Predatory Publishing: Open Access

Open Access Publishing

According to Peter Suber (2004), the director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication,  "Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge [to the consumer], and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions".  There are two models of OA publishing:

• Hybrid Journals

  • Only OA articles are freely available

• Open Access Journals

  • All articles are freely available

Although free to the consumer, many OA journals charge Article Processing Charges (APCs) to cover editorial costs such as costs associated with peer review, maintaining a website, and preserving articles long-term.

For more information about Open Access and Copyright, please see the library's guide to Copyright and Licensing for Instructors

Predatory Publishing

Most predatory publishers are open-access publishers.  Predatory journals charge Article Processing Fees (APCs) to line their pockets.  They often will not accept a manuscript without agreement to pay (pay-to-play) and they provide very little, if any, peer review, editorial services, or long-term preservation.  Often, the APCs are considerably lower than a reputable journal.