Distinguishing the Questionable from the Trustworthy in Open Access Resources (Recording)
There exists an ever-growing community of questionable open-access journals that lack peer review, tout low submission fees, and promise fast tracking of submissions for higher rates. Webinar participants will learn how the open access publishing model evolved, how the model lends itself to being exploited by predatory publishers, and how to use tools, resources, and formal criteria to vet open access journals.
Part 1 of the webinar focuses on open-access publishing models, with special attention paid to predatory publishing and methods of identifying questionable scholarly communications practices. Using the Committee on Publication Ethics', Principles of Transparency, participants are guided through an example journal to learn how to apply the criteria.
Part 2 of the webinar delves deeper into distinguishing likely safe journals from likely predatory ones and explores the consequences of publishing in a predatory journal. Participants will learn how the differences among MEDLINE, PubMed, and PubMed Central relate to potential predatory journals and about resources to facilitate scholarly publishing (e.g., Journal/Author Name Estimator [Jane]) and journal metrics (e.g., Journal Citation Reports). Presenters will offer proactive tips and solutions on how attendees can address the problem of questionable open access practices for researchers and scholars at their own institutions.
Participants pay a single webinar fee that includes both recorded webinars.
Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, participants should be able to:
- Describe the various levels and models of open access publishing
- Identify the characteristics and practices of potentially predatory publishers
- Apply the Principles of Transparency criteria to journals, both scholarly and predatory
- Navigate scholarly communications tools and resources to facilitate in publishing
- Identify how MEDLINE, PubMed, and PubMed Central relate to potential predatory journals
Who should attend?: Health information professionals with basic or above knowledge of scholarly communications and academic publishing, especially academic librarians who work with doctors, students, researchers, and other patrons who seek to publish research findings.
Presenters
Carolann Lee Curry is the reference and outreach librarian at the Mercer University Skelton Medical Library in Macon, Georgia. She is the library liaison to the school’s Doctor of Medicine Degree and Basic Science Master Degree Programs and Departments of Community Medicine, Family Medicine, and Medical Education. She contributes consumer health and fiction book reviews to Library Journal. Curry’s research interests include scholarly communication, health information literacy, evidence-based medicine (EBM) teaching, and consumer health outreach.
Anna Krampl is the head of public services at the Mercer University Skelton Medical Library in Macon, Georgia. She is the library liaison to the Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Krampl has research interests in EBM, best research practices, and scholarly communications.
Curry and Krampl became interested in scholarly communication and predatory publishing in 2013 when the Mercer University School of Medicine’s Promotion and Tenure Committee approached the library with questionable journals listed on candidate applications. They have co-taught library sessions about open access publishing at the Mercer Medical School and MLA continuing education courses on predatory publishing at MLA ‘16 and ’17.
Registration Information
- Length: Two 1.5 hour recorded webinars (includes Part I and Part II)
- Technical information: After you have registered, go to My Learning in MEDLIB-ED to access the recorded webinars, resources, evaluation, and certificate.
- Register, participate, and earn 3 MLA continuing education (CE) contact hours and 1.5 Illinois CNE contact hours.
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