Predatory journals

Scholarly publishing has always been complex, but thanks to the advent of the internet, social media, and the open access movement, understanding the landscape of publishing in academia is more complicated than ever. Consider the following questions:

• Do you have to be affiliated with an institution of higher learning (a college or university) in order to publish something in a scholarly journal?
• What makes a journal "scholarly"?
  • Is it peer review?
  • Is it how many citations it gets?
  • Is it who owns it?
  • Is it something else?
• Is it better to publish in a traditional journal or an open access journal?
• What does it mean to be "open access" anyway?
  • What are the different levels of open access and how do they compare?
• Do I (or my university/employer) need to pay money up front to publish my work in a scholarly journal?

You will explore these questions and more as you work your way through the Task.