It has been a bit of a week (already) for publishers of dubious intent to clutter my Inbox.

I must clearly be a researcher of world leading renown (not) to be so sought after.  SciencePG has this very morning invited me not only to propose a special issue of a journal but to guest edit it too!  Yesterday it was a different publisher and I have no doubt there will be further invitations coming along soon.

Some of these publishers appear to be very plausible.  They offer open access, short lead times, ‘free’ submission and they may even allow me to retain my own copyright.  So far so good.  The sting in the tail comes from the large fees demanded on publication, the absence of any rigorous peer review process and the poor quality of the dissemination.

So how can you be sure that the journal you are trusting with your hard earned research paper is the right one for you?  I recommend that you take a look at my earlier post: Spotting the predatory publisher and if you have any concerns then ask your colleagues or supervisors for advice.  You could even ask your friendly Research Support Librarian!