Oermann and Colleagues Publish Article in Annals of Global Health

Marilyn Oermann recently published an article entitled "Negative Effects of “Predatory” Journals on Global Health Research" in Annals of Global Health. Co-authors include Diego Forero, Andrea Manca, Franca Deriu, Hugo Mendieta-Zeron, Mehdi Dadkhah, Roshan Bhad, Smita Deshpande, Wei Wang and Myriam Patricia Cifuentes.

Abstract

Predatory journals (PJ) exploit the open-access model promising high acceptance rate and fast track publishing without proper peer review. At minimum, PJ are eroding the credibility of the scientific literature in the health sciences as they actually boost the propagation of errors. In this article, we identify issues with PJ and provide several responses, from international and interdisciplinary perspectives in health sciences. Authors, particularly researchers with limited previous experience with international publications, need to be careful when considering potential journals for submission, due to the current existence of large numbers of PJ. Universities around the world, particularly in developing countries, might develop strategies to discourage their researchers from submitting manuscripts to PJ or serving as members of their editorial committees.