To determine if an open access journal is legitimate and dependable, you can check for several qualities in the journal:
- The journal has an editorial board consisting of qualified experts within the field
- The journal demonstrates that it uses a careful (rather than rushed) review process
- The journal has a specific subject focus. Editorial boards for unfocused journals often cannot peer review the material they publish to ensure quality articles.
- The journal rejects a substantial percentage of submitted articles. Doing so ensures that the journal remains competitive and only publishes the best submissions it receives.
- The journal is a "Green" open access journal, which means it does not require authors to pay for their work to be published. By contrast, "Gold" open access journals do require payment - and thus often put profits over the dissemination of good scholarship. Please note, however, that some "Gold" open access journals are legitimate and high quality.
If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to us at (434) 582-2220 or at research@liberty.edu.
