From the Endocrine Society’s Publications Department:
Last year, the Endocrine Society issued an alert for an entity called Directive Publications that has been soliciting manuscript submissions and offering editorial board membership for a publication named “Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.” We cautioned that Directive Publications and this publication are not affiliated with or sanctioned by the Endocrine Society and our official, trademarked journal, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism®—note the subtle differences in the titles—and we cannot verify the authenticity or accuracy of any information provided by Directive Publications, which is targeting many other scientific and medical journals in a similar manner.
From our investigations into “Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism”:
This experience is, unfortunately, not rare. It is an instance of predatory publishing, which broadly refers to the publication of purportedly scholarly content (in journals and articles, monographs, books, or conference proceedings) where the journal or publisher approaches potential authors in a deceptive or fraudulent manner, typically by an email solicitation, with an offer to get published, often using the author publication charge business model to collect payment, without any regard for quality assurance in editing, peer review, author services, or the fate of the author’s article in the indexed scholarly literature. Whereas predatory journals or publishers typically are profit-generating businesses, some may pose as non-profit entities such as academic societies or research institutions.
Predatory journals or publishers cheat authors (and their funders and institutions) by charging publishing-related fees without providing the expected or industry-standard services. Predatory journals or publishers may also deceive academics into serving as editorial board members or peer reviewers. In short, fake scholarly publications lack the usual features of editorial oversight and transparent policies and operating procedures that are required in legitimate peer-reviewed publications.
The Endocrine Society and our publisher, Oxford University Press, recognize, as noted in the above article, Predatory Journals — What Can We Do to Protect Their Prey?, that legal action against predators is challenging because they are often ghost entities, with shifting URLs and server locations around the world, false mailing addresses, contacts who can be difficult to identify, and unresponsiveness to communication. Nonetheless, we work with our legal counsel to take all feasible steps to address the threat and deter continued predatory behaviors.
Just as we have all had to sharpen our cybersecurity skills to be on the lookout for phishing and other email scams in our professional and personal lives, we all have to be just as wary when it comes to online solicitations from journals in what is fast becoming a zero-trust environment.
The Endocrine Society has been at the forefront of hormone science and public health for over a century, publishing endocrine science since 1917. Our top-ranked journals are among the first to publish major developments and discovery milestones in endocrinology. Our Editors-in-Chief, Deputy Editors, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board members are vetted by the Society for their expertise and adherence to strict publishing standards. They ensure that your manuscript receives consideration by thought leaders in the field, with rigorous attention to research integrity throughout the peer review and publication process. Enjoy the many benefits of publishing in our authoritative, highly cited, and widely read journals. All Endocrine Society journals follow the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Like the medieval warning to travelers of unknown lands, “there be dragons” lurking as well in the publishing world: we encourage authors in endocrine and related fields to come to a safe harbor and publish with the Endocrine Society.
