I write this blog post to warn researchers in the bio-medical sciences about the publisher Insight Medical Publishing. It’s a dangerous publisher that should be avoided at all cost.
iMedPub is a stealthy publisher that hides its name on the individual journal websites to make it harder to determine which publisher owns the journal, harder to determine that each journal, through its publisher, is included on my list.
They publish 123 journals and they spam a lot. The firm is owned by OMICS Group, which has apparently recently changed its name to OMICS International. OMICS, through its many brands of journals and conferences, has been victimizing researchers since 2008.
Insight Medical Publishing has cleverly copied from Elsevier’s medical journals. Note here how they’ve lifted the aims and scope statement from one of the Elsevier journals, using the “article spinning” technique, replacing words and phrases with synonymous ones:
Elsevier’s Preventive Medicine’s Original Scope & Aims: (http://www.journals.elsevier.com/preventive-medicine)
“Founded in 1972 by Ernst Wynder, Preventive Medicine is an international scholarly journal that publishes original articles on the science and practice of disease prevention, health promotion, and public health policymaking. Preventive Medicine aims to reward innovation. It will favor insightful observational studies, thoughtful explorations of health data, unsuspected new angles for existing hypotheses, robust randomized controlled trials, and impartial systematic reviews. Preventive Medicine’s ultimate goal is to publish research that will have an impact on the work of practitioners of disease prevention and health promotion, as well as of related disciplines.”
IMedPub’s Journal of Preventive Medicine “About” page: (http://preventive-medicine.imedpub.com/)
“Preventive Medicine is a global intellectual journal that encourages prompt publication of original articles on the science and practice of disease hindrance, health promotion, and public health policymaking. Preventive Medicine aims to reward innovation. It will favor perceptive empiric studies, thoughtful explorations of health knowledge, and unsuspected new angles for existing hypotheses, sturdy randomised controlled trials, and impartial systematic reviews. Preventive Medicine’s final goal is to publish research work that may have an impression on the work of practitioners of disease hindrance and health promotion, furthermore as of connected disciplines.”
Spam
This publisher sends out what must amount to millions of spam emails, chiefly to researchers in the health sciences. The spam emails are poorly written, use fake names, and pressure recipients to submit an article quickly to beat an artificial deadline. Here’s an example:
From: Editor- Acta Psychopathologica
Date: 17 Dec 2015 10:06:44 CET
To:
Dear Dr. [Redacted],
Greetings from our Editorial office.
We have contacted you earlier through email. Since we have not received any response from you regarding your submission, we are taking the liberty of resending the invitation as we are aware that you may be engaged in other activities or my message may not have successfully reached you.
We would like to invite you to submit a paper for publication in the upcoming issues for Acta Psychopathologica Journal. Mini Reviews/Research/ Review/ Case Reports/ Short Communication/ Conference proceedings/ Rapid Communications/ Commentaries/ Editorials/ Book reviews etc., are welcome for possible publication in this issue.
If possible, we would appreciate receiving your submission by December 28th, 2015 or please let us know your feasible date to submit the manuscript.
Please submit your article online at http://www.editorialmanager.com/imedpub/ or send as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at psychopathology@imedpub.org
The quick submission will result in fast review process and publications. The accepted articles will be shelved for new issue release according to the editors and reviewers response.
We look forward to your quick response for the good scientific approach and study.
With Kind Regards,
Alice Nichols
Editorial Assistant
Acta Psychopathologica Journal
This spam for the iMedPub journal Acta Psychopathologica is meant to confuse readers with the Elsevier journal Acta Psychologica. OMICS International tries to trick researchers in every way possible. The name appearing at the end of the spam email above — Alice Nichols — is made up.
OMICS International licenses and uses the journal management software called Editorial Manager from Aries Systems Corporation and sometimes uses the “editorialmanager.com” email address for its spam campaigns.
History
OMICS International apparently purchased this publisher from a Spanish company within the past few years; the exact date is unknown. After the purchase, OMICS changed the name from Internet Medical Publishing to its current name.
The Spanish firm continues to use the name Imed.pub and publishes eight open-access journals.
IMed.pub is also included on my list of questionable publishers. One of its journals, International Archives of Medicine, was the one that accepted the fake chocolate-helps-you-lose-weight study in 2015.
Conclusion
I strongly advise all researchers to avoid all 123 journals published by Insight Medical Publishing and to avoid all services and products of OMICS International. It is a horrible company bent on victimizing honest researchers through deceit and pressure.
