Publishing Tips

What is open access (OA) publishing? 

• An open access journal is a scholarly journal that provides free and unrestricted access to its content - meaning users can not only read an article for free, but can also download, copy, and distribute the article without violating copyright. 

Purpose:

• Promote access to knowledge, foster collaboration, accelerate scientific progress, and encourage greater public engagement with research
• Overcome barriers of traditional publishing models where access is often restricted to subscribers of academic journals or institutions with high subscription costs
  • Funders (including American taxpayers) invest in research to advance human knowledge and ultimately improve lives. Open Access increases the return on that investment by ensuring the results of the research they fund can be read and built on by anyone (SPARC) 

About OA fees:

• Common misconception that open access fees are "pay to publish" - this is not the case
• Traditional journals cover publishing costs through subscriptions or pay-per-view charges (i.e., the reader pays) vs OA journal costs are covered through author fees, public funding, or sponsorships
• OA author fees (processing fees) can be very pricey - just like journal subscription costs - however, fee amounts do not equate to journal legitimacy (see the explanation for a predatory/unethical journal below)

Why publish using the open access model?

• Creates increased visibility, wider readership, and enhanced research impact
• Increased citation and usage - readers can access your research for free - no journal subscription needed - no barriers
• Compliance with funder mandates
  • research funders have already paid for the research, they should not have to pay to obtain the results (i.e. through journal subscriptions or pay-to-view costs)
• Option to maintain copyright control over your work
  • when authors sign the Author Agreement under traditional publishing models, the copyright for the work is signed over to the publisher
• Rigorous peer review (same as traditional publishing)

Hymenopus coronatus (Orchid Mantis) by Total Kamoki (License CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

What is a predatory publisher or predatory journal?

• aka fraudulent, deceptive, or pseudo-journals exploit the open access publishing model which relies on author fees to make research freely available. These publishers charge author processing fees but do not fulfill their end of the bargain by providing the editorial, peer review, and publishing services that ensure the quality and legitimacy that reputable academic journals provide.