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OA journals: quality and legitimacy
When deciding whether to submit a manuscript to an open access journal, consider both the journal's quality and legitimacy.
Quality
A common concern among authors is that open access journals are of lower quality because they charge publication fees. In fact, as of mid-2020, only about 27% of journals listed in the DOAJ charge fees (though about half of all OA articles are published in fee-collecting journals). By way of comparison, most subscription journals charge processing fees of one sort or another (e.g. page charges).
There are now many high-quality open access journals that are well-regarded in their fields.
As Peter Suber writes in the SPARC Open Access Newsletter, "The key variables in journal quality are excellent authors, editors, and referees. OA journals can use the same procedures and standards, and the same people—the same authors, editors, and referees—as TA [toll access, i.e. subscription] journals."
Quality, however, is not the same thing as prestige. Suber notes, "If most OA journals are lower in prestige than most TA journals, it's not because they are OA. A large part of the explanation is that they are newer and younger. And conversely: if most TA journals are higher in prestige than most OA journals, it's not because they are TA. A large part of the explanation is that they are older or have a headstart."
In his guide How to Make Your Own Work Open Access, Suber adds:
"Don't assume that unknown journals are weak. Low profile does not entail low quality, especially when journals are new. And all OA journals are new. Most new journals, both OA and non-OA, face the vicious circle of needing excellent submissions to generate prestige, and needing prestige to attract excellent submissions. Don't fault a journal for being only partway through the process of escaping this circle. Even new journals excellent from birth need time to develop a reputation for quality matching their actual quality. When an honest, new, and little-known journal is struggling for visibility, you can help it escape the circle by submitting some of your best work. In the words of Harvard's Faculty Advisory Council on the Library (April 2012), 'move prestige to open access.'"
See the Guideliness for evaluating open access journals box below for help in evaluating a journal's quality.
Legitimacy
Apart from the question of quality is the concern that there are some so-called "predatory" open access journals that exploit the article processing charge model of open access publishing without adhering to best-practices such as rigorous peer review.
The Guideliness for evaluating open access journals box below will help you ferret out illegitimate journals; see also the resources listed in the Additional information about "predatory" open access journals box.
Guidelines for evaluating open access journals
Contact Information
Make sure that complete contact information for the publisher is available, including a street address, email, and working telephone number.
Attempt to verify this information.
Do a web search for the publisher and evaluate what you find.
Check to see if the journal has an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).
Editorial Board
Verify that members of the journal's editorial board are listed on the journal website, with affiliations and contact information included.
Evaluate to what degree they are recognized experts in the field.
Contact selected board members and ask them about their experiences with the journal.
Author Fees
Determine that a standard article fee schedule is publicly available.
Investigate whether or not the publisher waives publication fees in cases of economic hardship.
Article Quality
Sample a few articles from the journal to read. Evaluate their quality.
Search for article authors in Google Scholar or a library database to see if they have written other articles and where they were published.
Contact authors who have already published in the journal and ask them about their experience.
Peer Review Process
Make sure the journal's peer review process is clearly described on its website.
Quality Filters
Check to see if the journal is included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
- Journals included in the DOAJ must exercise quality control on submitted papers and meet additional standards of quality.
Check to see if the journal's publisher is a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publisher's Association (OASPA).
- Members of OASPA are expected to adhere to the OASPA Professional Code of Conduct.
Check to see if the journal's publisher is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
- All COPE members are expected to follow the Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.
Evaluate how well the journal meets the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, a list of criteria developed jointly by the DOAJ, OASPA, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
See also:
- Think. Check. Submit.
- Compass to Publish from University of Liège (click on the English-language icon on the top right of the screen)
- Open Access Journal Quality Indicators from Grand Valley State University Libraries.
- Walt Crawford, "Dealing with OA Journals," Library Technology Reports 51, no.6 (August/September 2015): 32-35.
- Harvard Open Access Project, How to make your own work open access.
- Cambridge University Libraries video, "How to Spot a Predatory Publisher," (23:27), 2017.
Additional information about "predatory" open access journals
- Simon Linacre, The Predator Effect: Understanding the Past, Present and Future of Deceptive Academic Journals, 2022Open access book by publishing industry veteran Simon Linacre examining the problem of deceptive academic journals.
- Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences2022 report from the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) – a global network of over 140 science, engineering and medical academies. The report is the culmination of a two-year study funded by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It sets out recommendations for a global, systemic action plan to address these pervasive and damaging practices.
- "Predatory Journals: No Definition, No Defence" Nature, 2019"Leading scholars and publishers from ten countries have agreed a definition of predatory publishing that can protect scholarship. It took 12 hours of discussion, 18 questions and 3 rounds to reach." The consensus definition reached was: “Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.”
- Gina Kolata, "Many Academics Are Eager to Publish in Worthless Journals," The New York Times, 2017Article on "predatory journals" arguing that many academics are aware of these journals' illegitimacy. "The relationship is less predator and prey, some experts say, than a new and ugly symbiosis."
- Declan Butler, "The Dark Side of Publishing," Nature, 2013A nuanced examination of poor quality OA journals and Jeffrey Beall's efforts to expose them. Contains a checklist to help researchers identify reputable publishers.
- Gina Kolata, "Scientific Articles Accepted (Personal Checks, Too)," The New York Times, 2013Article profiling researchers who encountered OA publishers of questionable legitimacy.
- John Bohannon, "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" Science, 2013Bohannon's article reveals inadequate or non-existent peer review at a number of open access journals. Many commentators have critiqued the article, noting that this was not a controlled study (i.e. it failed to examine the practices of subscription access journals and the selection of OA journals studied was not randomized — only journals that charge a fee were included). Others have drawn the conclusion that the article exposes problems with the current state of peer review in general, not with open access.
- Martin Enserink, "As Open Access Explodes, How to Tell the Good From the Bad and the Ugly?" Science, 2012Discusses research into possible quality indicators for Open Access journals.
Contact information
The URI Open Access Fund is managed by the University Libraries.
Financial support for the fund is provided by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
Reimbursements are processed through the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
University Libraries contact:
Andrée Rathemacher
(401) 874-5096
oafund-group@uri.edu
Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development contact:
Patti Correia
(401) 874-4576
pcorreia@uri.edu