Solicitation for article submission by electronic journals.

The business model, editorial policies, and content quality vary significantly in online medical journals. Some online journals have been labeled as journals because their main effort involves collecting article processing charges with little interest in content, peer review, or manuscript presentation. Some of these journals send frequent email solicitations for submissions. One author affiliated with a department of internal medicine collected all email requests for submissions to online journals over a 6-month period. These emails included 210 unique journal names that covered over 40 medical fields and requested 15 different article types. Most of these journals were not listed in PubMed or the Directory of Open Access Journals. One hundred and eighty two were on Beall's list of predatory journals. The median article processing charge was $1035. Faculty and trainees at medical schools receive multiple requests for submissions, but it is difficult to determine the quality of the journal sending these requests. At a minimum, a journal should be listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals and have very clear editorial and publication policies.