Open Publishing

According to the University of Turku's publication policy, researchers at the University of Turku select the publication channel they consider to be of the highest quality and impact. When choosing a publication channel, pay attention to the following three aspects:

• How open is the publication channel?
• Who owns the rights to the publication?
• What possibilities are there for the reuse of the publication?

The Guide for Evaluation Based on Scientific Publications provides information on using impact factor (IF) scores and the JUFO classification for journal evaluation, as well as identifying predatory journals.

Guide How to Find Open Access Resources comprehensively lists OA materials available in Volter, OA search engines, OA indexing services for journals and books, and national publication repositories.

You can explore the following tools and directories to help choose an appropriate publication channel:

• Think.Check.Submit: tool for finding a suitable and reliable publication.
• With Journal Checker Tool you can determine whether a journal meets your funder's open access requirements.
• JUFO portal you can find information not only on publication forum levels but also on whether a journal is covered by a FinELib open access benefit. If a benefit is available, check the University of Turku's open access discount agreements and the journal lists included in these agreements. Note that the University of Turku also has some discount agreements that are not visible through the JUFO portal.
• DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals: peer reviewed open journals.
• Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA): Open access publishers
• ROAD - Directory of Open Access Scholarly resources: a directory service for scientific open access resources provided by the International ISSN Centre.
• Jisc's open policy finder: Publishers' policies on self-archiving.
• ROARMAP Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies: Open access policies of research funders and research organizations.

With the increase in open access publishing, there has also been a rise in fraudulent attempts. These are referred to as so-called predatory or questionable OA publications, which overcharge researchers or have peer review processes that do not meet established standards. The information about publication fees may also only appear once the article is ready for publication.

To assess the reliability of a publisher, you can use the following checklist:

• Does the publisher have complete contact information, including an address?
• Is there information available about the publisher's ownership and the country in which it operates?
• Who is on the editorial board, and are full affiliation details available for the board members?
• Is the author/publication fee clearly stated?
• Is there urgency regarding the fee, such as needing to pay within the same day?
• Are previous articles authored by well-known researchers and institutions, and do they appear to be of high quality?
• What is the peer review process like, and is its procedure clearly described?
• Is the journal listed in the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)?
• Is the publisher a member of OASPA (Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association)?

You can ask the editorial board members or the authors of previously published articles for their opinions about the journal. If an Impact Factor is provided for the journal, check if it matches the value listed in Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports database.

Predatory or questionable OA publications: