What Is an Open Access Publisher and How Do You Choose a Trustworthy One?

Updated

An open access (OA) publisher is the organization that runs one or more journals and makes their articles free to read online, usually charging a fee (an article processing charge, or APC) to the author, institution, or funder instead of charging readers through subscriptions. You should treat "open access" as a business and licensing model, not a quality label: reputable and questionable publishers both use it. The practical question is therefore not "is it OA?" but "does this specific publisher handle peer review, licensing, fees, and indexing in a way I can verify?"

How an OA publisher differs from a subscription publisher and from a single OA journal

These three things are often confused, so separate them:

  • Subscription (traditional) publisher — readers or libraries pay; the article may still be free to read if the author self-archives it, but the publisher's revenue comes from access.
  • Open access publisher — the publisher's journals make the version of record free to read, and costs are typically shifted to the author side via APCs or to a sponsor/institution.
  • A single OA journal — one title. A publisher may operate hundreds of titles, and quality can vary within the same publisher, so evaluate the journal, not just the brand.

A publisher's job is the same in both models: manage submission, organize peer review, handle production and hosting, register DOIs, manage copyright/licensing, and provide a complaints and correction/retraction process. In OA, the publisher additionally has to be transparent about who pays and under what license the work is reused.

What the publisher is actually responsible for

When you submit, you are relying on the publisher to do these things. Ask for evidence of each:

Responsibility What to check
Peer review Is the review type stated (single-, double-anonymized, open)? Is a typical timeline given?
Editorial board Are named editors real, affiliated, and reachable? Can you find them independently?
Licensing Which Creative Commons license applies (e.g., CC BY)? Is it stated before you submit?
Fees Is the APC amount published, and are waivers/discounts described?
Indexing/archiving Which databases index the journal, and is content preserved in an archive?
Corrections Is there a visible retraction and correction policy and a contact for complaints?

The site in the source material describes itself as an OA publisher and conference organizer operating 700+ peer-reviewed journals across clinical, medical, life sciences, engineering, and management fields, with 50,000+ editorial board members and 1000+ scientific associations, and gives a contact address for concerns and complaints. Those are the publisher's own claims — useful as a starting point, but each item above should still be verified independently before you submit or cite.

How to check whether a publisher is trustworthy

Work through these steps in order; stop when something doesn't add up.

  1. Check the journal in DOAJ. The Directory of Open Access Journals is a curated list with stated criteria. If a journal claims to be OA but isn't listed, that isn't automatically disqualifying, but it means you must verify everything else yourself.
  2. Verify the editorial board. Pick two or three names and confirm they exist, are at the institution listed, and have a real publication record. "Advisory board" names who never respond are a warning sign.
  3. Read the peer review policy. A vague statement like "all articles are peer reviewed" with no process, no timeline, and no reviewer role is weak. Look for specifics.
  4. Find the fee page. The APC, what it covers, when it's charged, and waiver conditions should be stated before submission — not revealed after acceptance.
  5. Check indexing claims. "Indexed" should name the database. Verify by searching that database directly rather than trusting a logo.
  6. Look for the license. The CC license should be named. If reuse terms are unclear, you can't know how your work may be shared.
  7. Test the complaints channel. Send a question before submitting. A response (or silence) tells you a lot about the operation.

Common warning signs

  • Promises of very fast review or guaranteed publication.
  • Unsolicited email invitations to submit, especially outside your field.
  • Editorial board members who are listed but unreachable or unaware.
  • Fees that appear only after acceptance, or that change.
  • No named license, no retraction policy, no physical or verifiable contact.
  • Journal scope so broad it covers unrelated fields.

Before you submit: a short checklist

  • The journal's scope matches your paper.
  • You know the APC and who will pay it.
  • You know the license you're granting.
  • You've confirmed indexing in at least one database you trust.
  • You know how to withdraw, correct, or complain.
  • You've checked that the journal has published work in your area recently.

If most of these are unclear, treat the publisher as unverified and look at alternatives. If they're all clear and independently checkable, the OA model itself is not a reason to avoid it.