It is an unfortunate fact that not every publisher in the publishing world has altruistic intent. There is a subset of what are referred to as "predatory publishers" who will accept your open access fees and "publish" your work but have no credibility or standing in the scholarly world.
Some key things to watch out for where predatory publishing is involved:
- Lack of Peer Review - articles are accepted and published with little or no peer review or quality control, sometimes including nonsensical or hoax papers.
- Aggressive Solicitation - predatory publishers frequently send unsolicited emails to researchers, urging them to submit articles or join editorial boards, often unrelated to the recipient's expertise.
- Hidden or Inflated Fees - fees can be much higher than initially indicated and are generally hidden from public view.
- Deceptive Practices - these publishers may mimic the names or websites of reputable journals, list fake or unauthorized editorial board members, falsely claim high impact factors or indexing in respected databases, and even change your manuscript without telling you.
- Lack of Transparency - contact information, ownership, and editorial policies are often unclear or undisclosed.
