Alamri Yassar, Al-Busaidi Ibrahim S, Bintalib Marwah G, Abu-Zaid Ahmed
Christchurch School of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, KSA.
J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2020 Aug 21;15(5):339-343. doi: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2020.07.010. eCollection 2020 Oct.
This study examines the extent of understanding of medical students from KSA and New Zealand (NZ) about predatory journals.
From March to July 2019, self-administered questionnaires were sent to fourth- and fifth-year students of two medical schools in KSA and NZ. Between-group comparisons were carried out using the two-sided Student's test and the Chi-square test. Statistical significance was determined at a -value <0.05.
A total of 263 students completed the questionnaire (response rate: 59.1 percent KSA; 31 percent NZ). Prior research experience was significantly higher among KSA students (56.6 percent) as compared to NZ students (32.3 percent; = 0.0006). A significantly higher number of KSA students (75.6 percent) felt that they were under pressure to publish studies during their term at medical school as compared to only 12.3 percent of NZ medical students ( < 0.0001). While one-third of the students in both countries were familiar with 'open-access publishing' (30.8 percent KSA versus 42.2 percent NZ), only a few displayed awareness about 'predatory journals' (9.1 percent KSA versus 7.8 percent NZ; = 0.7) or 'Beall's list' (2.5 percent KSA versus 0 percent NZ; = 0.02). A small number of students from both countries had published in predatory journals (26.1 percent [n = 6/23] KSA versus 12.5 percent [n = 1/8] NZ, = 0.4). A few students had received warnings or advice regarding predatory journals (4.5 percent KSA versus 1.5 percent NZ; = 0.2). A majority of respondents from both the countries found it hard to identify predatory journals.
This study identified that the understanding and knowledge of medical students regarding predatory journals is rather poor. This indicates that curricular, extracurricular, and institutional measures to promote awareness about predatory journals are warranted.
本研究调查了沙特阿拉伯（KSA）和新西兰（NZ）的医学生对掠夺性期刊的了解程度。
2019年3月至7月，向KSA和NZ两所医学院的四年级和五年级学生发放了自填式问卷。采用双侧学生t检验和卡方检验进行组间比较。统计学显著性以p值<0.05确定。
共有263名学生完成了问卷（回复率：KSA为59.1%；NZ为31%）。KSA学生的既往研究经验（56.6%）显著高于NZ学生（32.3%；p = 0.0006）。与只有12.3%的NZ医学生相比，KSA有显著更多的学生（75.6%）认为他们在医学院学习期间有发表研究的压力（p < 0.0001）。虽然两国三分之一的学生熟悉“开放获取出版”（KSA为30.8%，NZ为42.2%），但只有少数人了解“掠夺性期刊”（KSA为9.1%，NZ为7.8%；p = 0.7）或“贝尔清单”（KSA为2.5%，NZ为0%；p = 0.02）。两国都有少数学生在掠夺性期刊上发表过文章（KSA为26.1%[n = 6/23]，NZ为12.5%[n = 1/8]，p = 0.4）。少数学生收到过关于掠夺性期刊的警告或建议（KSA为4.5%，NZ为1.5%；p = 0.2）。两国的大多数受访者都很难识别掠夺性期刊。
本研究发现医学生对掠夺性期刊的理解和认识相当薄弱。这表明有必要采取课程、课外和院校层面的措施来提高对掠夺性期刊的认识。
