Open Access and Scholarly Communication

There are several ways that you can check the quality of an open access journal for publishing your research:

• The journal is listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. DOAJ is a reputable list of peer reviewed open access journals.
• The publisher is a member of a reputable industry organization such as the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)
• The journal adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, jointly issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the DOAJ, the OASPA, and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
• The journal is widely indexed and discoverable in databases like PubMed Central, MEDLINE, and Scopus.
• The journal's website for such information as:
  • An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)
  • A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for each article
  • The journal's scope, affiliation with a university or professional organization, and editorial board credentials.
  • Publishing fees and copyright policies, which should be clearly indicated. (For more information about your rights as an author, see the Copyright and Authors Rights page

According to predatoryjournals.org, a website developed by scholars to help identify them, "predatory journals use a range of tactics to lure unsuspecting authors, often targeting early-career researchers or those under pressure to publish." They list seven red flags, and below each I offer an example from experience at Adelphi:

1. Aggressive Spam Campaigns
   • Example: unsolicited emails from editors asking for contributions to a special issue
2. Hidden Fees and Financial Secrecy
   • Example: pressuring authors to pay the APC quickly and charging authors to withdraw articles from consideration if the APC is not paid.
3. Sham Peer Review
   • Example: promise to complete the review process in  a month or less, making the journal attractive to early-career researchers with approaching deadlines for tenure, promotion, and reappointment.
4. Fake Editorial Boards
   • Example: researchers from prestigious universities are falsely listed as editors and no contact information is provided.
5. Misleading Claims About Impact
   • Example: claiming to be indexed in Google Scholar even though GS is not an index and no vetting takes place as at actual indexers like Web of Science, Scopus, or the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
6. Unprofessional Websites
   • Example: site has a lot of shallow or duplicative information and non-professional email accounts are listed for contacts.
7. Publishing Anything, Anytime
   • Example: subject matter of journal is overly broad so as to ensure nearly all submissions can be deemed acceptable, and the journal publishes continually throughout the year, rather than in individual issues, so as to maximize revenue.