A credible open access publisher can be found following the following guidelines:

• The publisher partners with well-known ethical organizations (i.e., Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), etc.).
• The publication has a legitimate ISSN or ISBN.
• The publication is indexed in established and credible indices, directories, and abstracting lists which can include Web of Science, Scopus, Inspec, etc.
• The publisher has transparent policies and a robust peer review process.
• All publishing fees are clearly stated with absolutely NO correlation between the OA processing charge being paid by the author and the results of review process outcomes.

Just because an open access publication carries an open access processing charge ((Article Processing Charge (APC), Chapter Processing Charge (CPC), or Book Processing Charge (BPC)), it should not be presumed that that publication/publisher is predatory. The point at which an open access processing charge is requested is one of the main differentiating factors between a credible publishing model and a “pay-to-play” predatory publishing model. Credible open access publications will ask for the open access processing charge only AFTER a manuscript has undergone a formal peer review process and been accepted at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief of the journal or Editor of the book. If the manuscript is rejected there will be no open access processing charge requested. Moreover, the open access processing charge is paid to the publisher, not the Editor(s)-in-Chief or reviewers of the journal. There is absolutely NO correlation between the processing charge being paid by the author and the results of review process outcomes. OA processing charges are in place to cover the costs associated with publishing.

Read More: Exposing Common Misconceptions About Open Access Publishing