Understanding Unethical Publishing Practices

Avoiding unethical publishers

The best way to avoid unethical publishers is to have expectations of good service and products.

The Library Guide on Journal Evaluation Tools, which provides a lot of information on journal rankings/metrics, can help you check publisher claims (such as Impact Factors).

Think. Check. Submit. Checklist

This organization has a useful checklist that can be used to see if a journal meets basic publishing expectations. The video, linked below, walks you through the process.

Example expectations:

• Publications are regular, contain more than one article, and occur in a timely manner.
• Clear, easy-to-find statements on peer-review procedures and polices. 
• Clear, easy-to-find statements on publishing charges.
  • Example: PLOS: Publication Fees and Fee Assistance
• Clear, easy-to-find statements on which rights authors retain to their work (aka. copyright transfer procedures and licensing).
  • Example: Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts (see Copyright Information section).
• Membership with the Committee on Publication Ethics and/or with Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association.
• A digital archiving policy or statement which 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