Attend Upcoming Predatory Publishing Workshop

What is predatory publishing?
To understand predatory publishing, one must understand the nature of open access publishing. The open access movement is a form of scholarly publishing that moves away from traditional subscription-based models where end users must pay before they have access to full-text articles. Open access (OA) journals disseminate research output free of all restrictions on access and on use (copyright). In some OA models, fees are collected from authors to support the publishing process (e.g. copy editing) and to maintain their website.

Predatory publishers take advantage of the OA business model by charging publication fees to authors without any editorial and publishing services that are standard practices with legitimate journals (open access or subscription-based).

Why is this a problem?
Recent reports and media coverage (see below) emphasize the challenges surrounding the growth and long standing issues with predatory publishing.

Since their primary goal is to generate revenue, predatory publishers lack discernable scholarship. They also use aggressive practices that deceive both authors and readers such as emailing researchers and encouraging them to submit manuscripts with quick turnaround times and high acceptance rates. Because of the lack of transparency, it puts researchers’ work at risk. Once a study has been published in a predatory journal, it cannot be published elsewhere.

What are some strategies to avoid publishing in a predatory journal?
In light of the rise of predatory publishers in the scholarly market, this does not mean that all open access publishing should be avoided. There are many reputable open access journals that can be found through the Directory of Open Access Journals. Librarians are an excellent resource if you have questions about the credibility of a specific journal.

Want to learn more? 
There are many other strategies to help authors avoid the pitfalls of publishing in predatory journals. Register for our upcoming predatory publishing workshop on Wednesday, April 5, which will help you identify predatory publishers, differentiate them from reputable ones, and locate quality journals for your academic work.

For more information:

• Is Canadian research falling prey to predatory journals?
• A scholarly sting operation shines a light on 'predatory' journals
• Beware!  Academics are getting reeled in by scam journals