Evaluating Online Scholarly Journals for Quality
When
reviewing an online academic publication, including open access
journals, for quality and legitimacy -- the following should be
considered:
reviewing an online academic publication, including open access
journals, for quality and legitimacy -- the following should be
considered:
1. Peer review process: All
of a journal’s content, apart from any editorial material that is
clearly marked as such, should be subjected to peer review. This
process, as well as any policies related to the journal’s peer review
procedures, should be clearly described on the journal’s Web site.
of a journal’s content, apart from any editorial material that is
clearly marked as such, should be subjected to peer review. This
process, as well as any policies related to the journal’s peer review
procedures, should be clearly described on the journal’s Web site.
2. Editorial Board or Other Governing Body: Journals
should have editorial boards or other governing bodies whose members
are recognized experts in the subject areas included within the
journal’s scope. The full names and affiliations of the journal’s
editors should be provided on the journal’s Web site.
should have editorial boards or other governing bodies whose members
are recognized experts in the subject areas included within the
journal’s scope. The full names and affiliations of the journal’s
editors should be provided on the journal’s Web site.
3. Author fees: Any
fees or charges that are required for manuscript processing and/or
publishing materials in the journal should be clearly stated in a place
that is easy for potential authors to find prior to submitting their
manuscripts for review or explained to authors before they begin
preparing their manuscript for submission.
fees or charges that are required for manuscript processing and/or
publishing materials in the journal should be clearly stated in a place
that is easy for potential authors to find prior to submitting their
manuscripts for review or explained to authors before they begin
preparing their manuscript for submission.
4. Copyright: Copyright
and licensing information should be clearly described on the journal’s
Web site, and licensing terms, if any, should be clearly indicated on
all published versions of the article, including HTML and PDFs. For more
on
and licensing information should be clearly described on the journal’s
Web site, and licensing terms, if any, should be clearly indicated on
all published versions of the article, including HTML and PDFs. For more
on
5. Policy and Procedure on Research Misconduct: Publishers
and editors should take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the
publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including
plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication,
among others. In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are
made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a
published article in their journal, the publisher or editor should
follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) or its equivalent in dealing with those allegations.
and editors should take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the
publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including
plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication,
among others. In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are
made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a
published article in their journal, the publisher or editor should
follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) or its equivalent in dealing with those allegations.
6. Ownership and management: Information
about the ownership and/or management of a journal should be clearly
indicated on the journal’s Web site. Publishers should not use
organizational names that would mislead potential authors and editors
about the nature of the journal’s owner.
about the ownership and/or management of a journal should be clearly
indicated on the journal’s Web site. Publishers should not use
organizational names that would mislead potential authors and editors
about the nature of the journal’s owner.
7. Web site: A
journal’s Web site, including the text that it contains, should
demonstrate that care has been taken to ensure high ethical and
professional standards.
journal’s Web site, including the text that it contains, should
demonstrate that care has been taken to ensure high ethical and
professional standards.
8. Name of journal:
The Journal name should be unique and not be one that is easily
confused with another journal or that might mislead potential authors
and readers about the Journal’s origin or association with other
journals.
The Journal name should be unique and not be one that is easily
confused with another journal or that might mislead potential authors
and readers about the Journal’s origin or association with other
journals.
9. Conflicts of interest:
A journal should have clear policies on handling potential conflicts of
interest of editors, authors, and reviewers and the policies should be
clearly stated.
A journal should have clear policies on handling potential conflicts of
interest of editors, authors, and reviewers and the policies should be
clearly stated.
10. Access:
The way(s) in which the journal and individual articles are available
to readers and whether there are associated subscription or pay per view
fees should be clearly stated.
The way(s) in which the journal and individual articles are available
to readers and whether there are associated subscription or pay per view
fees should be clearly stated.
11. Publishing schedule: The periodicity at which a journal publishes should be clearly indicated.
12. Direct marketing: Any
direct marketing activities, including solicitation of manuscripts that
are conducted on behalf of the journal, should be appropriate, well
targeted, and unobtrusive.
direct marketing activities, including solicitation of manuscripts that
are conducted on behalf of the journal, should be appropriate, well
targeted, and unobtrusive.
Explanation of Manuscript Versions
Publishers
often make distinctions between three primary versions of a manuscript
when detailing the archive or deposit rights retained by authors: the
pre-print, the post-print and the publishers version.
often make distinctions between three primary versions of a manuscript
when detailing the archive or deposit rights retained by authors: the
pre-print, the post-print and the publishers version.
