Predators exist in nearly all walks of life, but it may come as a surprise to learn that they lurk in the nursing journal world, too. My goal with this editorial is to warn anyone who considers authoring a paper for professional publication about this new breed of predator.
With the advent of online publishing, multiple "predatory" groups have emerged seeking to profit by luring people into submitting scholarly articles for publication using devious means. Here's how the scam typically works: You receive an e-mail solicitation asking you to submit your "scholarly research" via a website to be considered for publication in some group's "prestigious journal." These organizations often appear legitimate because their logo or website graphics look professional or are incredibly similar to some well-known nursing entity, except they're not. The solicitor is likely to use lots of complimentary words such as "honorable" and "prestigious" to appeal to the recipient's ego.
If you do submit a paper, it's usually accepted within a few days, which doesn't happen in the legitimate publishing world when true peer review processes are followed. Now, unfortunately, you may owe the predatory publishers money because they've published your work before you realize they're charging you a publication fee, or even agree to it. Predatory publishers may invoke collection agencies to pursue payment, which can add up to thousands of dollars.
Of note, not all publishers who charge a fee are predatory-it's common practice among valid publishing companies to charge authors a fee if they voluntarily elect "open access" to retain copyright in a professional journal. However, predatory groups leverage misunderstanding around open access for their own gain. Their publications won't be indexed in Pub Med, and if their journal totally disappears after they've published a couple of issues online, your work is lost. Unfortunately, now you can't submit the paper to another journal because it was previously "published."
Don't become a victim of deception. Thoroughly investigate any organization that's inviting you to author a paper. Hundreds of these predatory groups now exist. Due to their continued, rapid proliferation, no single source exists that identifies every one, but you can find out more by visiting Beall's List of Predatory Journals and Publishers at http://beallslist.weebly.com.
Until next time,
Linda Laskowski-Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWM, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing2017 Vice President: Emergency & Trauma Services Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, Del.