Library Class and Subject Guides: Scholarly Communication: Predatory Publishing and Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Predatory Publishing and Article Process Charges (APCs)

In 2012, Jeffrey Beall wrote “journals that exploit the author-pays model damage scholarly publishing and promote unethical behavior” (Beall, 2012).

Predatory publishers take advantage of authors by charging outrageous fees to publish a work quickly online without following standard peer-review practices or editorial processes like traditional journals. Some predatory publishers may even take a publishing fee but never publish the article or publish a work under a different person's name. Predatory publishers will go to great lengths to create a journal that appears legitimate, with flashy sites with logos, editorial boards (where some people do not even know they are on a board), inaccurate or misleading metrics and impact factors, and claims to be indexed in major databases or in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

However, it is a myth that all online, open access or online journals charging fees are created by predatory publishers. Just because a journal is open or online does not automatically make a it predatory. here are a number of scholarly online and/or open access journals that assess an article processing charge (APC) as a means of providing more open and immediate access to journal articles. Such charges can range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands, and some open access journals charge no fees.

So what can you do to evaluate publishers? Here are just a few resources for you to consider:

Dear Esteemed Author: Spotting a Predatory Publisher in 10 Easy Steps
A blog post from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine that describes 10 things to consider when evaluating a scholarly journal
Directory of Open Access Journals
A community-curated list of open access journals and a good starting point for identifying quality, peer reviewed open access material. DOAJ also provides a "Best Practices" for publishers, which can be useful when evaluating journals for quality.
Harzing's Journal Quality List
This collated list of quality journals is based upon nearly 20 different rankings of more than 900 journals.
Journal Guide
JournalGuide uses a “whitelist” approach, indexing known journals of quality and providing information on scope, how quickly the journal reviews and publishes papers, where the journal is indexed, open access options, page charges and more. JournalGuide also provides links directly to a journals “instructions for authors” page.
Open Access Journal Quality Indicators
Developed by Grand Valley State University Libraries, these guidelines can help one evaluate open access publications as one considers appropriate publication venues, or invitations to serve as reviewers or editors.
Predatory Online Journals Lure Scholars Who Are Eager to Publish
Article from the 2012 Chronicle of Higher Education.
Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing
When considering submitting a work to a journal, ask yourself: Does the journal you are submitting to follow these principles? Is there anything missing or inaccurate?
Think. Check. Submit.
A coalition of scholarly publishers and associations collaborated to create this short checklist for authors to refer to when evaluating a journal as a possible place of publication for his research. By asking a few short questions and evaluating the journal according to the checklist, authors can be assured that the journal they are considering, whether subscription based or open access, will be one of quality, rigor, and respect.