Understanding Predatory Publishers

Avoiding predators

The best way to avoid a predatory publisher is to have expectations of good service and products. We'll provide some examples but you should develop your own expectations. Staff of the VDOT Research Library also have access to special tools and skills to help you evaluate specific journal titles. The library is here to help, so please contact us with your questions.  

Reasonable Expectations:

• Publications are issued on a regular basis, contain more than one article, and are issued in a timely manner.
• The publisher issues clear, easy-to-find statements on peer review procedures and polices. 
• The publisher issues clear, easy-to-find statements on publishing charges.
  • Example: PLOS: Publication Fees and Fee Assistance
• The publisher issues clear, easy-to-find statements on the rights authors or the Commonwealth retains to the work (aka copyright transfer procedures and licensing) and the rights authors or the Commonwealth relinquishes.
  • Example: Urban Planning and Transport Research (see: Instructions for Authors > Copyright Options > Read more on Publishing Agreements
• The publisher has a Membership with the Committee on Publication Ethics and/or with the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association.
• A digital archiving policy or statement that demonstrates a commitment to making your work available and accessible for a long time (i.e. what's their backup plan?).
  • Example: Elsevier: Digital Archive
  • Example: PeerJ: General FAQs (see "What is PeerJ's long-term strategy in the event it stops publishing?")

Additional Reading:

Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, which lists 16 key principles of transparency.