Open access temptations: Buyer beware

Abstract

Backlash against "megapublishers” which began in mathematics a decade ago has led to an exponential growth in open access journals. Their increasing numbers and popularity notwithstanding, there is evidence that not all open access journals are legitimate. The nature of the "gold open access" business model and increasing prevalence of "publish or perish" culture in academia has given rise to a dark under-belly in the world of scientific publishing which feeds off academics’ professional needs. Many such "predatory” publishers and journals not only seem to originate out of India but also seem to have been patronized by academics in the country. This article is a cautionary note to early-career academics and administrators in India to be wary of this "wild west" of the internet and exercise discretion when considering/evaluating open-access journals for scholarly contributions.