Skip to Main Content

Scholarly Communications at Georgia Southern University

Resources and services to support faculty and graduate students' scholarly work from conception to publication and promotion

Open Access Explained!

Open Access Spectrum

DOAJ video

OA Journal Directories

Sources for Open Access Publications:

  • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) - a community-curated list of open access journals and a good starting point for identifying quality, peer-reviewed open access material. DOAJ also provides a "Best Practices" for publishers, which can be useful when evaluating journals for quality.
  • Open DOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories) [new site forthcoming]
    • OpenDOAR is an authoritative directory of academic open access repositories. Each OpenDOAR repository has been visited by project staff to check the information that is recorded here. This in-depth approach does not rely on automated analysis and gives a quality-controlled list of repositories.
  • Other resources/factors to consider:
    • transparent publishing practices and editorial control;
    • publisher is a member of: the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE);  Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA); and/or the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME);
    • journal is listed in Ulrichsweb Global Serial Directory (including data on peer-review & indexing);
    • articles have DOIs

Here are some leading indicators of predatory journals 

  • Charging exorbitant rates for publication of articles in conjunction with a lack of peer-review or editorial oversight.
  • Notifying authors of fees only after acceptance.
  • Targeting scholars through mass-email spamming in attempts to get them to publish or serve on editorial boards.
  • Quick acceptance of low-quality papers, including hoax papers.
  • Listing scholars as members of editorial boards without their permission or not allowing them to resign.
  • Listing fake scholars as members of editorial boards or authors.
  • Copying the visual design and language of the marketing materials and websites of legitimate, established journals.
  • Fraudulent or improper use of ISSNs.
  • Giving false information about the location of the publishing operation.
  • Fake, non-existent, or misrepresented impact factors.

OA Repositories

Open Access Repositories at Georgia Southern:

Other Repositories,Organizations & Neworks:

Discipline-specific e-print Archives: