelines that have helped define the characteristics of a predatory journal. Predatory journals pose a serious threat both to researchers publishing the results of their work and to the peerreviewed medical literature itself. These publications differ from legitimate open-access journals in that predatory journals subvert the peer-review publication system for the sole purpose of financial gain with little evident concern for ethical behavior. Organizations such as the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Council of Science Editors (CSE) support good publication practices that are now widely recognized. Predatory journals do not adhere to these practices but instead exploit the Gold Open Access publishing model (for which authors pay a publication fee). To generate revenue, these journals intentionally misrepresent practices of editorial and peer review, methods of journal operation, article process charging, dissemination, indexing and archiving. Harm to the scientific literature will be the ultimate result if predatory publishing proliferates. Legitimate research carried out with the best of intentions might be lost if it is not recorded, cited or made accessible in the long term, and the scientific record is at risk of being corrupted. But dangers to authors also exist in that their reputations can be damaged as a result of having their work published in predatory journals or being unknowingly “appointed” to their editorial boards. Furthermore, authors may find themselves trapped after they realize they have submitted an article to a predatory journal. There is a potential risk that some journals might not return submitted manuscripts or will publish a submitted paper even after an author has protested. The large increase in scientific journals, including those that are predatory, over the past 15 years can make the task of distinguishing predatory or “pseudo” journals difficult. However, online tools are available to help authors in this effort, and certain characteristics have been identified as being typical of predatory journals and their publishers: