Open Access Publishing

With the increase in predatory journals, Open Access has fallen under some misconceptions. Here are a few that can be debunked: 

• Myth: OA journals are poor quality.
  • Fact: Many highly respected journals have moved to the open access model, including the Lancet, Nature, Cell, and Science. Most traditional publishers have incorporated or are beginning to incorporate an Open Access option into their publishing models.  
• Myth: Most OA journals are not peer reviewed.
  • Fact: OA journals follow peer-review procedures just like any other journal. You can judge the quality of an open access journal and its articles the same way you would any other: by reading and evaluating the content.
• Myth: OA is free for everyone. 
  • Fact: While open access articles are free for anyone to access, publishing in article in an open access publication is not always free. Authors often pay article processing charges to publish their work open access. In some fields, the cost is nothing, in others, it can be up to $2500 per article.
• Myth: OA means relinquishing intellectual property. 
  • Fact: Open access works are still protected by copyright. Most publishers allow authors to retain the copyright to their published works. Open access works often have a Creative Commons license applied to them which outline how a work can be shared and reused. In contrast, many traditional publishing models have authors sign over copyright to the publisher so that the publisher has the final say in how an article is shared. Open access gives authors more freedom to share their work more broadly. 

Predatory publishers do exist, however, not all predatory publishers are open access journals and not all open access journals are predatory. There are thousands of open access journals that are highly regarded across different fields of study and many publishers are moving towards open access models for their publication. It is important to be informed about predatory journals and the strategies they use to take advantage of the open access publication process. 

The term, "predatory publishing" was coined by Scholarly Communications Librarian, Jeffery Beale in 2012. The term describes publishers who take funds to allegedly cover researchers costs for peer review, conduct only superficial review (if any), and do not provide editorial services such as copyright. (Wikipedia article) Jeffery Beale maintained Beale's List until 2017. 

Researchers in all fields receive messages from editors or publishers of new journals, books, and research conference organizers seeking contributors every day. Unfortunately, many of these requests are from predatory publications or dubious professional groups.  There are so many of these dubious journals that it has become impossible to keep up with all the titles. Consider the text of the email and the email address as you would with a phishing email, and take time to evaluate the invitation using the strategies below.

Further reading:

Eaton, S. E. (2018). Avoiding Predatory Journals and Questionable Conferences: A Resource Guide. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary. This article provides an overview of this issue and provides useful advice for all researchers.

The A to Z list of Common Features in Email Invitations from Predatory Publishers was compiled from emails received by researchers from the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies from 2007 to 2017. 

1. Can you find and read existing articles and prior issues to assess the quality of work?  
   If you do not want your work alongside these works due to editorial or review standards, don’t submit your work. 
2. Are journal editors recognizable and eminent in your field?
   Note that some predatory journals will list experts without their consent.
3. Did the journal reach out to you?
   This can often be a red flag when a journal invites you to submit your work. These should receive greater inquiry.
4. Can you find the journal in OneSearch, Google Scholar or other well known indexes like Web of Science or JSTOR?
   If not, the journal may not meet certain publishing standards to be included in these collections. 
5. Is the publisher of the journal part of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)?
   OASPA has a code of conduct expected for members.