Publishing in the Age of Open Access Journals

1. Publishing in the Age of Open
Access Journals:
Database Integrity I
Ruth Perkins
Bob Flatley
Sponsored by the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and the
Rohrbach Library

2. Definitions
• Open access (OA) – OA literature is available online to be read for
free by anyone, anytime, anywhere, without registration or other
hindrance – as long as they have internet access.
• Gold OA – journals that make all peer-reviewed articles freely
available for online reading as soon as they are published, without
requiring fees or registration to read those articles.
• Green OA – peer-reviewed articles deposited in freely available digital
repositories.
Walt Crawford, "Open-Access Journals: Idealism and Opportunism," Library Technology Reports 51, no.6 (August/September 2015):5.

3. Evaluating Journals – Warning Signs
• Unsolicited emails often with grammatical and syntax errors
• Offers of quick, hassle-free publication
• Unclear where publishing is based
• Solicitor’s email from free email service
• Walt Crawford’s List

4. Database Integrity – Lists
• DOAJ – “one stop shop for users of open access journals.” Includes
information on 10,000+ OA titles.
• Cabell's – covers 8,500 titles.
• Ulrich's – the granddaddy of periodicals directory includes listings
for over 300,000 titles.
Where not to publish:
• Beall’s List – “world’s leading authority” on predatory journals
includes lists of predatory publishers, journals, and hijacked journals.

5. Database Integrity – Citation Indexes
• SCOPUS – indexes over 20,000 journals including over 2,800 OA
Journals
✓Content Policy and Selection
• Web of Science – indexes apx. 13,000 journals and almost 5,000 in its
new ESCI database
✓Journal Selection Process
✓New Emerging Sources Citation Index has some questionable content
•Resource: Scopus - Web of Science Comparison (Canadian Health Libraries Network)

6. Database Integrity – A&I and FT Aggregators
• EBSCO – largest aggregator of journal and eBook content available
through the library, indexes tens of thousands of titles. Statement on
Predatory Publishers.
• ProQuest – another large aggregator of journals that the library uses.
• If a journal is indexed in a library database it’s a pretty safe bet that’s
it's not a predatory journal.

7. Predatory Journals in Library Databases: How Much
Should We Worry? Nerissa Nelson & Jennifer Huffman
The Serials Librarian, Volume 69, 2015 - Issue 2

8. Resources
• Open Access Library Guide
• Librarian Liaison List
• DOAJ
• Beall’s Blog
• Open-Access Journals: Idealism and Opportunism by Walt Crawford
(Restricted access - e-reserves)