The gray zone between legitimate and predatory open access scientific publishing

Claudia Alvarado-de la Barrera, Research Center on Infection Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Ismael Cosío Villegas, Mexico City, Mexico
Santiago Ávila-Ríos, Research Center on Infection Diseases, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Ismael Cosío Villegas, Mexico City, Mexico
Gustavo Reyes-Terán, Comisión Coordinadora de Institutos Nacionales de Salud y Hospitales de Alta Especialidad, Mexico City, Mexico

Certain open access publishers based on the article processing charges model have found it highly profitable to operate within a gray zone that encompasses both legitimate and predatory publishing practices. In this context, maximum profits can be obtained by adequate combinations of journal acceptance rates and elevated article processing charges. Considering that the gray zone can be particularly challenging to identify and that it poses risks for authors aiming to establish academic carreers, we believe it is important to provide a comprehensive description of it.

Keywords: Predatory publishing. Open access publishing. Article processing charges.