Open Access

Many consider Open Access (OA) to be synonymous with deceptive or predatory publishers, which are described as those that use questionable publishing ethics in soliciting manuscripts, peer review, editorial processes, and misuse works distributed by other publishers. 

Deceptive publishers take advantage of OA models.  Instead of having the goal of making scholarly and academic work openly available, the main one is to make a profit without regard to the validity, merit, or overall quality of the work they publish.  This may result in distributing faulty research and information that may be used by researchers in support of new work, resulting in less than ideal outcomes or a waste of time and resources. 

A standard "list" of deceptive or predatory publishers does not exist, and various publishing and academic organizations struggle to create a template for evaluating and identifying them.   

Despite the misuse of OA, many publishers and scholars tout its benefits of making scholarly research available and supporting new works.  See the Research Guide, Deceptive or Predatory Journals, for characteristics and ways to evaluate a publication.

Selected Open Access Publishers

Journals / Periodicals

Books / Monographs