How to Publish Safely with Open Access Journals

Publishing open access has gained popularity, as it gives authors the opportunity to share their research freely with large audiences. When articles are accessible to everyone instead of being blocked behind a paywall, they receive an increased number of citations. This open access model is important because it encourages more engagement and increases interdisciplinary conversations within the computing community.

Before submitting to an open access journal, authors should consider the following to ensure their work is published safely.

1. Check the Peer Review Process. Pay attention to whether the publisher is transparent about its peer review guidelines and process. A few things to ask yourself:

• • Are policies clearly posted?
  • Are publishing timelines realistic and practical?
  • Does the publisher describe how disputes around authorship or peer review are handled?

Interested in sharing your research? Access our Publishing Guide!

1. Know Any Fees Prior to Publishing. It’s important for authors to know how much they will be charged prior to publication.

• • Are all fees associated with publication, article length, copyright status, etc., posted and available prior to submission?

1. Review Copyright Policies. Ensure your ownership of your work is protected.

• • Are the copyright and retained rights policies readily available? These will explain author posting and reuse guidelines, in addition to how the publisher defines plagiarism to ensure that others are not permitted to reuse an author’s work without their permission.
  • Check with your institution or organization to determine whether you should apply for the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) or the Creative Commons Attribution, NonCommercial, No Derivatives License (CCBY-NC-ND).

4. Verify that Editorial Board Members Are Legitimate. Editorial board information should not be hidden or falsified.

• • Does the editorial board list include up-to-date affiliations?
  • Do the editorial board members listed work in the publication’s field?

Looking to safely publish in an open access journal focused on computing? Submit to the IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society, a rigorously peer-reviewed forum for rapid publication of open access articles describing high-impact results in all areas of interest to the IEEE Computer Society. This journal is fully open and compliant with funder mandates, including Plan S.