Figures (2)  Tables (3)
    • Figure 1. 

      Factors considered by the 424 respondents for article publication.

    • Figure 2. 

      Reasons for early warning of journals perceived by the 424 respondents.

    • CategoryOptionTotalHigh risk (n = 4)Medium risk (n = 18)Low risk (n = 4)X2/HP value
      JCR quartileQ140313.8880.692
      Q210172
      Q36150
      Q46231
      CAS quartileQ230215.0960.278
      Q39072
      Q414491
      Whether OANo10103.1600.531
      Optional8071
      Yes174103
      Publication cycle<12 editions/year605110.1380.038
      = 12 editions/year173131
      >12 editions/year3102
      2019 IFMed (P25−P75)2.58(1.727−3.422)0.902(1.88−2.656)2.705 (1.997−3.713)3.076(0.899−3.561)4.3430.114
      5-year (2014−2018) IFMed (P25−P75)2.42 (1.91−3.31)1.59 (0.76−2.34)2.71 (2.01−3.65)2.84(0.83−3.41)3.1690.205
      Global total number of articles published between 2016 and 2020Med (P25−P75)3 603.5
      (1 134.5−7 006.25)
      7 760
      (4 939.5−18 604.75)
      3 086.5
      (858−5 088.5)
      5 438.5
      (2 469−17 201.75)
      7.0780.029
      Proportion of articles authored by Chinese scholars between 2016 and 2020Med (P25−P75)74.3 (54.95−86.7)83.97 (68.07−94.33)74.94 (61.79−86.7)37.53 (12.27−54.06)9.0040.011
      2016-2020 Combined retraction rateMed (P25−P75)0.33(0.08−0.71)0.44(0.2−2.44)0.33(0.06−0.61)0.46(0.05−0.97)1.1520.562
      5-year (2014−2018) self-citation rateMed (P25−P75)0.03 (0.01−0.43)0.03 (0.01−0.15)0.03 (0.01−0.04)0.03 (0.01−0.11)0.4460.800
      2019 self-citation rateMed (P25−P75)0.04 (0.02−0.07)0.06 (0.04−0.21)0.03 (0.02−0.05)0.08 (0.04−0.16)4.8320.089
      CAS is Chinese Academy of Sciences; The sample size of 2019 IF and self-citation rate are 26. The sample size of the 5-year (2014–2018) IF and the 5-year (2014–2018) self-citation rate are 25 during 2016 to 2020 M (P25, P75).

      Table 1. 

      Characteristics of the 26 SCI indexed medical journals at different risk levels.

    • CategoryOptionNumber (persons)Ratio (%)
      Awareness of the policy of early warning journalsDon't know8620.3
      Know but don’t understand10123.8
      Know and understand a little bit17140.3
      Know and understand a lot6615.6
      Whether know the EWL or notDon’t know the EWL9823.1
      Know the EWL but don’t know the specific journals21350.2
      Know the EWL and know the journals on the list11326.7
      Will EWL affect the article submission choice?No5412.7
      Won’t consider the journals on the EWL at all16739.4
      Yes, to some extent20347.9
      The effect of EWL on boosting research integrityNo effect102.4
      Obvious effect16639.2
      Some effect24858.5
      The effect of EWL on improving journal quality managementNo effect40.9
      Some effect24156.8
      Obvious effect17942.2
      The impact of EWL on the desire to publish research outcomeNo impact11426.9
      Some impact24056.6
      Obvious impact7016.5
      The impact of EWL on selecting Chinese journals as the first choiceNo6314.9
      Yes, will consider31774.8
      Yes, first choice4410.4
      EWL is Early Warning List.

      Table 2. 

      Understanding of the policy of early warning journals by the 424 respondents.

    • Journal nameWarning levelNumber of articles published
      2019202020212022
      TotalChinese scholars n(%)TotalChinese scholars n(%)TotalChinese scholars n(%)TotalChinese scholars n(%)
      European Review for Medical and Pharmacological SciencesHigh13751129(82%)16141221(76%)1001380(38%)1186313(26%)
      International Journal of Clinical and Experimental PathologyHigh514468(91%)384336(88%)
      MedicineHigh46892897(62%)52923537(67%)45832689(59%)40792132(52%)
      International Journal of Clinical and Experimental MedicineHigh17031643(96%)12221185(97%)
      Biomedicine & PharmacotherapyMedium1431987(69%)1338995(74%)1603700(44%)1422701(49%)
      Experimental and Molecular PathologyMedium12260(49%)17488(51%)11451(45%)7431(42%)
      Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological ResearchMedium15079(53%)14890(61%)18482(45%)10823(21%)
      Cancer BiomarkersMedium149113(76%)163119(73%)13082(63%)14770(48%)
      International Journal of Immunopathology and PharmacologyMedium6427(42%)6937(54%)11438(33%)9035(39%)
      Oncology ResearchMedium117111(95%)9574(78%)3622(61%)168(50%)
      American Journal of Cancer ResearchMedium206152(74%)320222(69%)400220(55%)380225(59%)
      Medical Science MonitorMedium1126996(88%)982895(91%)535412(77%)352219(62%)
      Oncology LettersMedium15091178(78%)1196924(77%)845573(68%)466252(54%)
      Experimental and Therapeutic MedicineMedium12711069(84%)1261989(78%)14851058(71%)757479(63%)
      OncoTargets and TherapyMedium1075960(89%)11701057(90%)521391(75%)19161(32%)
      Oncology ReportsMedium608440(72%)436332(76%)378229(61%)21974(34%)
      Molecular Medicine ReportsMedium11721066(91%)846740(87%)876721(82%)370248(67%)
      International Journal of Molecular MedicineMedium455351(77%)379303(80%)288231(80%)14780(54%)
      Journal of International Medical ReSearchMedium888685(77%)12711026(81%)995759(76%)596333(56%)
      American Journal of Translational ResearchMedium636576(91%)644589(91%)14791391(94%)752672(89%)
      Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue EngineeringMedium259236(91%)280270(96%)346334(97%)326310(95%)
      Aging-USMedium889546(61%)16201252(77%)15801272(81%)658441(67%)
      LIFE SCIENCESLow908484(53%)1300713(55%)1320576(44%)817208(25%)
      Journal of Clinical MedicineLow223031(1%)413339(1%)598667(1%)7535517(7%)
      International Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthLow51641376(27%)95941728(18%)134291857(14%)170894099(24%)
      Acta Medica MediterraneaLow555409(74%)607485(80%)629505(80%)623555(89%)

      Table 3. 

      Data of Published articles in 26 warning medical journals from 2019 to 2022.