Журнали, які скоро втратять індексацію в Scopus, частина 12

Greetings, dear colleagues!
With you Vasyl Malets - director Academy articles and author of the column "Journals that will soon lose indexing in Scopus."

We have prepared the fifth issue of our column for 2025, and the numbers speak for themselves:
👉 29 out of 41 journals we wrote about earlier have already been officially excluded from Scopus.

In this issue, we will look at 5 new candidates for relegation, including three second quartile (Q2) publications and three magazines from prestigious European Union countries.

Once considered reliable venues for scholarly publications, these publications now show all the signs of a loss of academic standards:

📉 sharp drop in citations;
📊 low quality of articles;
💰 questionable editorial policy.

This issue proves once again: Even Q2 journals and publications from EU countries are not immune from losing indexing in Scopus if they ignore the principles of scientific ethics and quality control.

List of applicants:

1. Architectural Image Studies

E-ISSN: 2184-8645
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101247624
🔗Magazine website: https://journals.ap2.pt/index.php/ais

Review:
Magazine Architectural Image Studies was accepted into Scopus in 2024 and was initially positioned as a specialized publication on architecture and design. However, since August 2025, the journal has dramatically changed its policy: mass mailings with invitations to publish have begun, and the publication has begun to position itself as a “multidisciplinary journal.” This has raised serious doubts among the scientific community, because even the name makes it clear that the journal should be narrowly focused.

A large number of articles were published in a short period of time, many of which have nothing to do with architecture or design. This is a typical sign of journals losing their academic quality and moving to a commercial model without proper peer review.

Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q4
Country: Sweden
Subject: Architecture, design
Publication cost: 500 USD

Main violations:

Publication of articles that do not correspond to the declared topic.
Lack of quality peer review.
A sharp increase in the number of publications in a short period of time.
Mass mailings to authors with calls for submission of articles.

Current status:
The magazine is currently under review by CSAB (Scopus Content Selection & Advisory Board)Recent issues have raised suspicions of violating publication quality and ethics standards.

Risk assessment:

Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100 %
Probability of new articles not being indexed: 100 %

2. Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change

E-ISSN: 2589-1316
🔗 Link to Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101151828
🔗 Magazine website: https://jcasc.com/index.php/jcasc

Review:
Magazine Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change For a long time, it demonstrated stable work and was considered a high-quality publication in the field of sociology and cultural studies. However, in the second half of 2025, the editorial board began actively sending out invitations to publish, promising quick publication for $1,200.

At first glance, the journal’s website doesn’t seem suspicious — the structure and archive look standard. However, during communication with the editorial staff, it was discovered that the journal had significantly changed its Scope, making it “everything about everything.” This is a classic signal of a transition to a predatory model.

The peculiarity of this publication is that it has not yet started to publish materials en masse, but is only actively recruiting manuscripts in order to then release a large issue with hundreds of articles in one day. This is a typical scenario for “young” predatory journals that are preparing for monetization.

Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q2
Country: Netherlands
Subjects: sociology, cultural studies, interdisciplinary studies
Publication cost: 1200 USD

Main violations:

Mass mailings with promises of quick publication.
Accepting articles without proper peer review.
Changing the scope of the journal to "multidisciplinary" without official notification to Scopus.
Preparing for mass publication of a large number of articles in a short time.

Current status:
The journal is currently active and continues to publish, but is in a “gray zone” of monitoring. Scopus will likely put the journal under review at the first attempt at mass release.

Risk assessment:
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100 %
Probability of deindexing future articles: if the journal publishes a large number of low-quality articles — 100 %.

3. Veredas do Direito

ISSN: 2179-8699
🔗 Link to Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100845376
🔗 Magazine website: https://revista.domhelder.edu.br/index.php/veredas

Review:
Magazine Veredas do Direito It had a long-standing academic reputation, was consistently indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, and published high-quality articles exclusively in the field of law. It was one of the few Brazilian publications with dual indexing and a narrow specialization that enjoyed trust among scholars.

However, over the past 2–3 months, the situation has changed dramatically. The editorial staff has begun publishing articles on topics that have nothing to do with jurisprudence: from architecture and art to medicine and artificial intelligence.

