Do editorial board members publish in their own journal? Review of editorial board members as authors in the main foot and ankle journals

Abstract

Background: Scientific publications by editorial board members in their own journals raise questions about potential biases in the peer-review process. This study investigates the prevalence of self-publishing in high-impact factor foot and ankle focused journals. Methods: A review was performed of the highest impact factor foot and ankle focused journals: Foot and Ankle International, Foot and Ankle Surgery y Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery. In January 2023, the editorial board members were identified, and their names, roles, academic backgrounds, and regions were obtained. For each board member, the number of total published articles listed in PubMed and those for each corresponding journal over their entire history, during the last 5 years and during the last 3 years were compiled. Descriptive statistics analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v26.0. Results: The study included 196 editorial board members from the 3 selected journals. Editorial board members have published 1694 articles in their own journals (9.17% of all the articles published in those 3 journals). Editorial board members published 23.4% (SD 23.6) of their overall production in their affiliated journals. Of that production, 39.0% (SD 38.6) have been published in the last 5 years, considering this 5-year period as the baseline for their role on the editorial board in question. Some 10% of editorial board members have published more than 50% of their scientific production in their own affiliated journal in the last 5 years. European editors (51%) have published more in their own journal over the last 5-year period than North Americans (29%) (p<0.001). Being a surgeon is related to greater publication rates in one own affiliated journal when compared to other specialist profiles (p=0.003). Conclusion: The publication scientific articles by editorial board members as authors in journals with which they are affiliated is a present-day phenomenon in the highest impact factor journals with a focus on the foot & ankle. Knowledge of this data could be the key to understanding the prevalence of this phenomenon, and lead to making this data more accessible.