Predatory Journals: Resources

The issue of predatory journals has become increasingly more prevalent over the past decade, as the open‐access model of publishing has gained prominence. Although the open‐access model is well intentioned to increase accessibility of biomedical research, it is vulnerable to exploitation by those looking to corrupt medical academia and circumvent ethics and research standards.

The Internet has transformed scholarly publishing, most notably, by the introduction of open access publishing. Recently, there has been a rise of online journals characterized as ‘predatory’, which actively solicit manuscripts and charge publications fees without providing robust peer review and editorial services.

A cross-sectional comparison of characteristics of potential predatory, legitimate open access, and legitimate subscription-based biomedical journals.

The quality of medical literature is increasingly threatened by irresponsible publishing, leading to rising retraction rates, irreproducible results, and a flood of inconsequential publications that distract readers from more meaningful scholarship. "Predatory publishers" offer rapid publication with loose peer review, exploiting a system in which faculty seek longer bibliographies to achieve academic promotion.

In this review, the author briefly summarizes the history of the open access movement, as well as the rise of and roles played by predatory journals.

This article is a first-hand account of Jeffrey Beall's work identifying and listing predatory publishers from 2012 to 2017.