The Dark Side of Dissemination: Traditional and Open Access Versus Predatory Journals

AIM: The purpose of the article is to alert faculty about predatory online journals, review characteristics of three broad categories of journals, and provide suggestions for faculty evaluation of journals before submission of scholarship for publication. BACKGROUND: The availability of online journals in recent years has rapidly increased the number of journals available for publication of faculty scholarship. However, not all online journals meet the same standards as traditional journals. METHOD: The article is not a report for a research study. RESULTS: Currently, there are three broad categories of journals for faculty scholarship publication: traditional, open access scholarly, and predatory open access journals. CONCLUSION: Faculty authors need to carefully evaluate the journal characteristics and publisher business practices before submitting a manuscript for publication to prevent inadvertent submission to a predatory open access journal.