Hat tip: Dr. Eduardo Franco
Appendix: Insight Medical Publishing journals as of 2015-12-17:
1.Acta Psychopathologica
2.Acta Rheumatologica
3.Advances in Influenza Research
4.Annals of Behavioural Science
5.Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Research
6.Archives in Cancer Research
7.Archives of Clinical Microbiology
8.Archives of Inflammation
9.Archives of Medicine
10.Archivos de Medicina
11.Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Journal
12.Biomarkers Journal
13.Cellular & Molecular Medicine: Open access
14.Chemical Informatics
15.Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Open access
16.Clinical & Experimental Orthopaedics
17.Clinical Pediatric Dermatology
18.Clinical Psychiatry
19.Colorectal Cancer: Open Access
20.Critical Care Obstetrics and Gynecology
21.Current Trends in Nutraceuticals
22.Diversity & Equality in Health and Care
23.Dual Diagnosis: Open Access
24.Electronic Journal of Biology
25.Fisheriessciences.com
26.Gynecology & Obstetrics Case report
27.Head and Neck Cancer Research
28.Health Science Journal
29.Health Systems and Policy Research
30.Hepatitis
31.Herbal Medicine: Open Access
32.HIV & Retro Virus
33.Hospital & Medical Management
34.Insights in Chest Diseases
35.Insights in Allergy
36.Insights in Analytical Electrochemistry
37.Insights in Biomedicine
38.Insights in Blood Pressure
39.Insights in Cell Science
40.Insights in Clinical Neurology
41.Insights in Medical Physics
42.Insights in Neurosurgery
43.Insights in Pediatric Cardiology
44.Insights in Stem Cells
45.International Journal of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
46.International Journal of Applied Biology and Pharmaceutical Technology
47.International Journal of Collaborative Research on Internal Medicine & Public Health
48.International Journal of Digestive Diseases
49.International Journal of Drug Development and Research
50.Interventional Cardiology Journal
51.Invasive Cardiology: Future Medicine
52.JOP: Journal of the Pancreas
53.Journal of Adenocarcinoma
54.Journal of Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery
55.Journal of Animal Nutrition
56.Journal of Autoimmune Disorders
57.Journal of Biomedical Sciences
58.Journal of Bone Reports & Recommendations
59.Journal of Cellular & Molecular Pathology
60.Journal of Childhood & Developmental Disorders
61.Journal of Childhood Obesity
62.Journal of Clinical & Experimental Nephrology
63.Journal of Clinical and Molecular Endocrinology
64.Journal of Clinical Developmental Biology
65.Journal of Clinical Epigenetics
66.Journal of Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics
67.Journal of Contraceptive Studies
68.Journal of Cryophysics
69.Journal of Diabetes Medication & Care
70.Journal of Drug Abuse
71.Journal of Eye & Cataract Surgery
72.Journal of Headache & Pain Management
73.Journal of Health & Medical Economics
74.Journal of Healthcare Communications
75.Journal of Heavy Metal Toxicity and Diseases
76.Journal of HIV & Retro Virus
77.Journal of Imaging and Interventional Radiology
78.Journal of In Silico & In Vitro Pharmacology
79.Journal of Infectious Diseases and Treatment
80.Journal of Informatics and Data Mining
81.Journal of Intensive and Critical Care
82.Journal of Medical Toxicology and Clinical Forensic Medicine
83.Journal of MPE Molecular Pathological Epidemiology
84.Journal of Neonatal Studies
85.Journal of Neoplasm
86.Journal of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences
87.Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience
88.Journal of Neuropsychiatry
89.Journal of Obesity & Eating Disorders
90.Journal of Organic & Inorganic Chemistry
91.Journal of Orthodontics & Endodontics
92.Journal of Pediatric Care
93.Journal of Pharmaceutical Microbiology
94.Journal of Prevention and Infection Control
95.Journal of Preventive Medicine
96.Journal of Rare Disorders: Diagnosis & Therapy
97.Journal of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
98.Journal of Scientific and Industrial Metrology
99.Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
100.Medical & Clinical Reviews
101.Medical case reports
102.Medical Mycology: Open Access
103.Mental Health in Family Medicine
104.Molecular Enzymology and Drug Targets
105.Nano Research & Applications
106.Neuro-Oncology: Open Access
107.Pediatric Emergency Care and Medicine: Open Access
108.Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Open Access
109.Periodontics and Prosthodontics: Open Access
110.Polymer Sciences Polymer Sciences
111.Quality in Primary Care
112.Rehabilitation & Physical Medicine
113.Reproductive Immunology: Open Access
114.Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Open Access
115.Skin Diseases & Skin Care
116.Spine Research
117.Stroke Research & Therapy
118.Structural Chemistry & Crystallography Communication
119.Translational Biomedicine
120.Trauma & Acute Care
121.Trends in Green Chemistry
122.Universal Surgery
123.Vitiligo & Dermatomyositis
By: Jeffrey Beall
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Source: Scholarly Open Access
Comments:
Ivy Willow says:
December 29, 2015 at 11:11 AM
Thank you for this. I just recently followed your blog, but I’ve been reading on it for a while now. I’m not a researcher or super proficient in reading studies, but this has helped me extensively in finding reliable resources and staying away from others. I like debunking pseudoscientific things, and your blog has been such a necessary help. ^.^ I’m sure others get even more use out of it than I do. Thank you so, so much for this ^.^
Have a beautiful day sunshine!
herr doktor bimler says:
December 29, 2015 at 1:52 PM
What a coincidence! Only yesterday I checked my spam folder and found an invitation to contribute to Clinical Psychiatry, iMedPub’s latest aspirational imprint… although the link in the e-mail leads to a different journal, International Journal of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine (they don’t seem to work very hard to customise the spam).
