Abstract
BACKGROUND The scholarly publishing paradigm is evolving to embrace innovative open access publication models. While this environment fosters the creation of high-quality, peer-reviewed open access publications, it also provides opportunities for journals or publishers to engage in unprofessional or unethical practices. LITERATURE REVIEW Faculty take into account a number of factors in deciding where to publish, including whether or not a journal engages in ethical publishing practices. Librarians and scholars have attempted to address this issue in a number of ways, such as generating lists of ethical/unethical publishers and general guides. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT In response to growing faculty concern in this area, the Grand Valley State University Libraries developed and evaluated a set of Open Access Journal Quality Indicators that support faculty in their effort to identify the characteristics of ethical and unethical open access publications. NEXT STEPS Liaison librarians have already begun using the Indicators as a catalyst in sparking conversation around open access publishing and scholarship. Going forward, the Libraries will continue to evaluate and gather feedback on the Indicators, taking into account emerging trends and practices.
Highlights
At the Grand Valley State University Libraries, we have developed a set of Open Access Journal Quality Indicators with the goal of providing a resource to enable faculty to evaluate open access publications
The Indicators go on to acknowledge the complexity of open access publishing and its many models, including the unethical practices of predatory open access journals
This is followed by a purpose statement: the Indicators are guidelines designed “to help [the researcher] evaluate open access publications as [he or she] consider[s] appropriate publication venues, or invitations to serve as reviewers or editors.”
Summary
While this environment fosters the creation of high-quality, peer-reviewed open access publications, it provides opportunities for journals or publishers to engage in unprofessional or unethical practices. Whether a journal charges authors to publish or not, researchers need strategies for identifying high quality open access publications. This is clearly articulated in a statement from the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA): “the publishing community needs stronger mechanisms to help identify reliable and rigorous journals and publishers, regardless of Received: 01/28/2014 Accepted: 03/31/2014. At the Grand Valley State University Libraries, we have developed a set of Open Access Journal Quality Indicators (the Indicators) with the goal of providing a resource to enable faculty to evaluate open access publications
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