The open-access publisher Dove Medical Press has a controversial past and I have written about the company on a number of occasions.
When Dove was acquired by Taylor & Francis last September it was assumed (by me at least) that controversy had become a thing of the past for the publisher.
Seven months after the purchase, however, a medical technology company called Minerva Surgical took the unusual step of publishing a press release alleging that a paper published in Dove’s International Journal of Women’s Health makes “material misleading statements” about the nature of a study funded by a rival in “clear violation of the COPE guidelines.” As a result, Minerva said, the paper should be retracted immediately.
To discuss this latest incident, Dove’s background, and some of the “historical issues” the publisher has faced, Taylor & Francis’ Director, Medicine and Open Access Deborah Kahn, agreed to do a Q&A with me, which I have published on Open & Shut?.
Of the latest controversy Kahn says, “our investigations show that the peer review was carried out to high standards and that the journal behaved well, and the authors responses have satisfied us that the complaints are unfounded.”
On the historical issues, she adds, the naysayers were wrong to have doubted Dove’s probity. “We went through very detailed due diligence, carrying out an extremely thorough process, when we acquired Dove Medical Press. We were satisfied that, after some historical issues, improvements had been made to their peer review process working with the OASPA membership team … Eight months on from our acquisition, Dove are performing well in all areas, we remain confident that we got value for money, and are delighted that they are part of Taylor & Francis Group.”
The interview with Deborah Kahn can be read here: https://poynder.blogspot.com/