Understanding Predatory Emails in Medicine
Author Information
Author(s): Muacevic Alexander, Adler John R, Martinino Alessandro, Smeenk Frank, Basile Valentina, Scarano Pereira Juan Pablo, Ramnarain Dharmanand, Pouwels Sjaak
Hypothesis
This study aims to explore the relationship between participant demographics and their experiences with targeted predatory business activities, including their approaches to managing daily predatory emails.
Conclusion
The study highlights patterns in predatory email reception based on age and academic status, emphasizing the importance of considering academic productivity in understanding the prevalence of predatory solicitations.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants holding a PhD receive more than 10 predatory emails per week compared to those without a PhD.
- Older individuals are more likely to block predatory emails.
- Medical students receive fewer predatory emails than attending physicians.
Takeaway
Doctors get a lot of spam emails from fake journals, especially if they have advanced degrees, and older doctors tend to block more of these emails.
Methodology
A Google Form survey was designed and disseminated to collect personal experiences of physicians regarding predatory publishing from September 2021 to April 2022.
Potential Biases
Self-reporting may lead to inaccuracies in recalling experiences.
Limitations
The study relies on self-reported data, which may introduce recall bias, and the survey was not pre-tested or validated.
Participant Demographics
Participants included medical students, post-MD trainees, and attending physicians from 58 countries.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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