Publication in journals is an essential part of the scientific process, an important metric for scholarly career advancement, and an integral aspect of grant approval and funding mechanisms. Pressure to publish has engendered a global industry of open access journals, which are driven by author publication fees rather than subscription services. Some of these journals are not credible and are considered predatory; they may have misleading pricing, fraudulent editorial boards, and inadequate (or nonexistent) peer-review processes.
To help ensure the credibility of published research, the NIH released a statement on publication in scientific journals (NOT-OD-18-011).
“In support of public access to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research, authors are encouraged to publish their results in reputable journals. The NIH has noted an increase in the numbers of papers reported as products of NIH funding which are published in journals or by publishers that do not follow best practices promoted by professional scholarly publishing organizations.”
There are a number of resources available to authors to help identify reputable journals:
- Directory of Open Access Journals lists high quality, peer-reviewed, open-access journals.
- The Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing—developed by The World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) in collaboration with other professional associations—provides recommendations and best practices for medical journal editors.
- Think Check Submit provides guidance for authors on choosing the best journal.
- Statement on Article Publication Resulting from NIH Funded Research
For more information on disseminating results from pragmatic clinical trials see the Living Textbook Chapters: