Peer-reviewed scientific journal publication is the cornerstone of academic evaluation and the gold standard for communicating research findings. Selecting a journal with an appropriate scope and breadth, well-respected by other scholars in the field, and widely indexed and accessible to readers is an integral part of publishing (Christopher & Young, 2015; Swanberg et al., 2020). Academic publishing has recently seen a significant shift away from traditional print publications and toward open access publication even within a highly indexed/ranked or in predatory journals and online publications (Shah & Nazar, 2020). Authors' copyright is protected by legitimate journals, which also help them become more visible (Shen & Björk, 2015). The emergence of predatory journals, however, that “exist solely for profit, rather than the dissemination of high-quality research findings and knowledge advancement,” has been an unintended consequence of this predatory model of publishing (Berger & Cirasella, 2015; Swanberg et al., 2020). Authors now have more opportunities to publish their work than ever before, but they are also more vulnerable to predatory journals (Shah & Nazar, 2020). Researchers can't afford to ignore predatory journals, predatory publishing companies, and sham conferences (Bhad & Hazari, 2015).

Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritise self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterised by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices (Gronkiewicz et al., 2019). The term “predatory journal” was first used less than ten years ago by Beall, 2016a, Beall, 2016b. Since then, the issue of predatory journals has gained much attention in the scholarly publishing community. A sizeable body of literature discussing the issues brought on by predatory journals as well as potential solutions to stop the flow of manuscripts to these journals has quickly accumulated (Lalu et al., 2017; Moher et al., 2017; Smart, 2017). Even though public awareness has grown and educational campaigns have been launched, the quantity of predatory journals and the articles those journals publish is rising quickly (Cobey, 2017). In order to advance their careers, some researchers may be tricked into submitting to predatory journals, while others may do so covertly (Kolata, 2017).

One of the most recent threats to academic publishing's integrity has emerged from predatory journals (Choudhary & Kurien, 2019). Jeffrey Beall coined the term “predatory journals” after compiling a list of predatory journals. One such initiative addressing this issue is Beall's “List of Predatory Publishers” (Beall, 2018). Predatory publishers and journals make unethical profits from the author-pays publishing model. Predatory journals and publishers put self-interest ahead of scholarship, and they are distinguished by the use of false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publishing practices, a lack of transparency, and aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices (Shah & Nazar, 2020).

Predatory journals can be identified using a variety of warning signs (Bhad & Hazari, 2015; Fitzpatrick, 2015). Many academics receive solicitation emails almost daily from predatory journals, inviting them to submit articles to the journals and promising a quick turnaround time from submission to publication. Regretfully, the line between these and authorized journals is frequently blurred, raising the possibility of authenticated studies being published in such journals (Choudhary & Kurien, 2019). Some claim to evaluate submissions within 72 h and digitally publish them upon acceptance and receipt of the fee, indicating that their sole motivation is acquiring evaluation and publication fees, as well as, predatory journals do not engage in a rigorous peer review process. Often predatory journals claim manuscripts are sent for peer review but the time for the peer review process for predatory journals is typically very brief unlike for non-predatory journals (Choudhary & Kurien, 2019). This practice has a significant impact on the quality of published research and has the potential to harm authors, institutions, and fields (Beall, 2016b; Ferris & Winker, 2017; Ross-White et al., 2019; Swanberg et al., 2020).

Editorials, commentaries, and news articles have made up the majority of the literature on predatory journals up to this point, with the intention of raising awareness of and warning against publishing in predatory journals (Beall, 2016b; Bindon, 2018; Chambers, 2019; Florczak, 2018; Masten & Ashcraft, 2016). Some studies focused on faculty attitudes toward legitimate open access journals, revealing widespread skepticism toward trusted peer-reviewed and legitimate, open access journals and these studies revealed that they believe in publishing within the legitimate journals and became confident in their research work (Gaines, 2015; Rowley et al., 2017; Woszczynski & Whitman, 2016). A few studies have explicitly focused on predatory journals with fast publication and open access without rigorous peer-review process, frequently assessing faculty attitudes and they found that faculty participants had a little knowledge regarding predatory journals and had no idea about the difference between the predatory and the legitimate journals (AlRyalat et al., 2019; Cobey et al., 2019; Kurt, 2018; Ross-White et al., 2019) and faculty knowledge of predatory journals (Cobey et al., 2018; Rawas et al., 2020). To the best of our knowledge, no study has examined knowledge, experience, and attitudes toward predatory journals all at the same time, particularly in the Saudi context.

Authors, particularly those with little or no prior experience with international publication, must be cautious when selecting potential journals for manuscript submission due to the current abundance of predatory journals. Authors should be aware of this issue before submitting their manuscripts, carefully evaluate the quality of potential journals (Butler, 2013; Forero et al., 2018), and selectively target journals and publish according to established publishing ethics norms (Choudhary & Kurien, 2019; Christopher & Young, 2015). If early-career researchers and authors are trained and mentored on how to distinguish between legitimate and predatory journals, predatory journal submissions can be decreased (Shah & Nazar, 2020; Shelomi, 2014).

It is essential, but increasingly challenging, to distinguish between legitimate and predatory journals and to come up with creative ways to stop their growth and detrimental effects on global health research (Forero et al., 2018). As a result, it is critical to determine academic educators' baseline knowledge, experience, and attitudes toward predatory journals (Swanberg et al., 2020). Raising awareness is essential for improving the quality and distribution of scientific work (Christopher & Young, 2015). The current study aims to fill this research gap.

This study aims to investigate academic nurse researchers' knowledge, experience, and attitudes regarding predatory journals.

The following were the research questions:

What gaps do academic nurse researchers' have in their knowledge of predatory journals?

What is the level of academic nurse researchers' experiences and attitudes toward predatory journals?