There is an increasing trend for publishing companies, with poor reputations, to approach researchers offering to publish their thesis as a book or inviting them to submit papers to journals/conferences.
If you receive an unsolicited offer from a publishing company, check whether they are a bona fide, scholarly publisher.
Initial checks may include:
- Does the publisher's website make sense? Are there spelling mistakes? What is the standard of English expression?
- Check claims regarding peer review and an international editorial board.
- What databases and resources their articles are harvested by?
- For e-journals - what are the standard digital preservation practices?
- What is the journal's ranking? Is it listed in SCImago, Scopus, Web of Science, ERA? Inspect previous issues, are the articles peer reviewed?
- For a conference, have there been conferences of the same name before? In the organising body authentic?
Questions you may ask publishers:
- What is the selection process?
- Is there a peer-review process? Will your submission be sent out to reviewers?
- Do they professionally edit your work? What standing do the editors have in the discipline?
- Do they market or promote the publication?
- Do authors receive royalties?
- What open access options are there?
- What are the copyright implications? ;- Your thesis is available open access on an institutional repository.
(Adapted from Jenny Cameron's Research Support Librarian )