Pre-print –
A pre-print is the original version of the manuscript as it is
submitted to a journal. While the authors may have sought help from
their colleagues in selecting data analysis techniques, improving
manuscript clarity, and correcting grammar, the pre-print has not been
through a process of peer review. It typically looks like a term paper –
a double spaced .doc file with minimal formatting.
A pre-print is the original version of the manuscript as it is
submitted to a journal. While the authors may have sought help from
their colleagues in selecting data analysis techniques, improving
manuscript clarity, and correcting grammar, the pre-print has not been
through a process of peer review. It typically looks like a term paper –
a double spaced .doc file with minimal formatting.
Post-print –
A post-print is a document that has been through the peer review
process and incorporated reviewers comments. It is the final version of
the paper before it is sent off the the journal for publication. It may
be missing a final copyedit (if the journal still does that) and won’t
be formatted to look like the journal. It still looks like the double
spaced .doc file. Sometimes, the term “pre-print” is used
interchangeably with “post-print,” but when it comes to permissions
issues, it is important to clarify which version of a manuscript is
being discussed.
A post-print is a document that has been through the peer review
process and incorporated reviewers comments. It is the final version of
the paper before it is sent off the the journal for publication. It may
be missing a final copyedit (if the journal still does that) and won’t
be formatted to look like the journal. It still looks like the double
spaced .doc file. Sometimes, the term “pre-print” is used
interchangeably with “post-print,” but when it comes to permissions
issues, it is important to clarify which version of a manuscript is
being discussed.
Publishers version/PDF –
This is the version of record that is published on the publishers
website. It will look quite spiffy, having been professionally typeset
by the publisher. Library databases will link to this version of the
paper.
This is the version of record that is published on the publishers
website. It will look quite spiffy, having been professionally typeset
by the publisher. Library databases will link to this version of the
paper.
Generally
speaking, publishers are more likely to be okay with authors posting
copies of pre-print versus other manuscript versions. But each journal
is different, and authors need to be aware of what they can do. The
copyright transfer agreement is the best place to find this information.
speaking, publishers are more likely to be okay with authors posting
copies of pre-print versus other manuscript versions. But each journal
is different, and authors need to be aware of what they can do. The
copyright transfer agreement is the best place to find this information.
Maintaining Your Rights as Author
When
publishing your work, you will usually be presented with a contract or
copyright transfer agreement drafted by the publisher. Many of these
publisher drafted agreements transfer copyright fully to the publisher
thereby restricting an author's subsequent usage of his or her published
work, including resuse of the work in teaching and further research. After
transferring copyright to the publisher, the author generally has
little say in how the work is later used. The result, all too often, is
that contracts restrict the dissemination of one’s scholarship and
lessen one’s impact as an author. By transferring copyright to the publisher, these agreements restrict an author from including the published work:
publishing your work, you will usually be presented with a contract or
copyright transfer agreement drafted by the publisher. Many of these
publisher drafted agreements transfer copyright fully to the publisher
thereby restricting an author's subsequent usage of his or her published
work, including resuse of the work in teaching and further research. After
transferring copyright to the publisher, the author generally has
little say in how the work is later used. The result, all too often, is
that contracts restrict the dissemination of one’s scholarship and
lessen one’s impact as an author. By transferring copyright to the publisher, these agreements restrict an author from including the published work:
- on course websites
- in a coursepack
- in scholarly presentations
- on the author’s personal web page
- and in open access repositories such as the IR@UF.
authors should take care to assign the rights to their work in a manner
that permits them and their students and colleagues to use their work
in teaching, research and other purposes. Transferring copyright doesn’t
have to be all or nothing. Publishers only need the right of first
publication, not a wholesale transfer of copyright. So, a compromise is
often desirable, which authors can accomplish through an appropriate
addendum.
SHERPA/RoMEO collects
information about publisher policies related to online sharing
(“archiving”) of works published in most journals. Journals and
publishers are classified according to a color scheme (see below) that
relate to the archive rights that authors retain. Authors are encouraged
to research the policies of journals they have published in or are
considering submitting a manuscript to in order to ascertain what rights
in that work they will retain. Authors who wish to reuse or post online
a copy of their articles will want to look for journals classified as
green or blue, then check on any additional restrictions.
information about publisher policies related to online sharing
(“archiving”) of works published in most journals. Journals and
publishers are classified according to a color scheme (see below) that
relate to the archive rights that authors retain. Authors are encouraged
to research the policies of journals they have published in or are
considering submitting a manuscript to in order to ascertain what rights
in that work they will retain. Authors who wish to reuse or post online
a copy of their articles will want to look for journals classified as
green or blue, then check on any additional restrictions.
Evaluating Publishing Venues
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