UCA Library Blog (Legacy)

Last semester, we introduced the concept of open access publishing as a source for free online research articles. Open access journals may offer free access to scholarly articles, but remember that not all open access publishers are trustworthy. Predatory open access journals seek to make money rather than to advance peer-reviewed scholarship. Predatory publishers may charge authors exorbitant submission fees, try to claim copyright to authors' works to block publication in legitimate scholarly journals, and publish research that is not supported by evidence due to inadequate editorial review practices. So how can you tell if a free online article is published by a reliable and authoritative source?  

A Brief Introduction to the DOAJ

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals, including more than 12,400 journals and 3.6 million articles from 129 countries. The DOAJ is independent, with all operational funding coming through donations. The directory aims to cover all open access academic journals managed according to an appropriate quality control system, with no limitations for language, geographical region, or subject. The DOAJ defines open access journals as those using a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Journals must exercise peer-review with an editor and an editorial board or editorial review carried out by at least two editors.

The DOAJ awards a seal of approval to those open access journals that achieve a high level of openness and adhere to best practice and high publishing standards. DOAJ has awarded the seal to more than 1,300 journals within its directory. To receive the seal, the journal must comply with the following conditions:

• Use DOIs as permanent identifiers;
• Provide DOAJ with article metadata;
• Deposit content with a long term digital preservation or archiving program;
• Embed machine-readable CC licensing information in articles;
• Allow generous reuse and mixing of content, in accordance with a CC BY, CC BY-SA or CC BY-NC license;
• Have a deposit policy registered wíth a deposit policy registry;
• Allow the author to hold the copyright without restrictions.

Journals may also be removed from the directory if they no longer follow the open access publication model, cease publication, exhibit evidence of editorial misconduct, or fail to adhere to best practices. DOAJ retains a list of journals that have been removed from the directory since 2014, along with the reason for removal.

You can search the DOAJ directory by keyword and limit search results to only include articles with a DOAJ seal of approval. You can also limit search results by publisher. Many open access journals from the DOAJ and other sources are also indexed within the library’s OneSearch Discovery database.

So why don’t all academics support the open access movement by sharing the articles they publish for free online?

Well, it’s complicated. When scholars publish in a proprietary, non-open access journal, the publisher dictates the right to share the articles, and the authors often do not retain the rights to share their work in a free public repository. Publishers require readers to pay a subscription for access to scholarly articles. In addition, some funding agencies that provide grants for scholarly research require open access archiving for their research to increase the use of the information generated. But some publishers prohibit authors from self-archiving in open access repositories, or only permit it under certain conditions.

So how can an academic author find out what rights they have to share their work?

Sherpa/Romeo is an online resource that aggregates and analyzes publisher open access policies and conditions of rights given to authors on a journal-by-journal basis. Romeo provides a summary of publishers' general policies on self-archiving of journal articles, including what version of an article can be deposited, where it can be deposited, and any conditions attached to that deposit. RoMEO's own database covers over 22,000 peer-reviewed journals and serials. RoMEO also searches the DOAJ and other databases for additional journals.

Remember that the RADAR method of source evaluation can also help you determine if an open access article is trustworthy. If you have questions about an open access article or journal, please come visit the Reference Desk. 

Are you intrigued? Did you click on this article because you are curious what it has to say? Now that you’re here, are you wondering what exactly is going on? Today’s blog post is all about clickbait.

You’ve probably heard the term clickbait before, usually in reference to dubious stories found on the Internet. But what makes clickbait different than a regular headline? In a word, emotion.

If you’ve ever clicked on a clickbait article, you’ve likely found that the contents do not match the title. Often clickbait titles make an emotional appeal. Shock! Outrage! Disbelief! Clickbait titles represent possibility. You might see the cutest animal friends ever; you might read Oprah Winfrey’s shocking secret. Or you won’t. But you won’t know until you click on the link.

Clickbait takes advantage of our curiosity, manipulating us into the belief that this article is definitely going to tell us something sensational. Headlines, on the other hand, generally provide the reader with the main point of a story in short, concise language. But “clickbait” is just a new name for an old practice. I’m sure we all remember the fierce newspaper war waged between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer in the late 1800s, right? These newspaper titans applied sensational headlines to everyday news in an effort to outsell the other. The better the headline the more revenue rolling in.