The Assistant Editor prefers the anonymity of an initial rather than a last name, because that really shouts out ‘credibility’ and ‘integrity’:
Kavya M
One Commerce Center 1201
Orange St #600 | City Wilmington
Delaware | USA
But after the discouragingly florid beginning to the message, I was not inclined to put much credence into the Delaware address:
Greetings!!!
Hope you are doing well!!!
We are glad to find you here.
Well, yes, I am glad to find me here too.
Everything on the webpage was plagiarized shamelessly from other sources, except the “Recommended Conferences” list, which proves to be devoted entirely to OMICS mockademic meetings. In fact I’d go as far as to suggest that OMICS is shifting focus to the Scam Conference as a primary revenue racket, and that the iMedPub stable of websites put more emphasis on advertising the conferences than on soliciting publication fees.
L_C says:
December 29, 2015 at 3:25 PM
I wouldn’t put much credence into that address either. Their US address in Delaware belongs to an LLC formation group (https://www.incnow.com) and their UK address in London, found on the ‘contact us’ page, belongs to a company that provides virtual office addresses and accompanying Post Boxes (http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(prime-secretarial-services)_308230.htm). The phone number for the DE address is one commonly used by other journals belonging to OMICS and has an area code for Nevada. Of course, the actual site, is hosted by the IP address 182.18.136.108 in Telangana, Hyderabad, India.
In regards to the dubious nature of imed.pub and some of its previous connections to Insight Medical Publishing, I’d recommend reading the blog post by Matt Hodgkinson about imed.pub’s possible sock puppetry, stock photos, and other questionable practices, if you haven’t already:
http://journalology.blogspot.com/2015/08/imed-publishing-fell-for-bohannons.html
Vijay Raghavan says:
December 29, 2015 at 10:27 PM
Please read this article:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/09/nobel-winner-boycott-science-journals
The irony is, Schekman became a “crusader” only after receiving the Nobel prize. Although he is to be appreciated for his courage, there’s still some hypocrisy about him!
Looks as if Jeffrey Beall is the only true crusader around.
M. LaRocco says:
February 18, 2016 at 4:43 AM
Thank you for this invaluable web site. It seems at least twice per week lately that I’m sent an invitation from a predatory journal listed on your site. I attribute this recent flurry of invites to a recent publication of mine in a well known and reputable journal. Today it was from “Quality in Primary Care”. The invites are all very similar in content and are usually posted in the very early morning hours. Today’s sender is “enthralled” to read my recent article and invites me to submit NOW. The mailing was sent by “Neel”, an assistant editor but without an address. A link to iMed Publishing was provided. I’m amazed by these brazen scams and hope all recipients of these emails have found your site.
MGrenier, MD says:
February 23, 2016 at 1:01 PM
In addition to the aforementioned, this firm imposes a financial penalty when the researcher attempts to withdraw their publication (“a minimum of $100”). Very interesting indeed.
I walk alone says:
March 23, 2016 at 3:42 AM
This is a sister-branch of the OMICS empire. And the best thing is that they operate both the companies under one roof. Even the templates used for inviting submissions or editorial board members or whatever are similar.
Scork Crew says:
July 19, 2016 at 10:24 AM
I just received an invitation to publish in “Insights in Analytical Electrochemistry”. This line made me laugh, “you are the eminent personality to us; we would like to publish your article in our journal. Please let us know how much can you afford towards the article processing charges”. Flattering as it is, it’s hard to believe that would be written by a Gabriel Shaw in an LA office.
Gouda MD says:
September 23, 2016 at 2:51 PM
This is the recent one on OMICS and its subsidiary iMedPub
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/08/ftc-charges-academic-journal-publisher-omics-group-deceived
nadeem akhtar says:
October 6, 2016 at 8:08 AM
Thank you for such an informative message. I was getting some message to be a Editorial member of the journal.
Friederike Schlaghecken says:
December 1, 2016 at 1:03 PM
Thank you for your article – if only I had read it sooner! My co-authors and I naively submitted an article to ‘Archives of Medicine’, believing it to be a proper peer-reviewed journal. Imagine our surprise when within days, we got an acceptance letter, together with an invoice for publishing costs. Obviously, we immediately informed them that we wished to retract the submission.
That was the last we heard of it – until the action editor of another journal – to which we subsequently had submitted our manuscript – told us that their journal didn’t accept duplicate publications…
Turns out, AoM had published our paper without our consent (and without payment – they must be getting desperate). By then, the paper had been available online for months already, so now it’s thoroughly ‘burned’. We can’t submit it anywhere else, we can’t cite it, it’s a complete loss.
I strongly advise everyone to stay well away from IMed.pub!
