Evaluating OA publishers and journals is similar to evaluating traditional journals.
"Predatory publishing, also write-only publishing[1][2] or deceptive publishing,[3] is an exploitative academic publishing business model that involves charging publication fees to authors without checking articles for quality and legitimacy, and without providing editorial and publishing services that legitimate academic journals provide, whether open access or not. "(Wikipedia, February 2022)
Here are some standard checks for legitimacy for publishers and journals:
- OASPA Membership - is a signal that the publisher is committed to standards set by membership with follow COPE standards of conduct.
- Is the journal indexed in bibliometric databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and others. You can cross-check where a journal is indexed using Ulrich's Periodical Directory.
- What is their profit model?
- Is the journal's website is comprehensive & includes the following information:
- Editorial board information including member affiliations and emails (geographic location should be very distributed)
- Contact information including a mailing address that goes to a legit location; contact is not just a blank web form
- Description of the article review process including peer-review
- No promises of instant or rapid publication
- Article processing fee is transparent and only required after acceptance of an article
- Did they solicit your article or chapter? Scammers looking to make a quick buck will often send phishing emails to junior faculty and graduate students whom they know are eager to publish. Chances are, unless you are a recognized expert in your field, these emails are spam, don't reply.
Use this checklist tool THINK>CHECK>SUBMIT for journals and books
Download a printable checklist > Checklist for Assessing Journal Authenticity
Still not sure, contact your library liaison for assistance.
