Medical Library

Open Access and Predatory Publishing

Open Access

What is Open Access?

What you should know before submitting your work for publication

Open Access (OA) publishing is a relatively new concept to academic publishing that continues to gain traction, especially in areas of research largely supported with public funds. But what exactly makes a journal Open Access, and when should you choose to publish in an OA journal over a traditional journal? The following video describes the differences between traditional and open access publishing, the factors you should consider when deciding the type of journal in which you would like to publish your work, and provides a quick overview of the characteristics of a respectable OA journal.

Related Resources:

SIU Open Access Policy
The website for SIUC's OA policy, which related forms and waivers as well as instructions on how to submit articles to openSIUC (our institutional repository).
Open SIUC
Southern Illinois University's institutional repository, where faculty and other SIU researchers can (and should!) deposit their publications and other projects. OpenSIUC offers "permanent, reliable, and free access to research and scholarly material produced at Southern Illinois University Carbondale."

Predatory Publishing

Identifying Predatory Publishers

How to leap into open access publishing without getting bitten

One of the most common problems researchers have when preparing a manuscript for publication is deciding where to submit their work. In recent years the number of "predatory," or exploitative, open-access journals has proliferated, which has added higher stakes to an already stressful process. The following video describes characteristics of predatory publishers and the factors you should take into consideration when evaluating a journal.

Related Resources:

Predatory Publisher Checklist and Example Solicitation
A helpful checklist of what to look for when evaluating a journal for article submission, with an annotated example of an e-mail solicitation from a predatory publisher.

Cabell's Predatory Reports
"Cabells is the complete source for journal info, evaluation metrics, and submission details." This is a subscription-based resource that requires an SIU login from off campus.
Stop Predatory Journals
After Beall's list of predatory journals was taken down in January 2017, a small group of scholars and information professionals anonymously rebuilt, and continue to maintain, the list.
Journals Currently Indexed in MEDLINE
Search this list to see if the journal is currently indexed in MEDLINE, a trustworthy index of biomedical journals. If the journal is included in MEDLINE it's most likely a reputable journal. If it isn't that doesn't necessarily mean it is predatory, you will just need to do further research.
Clarivate (Web of Science) Master Journal List
Search this list to see whether a journal is indexed by Clarivate Analytics, the company that owns Web of Science. If the journal is included it is most likely a reputable journal. If it isn't that doesn't necessarily mean it is predatory, you will just need to do further research.
Journals indexed in Scopus
Search this list to see whether a journal is indexed by Scopus. If the journal is included it is most likely a reputable journal. If it isn't that doesn't necessarily mean it is predatory, you will just need to do further research.
The Library does NOT provide access to the Scopus database, but their list of included journals is publicly available.
Journals indexed by Embase
This page includes download links to lists of journals and conferences included in Embase. If the journal is included it is most likely a reputable journal. If it isn't that doesn't necessarily mean it is predatory, you will just need to do further research.
Note: the Library does NOT provide access to Embase, but their lists of included journals and conferences are available to the public.
Think. Check. Submit.
A website available in multiple languages that was designed to "help researchers identify trusted journals for their research."

Accessing Journal Citation Reports
A PDF with instructions of how to navigate to Journal Citation Reports (JCR) from the SIU Medical Library website. JCR is a subscription resource available to SIUMedicine affiliates.

A journal's impact factor is a measure of the frequency that articles in the journal are cited. Journal Citation Reports (JCR), is the most notable source for impact factors, and many journals will include the JCR impact factor (or JIF) on their website. When evaluating a journal you should double-check that any impact factors (or other bibliometrics) they list are accurate and current, and that the measure they use is credible. For instance, the Copernicus Value is not widely accepted because it can over-inflate the score of small or little-known journals, rating them higher than top journals such as Science and Nature.

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