Medical Resident Awareness of Predatory Journal Practices in an International Medical Education System

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of survey respondents (N = 160).

Demographic		n (%N)
Gender	Male	44 (27.5%)
	Female	116 (72.5%)
Level of Training	Senior Residents (PGY3-4, fellows)	73 (45.6%)
	Junior Residents (Interns, PGY1-2)	87 (54.4%)
Received research training	Yes	86 (53.8%)
	No	74 (46.3%)
History of publishing	Yes	68 (42.5%)
	No	92 (57.5%)

Table 2. Factors contributing to trainee decision to participate in research (N = 160).

	Important	Not important
	n(%N)	n(%N)
Improve your candidacy for future residency/Followship	155 (96.9%)	5 (3.1%)
Professional Recognition	140 (87.5%)	20 (12.5%)
Requirement of institution/program	138 (86.3%)	22 (13.8%)
Adopt Evidence Based Practice	132 (82.5%)	28 (17.5%)
Peer Collaboration	117 (73.1%)	43 (26.9%)
Personal Recognition	109 (68.1%)	51 (31.9%)

Table 3. Factors trainees consider when submitting manuscripts to a scientific journal (N = 160).

	Important	Not important
	n(%N)	n(%N)
Recommendation from faculty/mentor	143 (89.4%)	17 (10.6%)
Indexing in a major database	138 (86.2%)	22 (13.8%)
Publishing experiences of other colleagues	137 (85.6%)	23 (14.4%)
High-impact factor	133(83.1%)	27 (16.9%)
Speciality of journal	128 (80%)	32 (20%)
Affordable publication fee	126 (78.8%)	34 (21.3%)
Reputable editorial board	124 (77.5%)	36 (22.5%)
Open access for readers	116 (72.5%)	44 (27.5%)
Recommendation from peers	112 (70%)	48 (30%)
Rapid publication process	110 (68.7%)	50 (31.3%)
Country of publication	100 (62.5%)	60 (37.5%)

Table 4. Characteristics of reputable journals.

	Important	Not important
	n(%N)	n(%N)
Impact factor	147 (91.9%)	13 (8.1%)
Quality of the peer-review process	135 (84.4%)	25 (15.6%)
Quality of the submission system	132 (82.5%)	28 (17.5%)
Scope of the journal	127 (79.4%)	33 (20.6%)
Reputation of the editorial board	120 (75%)	40 (25%)
Detailed author guidelines	118 (73.7%)	42 (26.3%)
Transparency of publication fees	115 (71.9%)	45 (28.1%)
Reputation of the publisher	111 (69.4%)	49 (30.6%)
Submission fee costs	104 (65%)	56 (35%)
Publication fee costs	104 (65%)	56 (35%)
Layout of the journal	84 (52.5%)	76 (47.5%)
Country of publication	84 (52.5%)	76 (47.5%)

Table 5. Characteristics associated with predatory journals.

	Associated	Not Associated
	n(%N)	n(%N)
Ambiguous editorial board	105 (69.1%)	47 (30.9%)
Low impact factor	103 (67.8%)	49 (32.2%)
Rapid publication process	95 (62.5%)	57 (37.5%)
Journal is located in a newly industrializing country	94 (61.8%)	58 (38.2%)
Low quality of the published article	93 (61.2%)	59 (38.9%)
Missing or incomplete author guidelines	91 (59.9%)	61 (40.1%)
High publication fees	88 (57.9%)	64 (42.1%)
Missing or incomplete author guidelines	83 (54.6%)	69 (45.4%)
Unprofessional journal layout	57 (37.5%)	95 (62.5%)