Publishing

Part of creating your shortlist includes verifying the quality and legitimacy of journals. The Open Access (OA) publishing model promotes free, unlimited access to research in turn facilitating global collaboration and increasing author impact. OA journals require a publishing/author fee to publish as they do not profit from expensive subscriptions.

Unfortunately, sham OA journals aka "predatory journals" are rampant. They "exist for the sole purpose of profit, not the dissemination of high-quality research findings and furtherance of knowledge" (Berger & Cirasella, 2015). 

These can harm your scholarly reputation, promotion, and institution.

Signs of a Good OA Journal

• Indexed in bibliometric databases, such as PsycInfo, PubMed, Web of Science, & the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

• Journal website looks legit & includes:

• Editorial board information - member affiliations and emails (geographic location should be very distributed)

• Contact information - email, mailing address that goes to a legit location; contact is not just a blank web form

• Article review process described including peer-review

• No promises of instant or rapid publication

• Author fee is transparent and only required after acceptance of an article

• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Preparing a Manuscript - ICMJE has developed standards in publishing including how to structure & write a paper as well as authorship guidelines.

• Elsevier Researcher Academy - A series of online learning modules on the publishing process including research preparation, peer-review, writing for research, and more. 

• University of Maryland Writing Center - Writing Tips Video Series - series of short, helpful videos on how craft an argument, structure a paper, proofreeding, and editing. Also features time management videos such as how to carve out time for writing and limiting distractions.