Are open access journals predatory?

Membership in the Directory of Open Access Journals or the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association is a good indicator that a journal is not predatory. You can check these sites to help you determine that the journal you are interested is legitimate.

Is open access predatory?

There are some questionable publishing practices from journals around the world, but “open access” does not mean “predatory.” In fact, open access publications often follow the same rigorous peer review and editing processes as many subscription journals.

Is it bad to publish in an open access journal?

Open Access (OA) publications reduce permission requirements and eliminate price barriers for readers. OA allows access for researchers, teachers, journalists, policy makers and the general public without a subscription. Many studies demonstrate that OA literature receives more citations than subscription publications.

How do you know if a journal is predatory?

What are the cons of open access journals?

OA journals have a disadvantage due to misguided perceptions of quality. Researchers and readers are hesitant to publish in or consider OA journals because they question the quality of the published work. In science and medicine, the reputation of a journal is based on the impact factor ranking system.

What is Predatory Publishing?

Why is open access bad?

Pay-to-publish OA is now the dominant form of open access and looks set to increase the cost of scholarly publishing and so worsen the affordability problem. Amongst other things, this has disenfranchised unfunded researchers and those based in the global south (notwithstanding APC waiver promises).

What is the problem with open access?

The two main problems are (1) that such journals tend to charge authors to publish, sometimes more than $1,000 for an article and (2) some some of these journals—not all by any means—may not have the highest academic standards. However, in principle there is nothing wrong and a lot right with open access: it...

Is MDPI a predatory journal?

Conversation. MDPI journals have been included in the list of predatory journals. It was about time. MDPI as a publisher of open-access scientific journals was spun off from the Molecular Diversity Preservation International organization.

Is plos predatory?

PLOS One is not considered a predatory journal. It is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS).

Is frontiers a predatory publisher?

In 2015, Frontiers Media was classified as a possible predatory publisher by Jeffrey Beall, though Beall's list was taken offline two years later in a decision that remains controversial.

Do open access journals have high impact factor?

Where open access journals do have an Impact Factor, these could be higher or lower than subscription journals in the same field. Things like the citation patterns of the subject area and type of articles published in the journal will have a significant bearing on the Impact Factor calculation.

Do open access journals reject papers?

Once the author has agreed to submit and transfer their paper to a Wiley Open Access journal, editorial decisions will be made in the usual way, i.e. accept, accept with minor revisions, major revisions requested, reject.

Who pays for open access journals?

The key solution in most open access publishing models is that authors pay for these services via so-called article processing charges (APCs).

How is open access accused of being predatory?

Predatory publishers trick authors into believing that they are legitimate publishers that offer the peer review scientists expect in their scholarly journals. These predatory publishers exploit the open access (OA) publishing model to make money from author fees by accepting most or all papers submitted to them.

What is an argument against open access publishing right now?

These include: (1) a risk that certain groups of authors will no longer be able to publish their work because of a lack of access to funding or to institutions with funding; (2) a risk that editorial decisions may be perceived as being shaped by the author's affiliation, as such affiliation may influence the ability to ...

What is the difference between open access and predatory journals?

Predatory journals rely on a business model based on APCs or publication fees, as do many reputable open access journals. However, a serious open access journal will usually charge a fee only once they have decided to accept the article based on the results of the peer review, and not in advance.

What is the controversy with PLoS ONE?

Alleged sexism in one peer review instance

The reviewer argued that the authors should "find one or two male biologists to work with" to ensure the manuscript does not drift into "ideologically biased assumptions", comments which the authors found to be "unprofessional and inappropriate" and veering into sexism.

How do you avoid predatory journals?

The websites of predatory journals will try to mimic high quality journals. Common markers to spot predatory journals include no detail of the peer review process, unclear fees, no or fake editorial boards and lies about indexing. More help on this later.

Is it okay to publish in a predatory journal?

Predatory Journal Lists

Predatory publishers use questionable tactics to profit from scholarly research. They exploit faculty and students by soliciting articles (often through spam emails) and usually request payment for publishing in advance. And, of course, the quality of the journals is sub par.

Is Elsevier reputable?

Elsevier is a leading publisher of some of the most well-respected science journals in the world. Hence publishing a research in Elsevier will be widely disseminated. Because of this, Elsevier journals are a smart choice for scientific authors. Elsevier journals also have a high journal impact factor overall.

Is MDPI a predatory publisher 2023?

In response to all their journals being added to Predatory Reports list MDPI issued a statement (14 Mar 2023). The response opens with “Scholars have reported a suspicious website (predatoryreports.org) that has made false claims against the legitimacy of MDPI journals.

What is the best predatory journal?

European Science Review ranks first in the list of predatory journals in which 20% of the predatory research papers were published, followed by European Applied Sciences (5%) and Austrian Journal of Technical and Natural Sciences (4%). ...

Should I publish my article open access?

Your research will have a faster and wider impact

If you publish open access, you can reach a broader audience faster. This includes educators, policymakers, and the general public. Most of them can't access costly journal subscriptions.

Should I choose open access?

Choose open access when publishing your research. Open access allows others to read your research without barriers. It also gives other researchers greater opportunity to build upon your work.

Who benefits from open access?

Open access can help your research reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library. Publishing OA can help policymakers, non-government agencies, the media, educators, and practitioners put your research into action.