Predatory Publishing
If you are doing research and your name and email address is on the website of your university or institution, you are at risk of being targeted by predatory publishers and become the victim of fraudulent publishing practices.
A predatory publisher typically operates by impersonating a journal editor or publisher and invites you to submit to the journal, to publish your work in Open Access, in return for a fee. Upon receipt of the payment, the journal editor will disappear and leave your work unpublished. No peer review or other editorial services are provided.
A checklist to avoid predatory practices:
- Check the journal title: predatory journals often have a title resembling an important title in your field, but slightly different
- Check the editor and their contact details; beware of email addresses with .org / .eu / .nu
- Check the publisher and verify that they are a member of OASPA, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association
- Verify that the journal is included in the Directory of Open Access Journals
Think Check Submit offers more detailed information on this topic, and can help you with a more thorough check.