Barriers to publishing in biomedical journals perceived by a sample of French researchers: results of the DIAzePAM study

As publishing is essential but competitive for researchers, difficulties in writing and submitting medical articles to biomedical journals are disabling. The DIAzePAM (Difficultés des Auteurs à la Publication d'Articles Médicaux) survey aimed to assess the difficulties experienced by researchers in the AP-HP (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, i.e., Paris Hospitals Board, France), the largest public health institution in Europe, when preparing articles for biomedical journals. The survey also aimed to assess researchers' satisfaction and perceived needs. A 39-item electronic questionnaire based on qualitative interviews was addressed by e-mail to all researchers registered in the AP-HP SIGAPS (Système d'Interrogation, de Gestion et d'Analyse des Publications Scientifiques) bibliometric database. Between 28 May and 15 June 2015, 7766 researchers should have received and read the e-mail, and 1191 anonymously completed the questionnaire (