Good afternoon, dear colleagues!
With you Vasyl Malets — director of the Academy of Articles and author of the column «Candidates for departure from Scopus"!
Today we are launching the second issue of our column for 2025. It is becoming increasingly popular among scientists.
At the moment, 21 of the 27 journals we wrote about earlier have been officially excluded from Scopus.
We are constantly improving our verification methods, analyzing more and more publications to warn you about risks in a timely manner and help save you money, time, and nerves.
This time, our list includes three magazines from the second quartile.
1. Forum for Linguistic Studies
(link to the magazine website: here👈)
This journal became popular among Ukrainian scientists more than a year ago. It adhered to a quality policy: the review process was not too long and not too strict, but it corresponded to the average level. The journal accepted a limited number of articles, and the period from submission to publication was about 4–5 months, which is a good indicator. The publication belonged to Academic Publishing, but in September 2024 it was sold to Bilingual Publishing Group. It seems that the new owner focused on maximizing profits: since December 2024, the journal has moved away from its previous strategy — it began to rapidly accept articles, provide large discounts, and actively attract authors through an aggressive marketing campaign.
Features of the magazine:
- Q3 in linguistics;
- Accepted by Scopus in 2022.
Main violations:
- Reduction of the time frame for reviewing and accepting an article (it was about 3 months, now it is 2 weeks);
- A sharp increase in the number of articles and issues (issues: from 3 per year to 6 in 2024 and 12 in 2025);
- Publication volume: from 60 articles per year to 300+
- High level of self-citation — over 20%.
Current status: The journal is being actively indexed, but will soon be reviewed by Radar and then submitted for evaluation by CSAB.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%
Probability of article deindexation: low, as most articles correspond to the topic of linguistics.
2. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies
(link to the magazine website: here👈)
The journal accepted only high-quality articles in 2022–2024. But since December 2024, it has begun mass-sending invitations to publish and accepting an unusually large number of materials.
Features of the magazine:
- Q2 — multidisciplinary;
- Accepted by Scopus in 2021.
Main violations:
- A threefold increase in the number of published articles compared to 2024;
- Reduction of review times: from 6–8 months to 1.5 months;
- Declining quality of publications.
Number of Ukrainians: 25+
Current status: The journal is still being indexed, but will soon be checked by Radar and CSAB.Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%
Probability of article deindexation: 50% for 2025.
3. RETOS-Sport Journal
(link to the magazine website: here👈)
A second quartile journal that suddenly became predatory in 2024 and was subject to CSAB review in December. However, by some miracle, it passed this review. We suspect that corruption schemes involving Scopus reviewers may have been involved, since the journal should not have passed the assessment based on its indicators.
Features of the magazine:
- Q2 — education and physical therapy;
- Accepted to Scopus in 2017.
Publication cost: 265 euros.
Main violations:
- From submission to publication — 1 month;
- Number of issues: from 4 in 2023 to 11 in 2024, 6 already in early 2025;
- The self-citation rate is about 60%.
Number of Ukrainians: 40+
Current status: The journal is being indexed, but will soon be re-reviewed and permanently removed.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%
Probability of article deindexation: low (articles are usually not removed if the journal has passed at least one review).
4. Educational Process: International Journal
(link to the magazine website: here👈)
A second-quartile journal that had every chance of making it to the first in 2025. Previously, it published high-quality articles on education and strictly adhered to peer review. But since January 2025, it has begun mass-sending invitations to publish with promises to publish materials in 1–2 months.
Features of the magazine:
- Q2 — education;
- Accepted by Scopus in 2021.
Publication cost: 1100 euros.
Main violations:
- Threefold increase in the number of publications;
- Reduction of publication time: from 6 months to 1–2;
- Quality decline: short, superficial texts of 5–6 pages.
Number of Ukrainians: so far 0, but the magazine is actively offered by intermediaries as a "fast Q2", which is very risky.
Current status: Actively indexed, but will soon be under review by Radar and CSAB.Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%
Probability of article deindexation: low, but it exists.
5. Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management
(link to the magazine website: here👈)
Accepted to Scopus in 2024. Published over 200 articles in the first year, and over 1,000 in 2025. The editorial office sends out mass invitations for "rapid publication", accepting almost everything without review.
Features of the magazine:
- Q4 — information systems;
- Accepted by Scopus in 2024.
Publication cost: 550 euros.
Main violations:
- Over 20 releases in 2025 alone;
- Over 1,000 articles per year;
- Loss of thematic focus;
- Low quality, some articles are unedited, probably generated by AI.
Number of Ukrainians: 90+
Current status: It's still active because it's new and most of the articles are already indexed. But it will soon be put on hold and then removed.Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%.
Probability of article deindexation: 100%.
Today we reviewed 5 journals that are on the verge of being excluded from Scopus.
Three of them are from the second quartile. This clearly shows that even a high quartile does not guarantee safety - such journals can also become predatory.
If you previously thought that Q2 was reliable, unfortunately, this is an illusion.
Any publication may be excluded from Scopus if it violates editorial policy and quality requirements.
And as always, in conclusion, I will say: I understand that the possibility of quick publication can be very attractive.
But it is always important to assess the potential consequences: loss of money, time, reputation.
Carefully analyze journals before submitting an article, check their reputation.
And if you need professional help in choosing a journal or publishing an article, the Articles Academy will be happy to help!
Sincerely,
Vasyl Malets — Director of the Academy of Articles
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