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Open Access (in English)

Choosing a publishing channel for scholarly articles

Be careful when selecting a publishing channel for an article if the publishing channel is previously unknown. The reliability of open access journals can be assessed in the same way as for traditional scientific publications. At least these should be checked:

  • How is the publisher's contact information shown on the website?
  • Does the publishing channel have an ISSN-number?
  • Is there any information on the journal e.g. in DOAJ, Publication Forum?
  • Possibility of parallel publishing and required embargo
  • Have other researchers in your field published in the journal?
  • Quality of previous articles in the journal
  • How is peer review organized?
  • Which are the members of the journal's editorial staff?
  • Is the journal indexed in central databases within the field (e.g. Web of Science and Scopus)?

Always watch out for predatory publishers!

Scams in open access publishing

Some publishers may have dubious publishing motives. These so-called vanity publishers or predatory publishers use researchers by collecting publishing fees without peer-reviewing the publications. Such publishers send out lots of enticing junk mail offers to get scientists to do all the work for them while they are only interested in money.  

It is important to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the open-access journal in which you intend to publish your article.
The scientific community also discusses extensively with publishers on the net, and it's worthwhile to do a simple Google search and check ongoing discussions on the matter.

Nature magazine: Investigating journals: The dark side of publishing 

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