Clickbait titles are not inherently bad. Sometimes we just need to see the 10 most adorable cat and dog friendships on the Internet. But we should always be skeptical of the purpose lurking behind the clickbait title. Did you hate-click a story? You may have provided ad revenue to that site. Did you click “read more” on a story then experience an immediate bombardment of pop-ups? Congratulations, you’ve got cookies; this site will now track you all across the Internet and make sure that you see ads for that one weird thing you looked up on Amazon that one time. (Editor’s note: True story, I looked up “butter muslin” for making ricotta cheese ONE TIME on Amazon and the Internet still hasn’t forgotten it.)

The problem with clickbait is, even if we know it is clickbait, we still want to click. Even if we’ve been disappointed in clickbait articles, the possibility still exists that this time will be different. That possibility is sometimes too tempting to pass up. So, what is there to do if we know we will actively participate in clickbait clicking? Read more to learn the top 5 things you should do when you encounter clickbait…

• Investigate the source

  • What is the purpose of the website?

  • Who is the author?

• Check your emotion

  • Aww-worthy animal BFFs aside, what emotion is the headline using to get you to click or share? Does the actual story warrant that emotion?

• Check other sources

  • Does the story refer to other sources? If yes, check those.

  • If not, snoop around the Internet to see if you can find other sources reporting the story. Is the tone different? Is it being reported through a different lens?

• Check the date

  • Old news isn’t fake news, but it may be irrelevant news.

• When in doubt, go to the library

  • Okay, you probably don’t need to ask us about every story you see on Facebook, but when it comes to your research projects we can help you determine fact, from modified fact, from opinion, from fiction. Plus, we just really like to talk about this stuff.

From time to time we'll feature a member of the library faculty and staff. We hope you enjoy getting to know us!

What is your position here at the library?

I’m the Head of Education and Outreach, and I hold the rank of Associate Professor. My team and I teach library instruction classes, lead tours, and make presentations at orientations and informational fairs across campus.

How and/or why did you get into libraries?

I discovered that I really liked the challenge of doing research when I was an undergraduate history major. Finding good sources for my research papers was like tracking down the clues needed to solve a puzzle, and this was my favorite part of every class. I was excited to learn that I could pursue a career that focused on research.

What do you enjoy most about working in libraries? Or in Torreyson library in particular?

I like helping people and the library allows me to interact with so many different types of folks. No two days are ever the same, and I like that it keeps me on my toes. It is very rewarding to see the “light bulb” moment when students start to comprehend the research process and begin forming their own search strategies.

What is something you wish people knew about the library?

I don’t think people realize the full extent of our collections. Most folks are pretty good at using a few specific resources, but many are unaware of the breadth and depth of our digital and print content. Additionally, I don’t think most people know how much librarians want to help them discover these resources and connect with them in a meaningful way. Professional research librarians are available to help in many formats such as, in person at the reference desk, via email through our Ask a Librarian service, by appointment through Research Coach, and librarians even provide research instruction in many professors’ classrooms.

What is your favorite book? Or what are you reading right now?

Never ask a librarian to pick just one favorite book! I just finished Warcross by Marie Lu, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel Wildcard. I’m in my mid 30’s and not ashamed to admit that I really like reading Young Adult fiction. You tend to see a set of broader, more diverse characters in YA than in Adult fiction.

We hope you had a wonderful restful winter break and are ready to have a great spring semester. Remember that the library offers resources and services that can help make your semester a successful one. 

The library made some improvements over the break to our: 

• Study rooms: Five small study rooms and the two large study rooms on the second floor were remodeled over the break with new paint, updated white boards, new chairs, and new floors in the large rooms. 

• Main computer lab: With the assistance of UCA IT, changes were made to the computers in the main lab and our laptops, which should allow for much faster login times! Please remember not to save any documents or files on the library computers. For the protection of your personal data, all items are deleted from computers once you log off. Also, be on the look out for new computer lab chairs coming in February!
• Group computer lab: The group computer lab on the first floor is in the process of getting larger computer monitors. One is up and two more will be in place by the end of the week. Remember a wireless keyboard and mouse can be checked out at the Circulation Desk for the computers. 

The library continues to provide these other great services: 

• Textbook checkout available at the Circulation Desk for in-library use. 
• $5.00 of pre-paid printing from the library computers. 
• Library study space available 24 hours, 5 days a week, plus Saturday hours. See Library Hours for complete listing. 
• Librarians and staff ready to answer your questions! Visit us at the Reference Desk or at Ask Us.  

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to stay up-to-date on library happenings throughout the semester. 

Good luck and have a great semester!