The journal, which used to have one issue a year, has now published three in a row, publishing over 150 articles—more than in the previous five years combined. It is a classic example of the loss of academic control and the shift to a commercial model.

Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q4
Country: Brazil
Subject: law
Publication cost: 750 USD

Main violations:

Publication of articles that do not correspond to the topic of the journal.
A sharp increase in the number of articles and issues.
Lack of proper peer review.
Violation of the periodicity of releases.

Current status:
The journal is currently indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, but recent issues are already causing concern and may be grounds for monitoring by CSAB.

Risk assessment:
Probability of exclusion from both databases (Scopus and Web of Science): 100 %
Probability of deindexing recent articles: very high (90–100 %).

4. International Journal of Applied Mathematics (IJAM)

ISSN: 1311-1728
E-ISSN: 1314-8060
🔗 Link to Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100841738
🔗 Magazine website: https://ijamjournal.org/ijam/contents/index.html

Review:
Magazine International Journal of Applied Mathematics (IJAM) — a second quartile (Q2) publication that has published materials in applied mathematics and related fields for many years. However, in 2025, the journal began to show signs of loss of quality.

Instead of a stable publication policy, IJAM dramatically increased the number of articles, began actively publishing special issues, and significantly shortened publication deadlines.

According to official data, in 2025 the journal has already published 5 regular and 6 special issues, with only 15 days between manuscript submission and publication, which indicates a complete lack of peer review.

Although formally the articles remain within the scope of technical and mathematical topics, their level is very low - for the most part they are compilation or formal works without scientific novelty.

Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q2
Country: Bulgaria
Subjects: applied mathematics, physics, engineering, programming
Publication cost: 900 USD (standard) / 1500 USD (expedited publication)

Main violations:

A sharp increase in the number of articles and special issues.
Very fast publication (15 days after submission).
Lack of real peer review.
Low quality of published materials.

Current status:
The journal is indexed in Scopus, but has already come to the attention of CSAB and will likely be sent for review.

Risk assessment:
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 95 %
Probability of deindexing published articles: 50%

5. Vascular and Endovascular Review (VER)

ISSN: 2516-3299

E-ISSN: 2516-3302
🔗 Link to Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100978041
🔗 Magazine website: https://verjournal.com/index.php/ver/about

Review:
Magazine Vascular and Endovascular Review Until recently, it was considered a professional medical journal dedicated to vascular and endovascular surgery. Until 2024, it consistently published two issues per year and had no more than 20 articles per year.

However, in 2025, the journal was probably sold to new owners for commercial purposes. In one year, VER has already released 6 issues, 4 of which are special, and published over 250 articles. This is more than ten times the previous level of activity.

Publications appear less than 10 days after manuscript submission, indicating a complete lack of peer review. In addition, the journal has begun publishing articles on topics unrelated to vascular medicine, a typical indicator of a shift to a predatory model.

Magazine profile:
Quartile: Q2
Country: Afghanistan
Topics: vascular surgery, cardiology, medicine
Publication cost: 1500 USD

Main violations:

A sharp increase in the number of articles (more than 10 times).
Mass special editions.
Publication of materials that do not correspond to the scope of the journal.
Very fast publication (up to 10 days after submission).

Current status:
The journal is under review by the CSAB (Scopus Content Selection & Advisory Board). Of the approximately 250 articles in 2025, only 63 have been indexed, the rest will probably not be added to the database.

Risk assessment:
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100 %
Probability of deindexing published articles: 50 %.

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Conclusions

In this issue, we reviewed five journals, including three from the second quartile (Q2) and three from the European Union countries.

As practice shows, even a prestigious quartile and a "European registration" do not guarantee academic integrity. Many publications that once had an impeccable reputation today deliberately choose the path of quick profit, sacrificing quality and scientific standards.

Unfortunately, authors who do not work with publications every day or have no experience fall into the trap of predatory journals in 70 % cases.

Quick publication seems like an attractive opportunity, but the result is often the same — lost money, time, and reputation.

That is why we strongly recommend contacting proven specialists who provide real guarantees of publication and indexing in Scopus, Web of Science, and other authoritative databases.

I understand that the temptation to publish quickly is great, but it is always worth thinking about the consequences, because the losses after making the wrong choice are much greater.