Doubt about quality and quality-control is one reason authors may be reluctant to publish in OA journals.
Peer review
- The open access movement was founded on scholarly, peer reviewed content.
- Most OA journals are peer reviewed.
- The peer review process in OA journals has the same quality control as in traditional journals.
- Many hybrid journals only take payment after manuscript has been accepted.
- This avoids any perceived influence or conflict of interest.
Prestige & quality
- Prestige and reputation build over time; most OA journals are relatively new.
- A lack of prestige does not in itself preclude quality.
- OA journals vary in quality in the same way as subscription-based journals.
- The prestige of authors, editors and referees impact on journal quality.
- Apply the same criteria to judge quality as when selecting from traditional publishers.
"Predatory" publishers
- Some publishers may claim to produce scholarly, OA journals but in fact produce low-quality, profit-driven journals via unethical practices.
- These journals take advantage of researchers’ need to publish.
- Predatory publishers may scam publication fees and falsely claim that they provide peer-review.
- Researchers need to be wary of low-quality in both open access and traditional publishers.
Courtesy of Curtin University Library