Good afternoon, dear colleagues!
With you is Vasyl Malets, director of the Academy of Articles and author of the column "Journals that will soon lose indexing in Scopus"!
Today we have prepared the second issue of our column for 2025. At the moment 22 of 27 magazines, which we wrote about earlier, have already been officially excluded from Scopus.
This time, our list includes journals that have already reached their peak of activity and are on the verge of exclusion, as well as those that are just starting to gain momentum and look quite harmless. We will tell you about each of them. Today's list also includes publications from the first quartile - those that some authors mistakenly believe cannot be deindexed.
1. Journal of Neonatal Surgery
This journal, which specialized in neonatal surgery, was included in Scopus in 2021 due to its narrow profile and high-quality publications. However, it has now transformed into a multidisciplinary publication “for everyone and about everything”. Until 2025, the journal published only one modest issue per year, but already in 2025 it appeared 36 issues. Unbelievable. This is a classic scheme for massive earnings on Scopus status.
Features of the magazine:
Quartile: Q4 (direction Surgery).
Country: Pakistan.
Publication cost: $700 (standard), $1000 for authors from Saudi Arabia, $1500 for China. Strange and unjustified segmentation by country.
Main violations:
- Publishing articles on any topic without proper peer review.
- Over 36 issues in 6 months.
- Over 1000 articles in a short period of time.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%. Probability of article deindexation: 100%, because the content does not correspond to the topic of the magazine.
2. Law
The journal, accepted into Scopus in 2024, initially met all the standards: it conducted peer review, rejected weak papers, and published only high-quality materials. But a few weeks ago, the situation changed dramatically: the journal began sending out letters inviting publications in all directions. The promised peer review — 5–7 days, publication on the site is almost instant.
The scope on the official website was also changed — it now states that the journal accepts articles on any topic. Articles that were clearly accepted without peer review began to appear en masse in the archive. Perhaps you have already received such letters.
My sincere advice — don't give in. The journal is already under review, and all published articles will not be indexed.
Features of the magazine:
- Quartile: Q3 (Law direction).
- Country: USA (but in fact Indian teams are often listed).
- Publication cost: $780.
Main violations:
- Publication of articles not related to jurisprudence.
- A sharp increase in the volume of publications is expected.
- Lack of peer review.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%. Probability of deindexation: 100%, because the key requirements are violated - thematic relevance.
3. Journal of Posthumanism
This publication was included in Q1 (Cultural Studies). Some authors believe that such journals cannot be excluded from Scopus. But this is myth.
Unfortunately, more than 35 Ukrainian scientists managed to publish in this journal — all their articles have already been deindexedSome publishing companies actively advertised placement in this journal as a quick way to get published in Q1, and even submitted materials there themselves.
The journal has already been excluded from Scopus, although it may still appear as active until the update in May-June 2025.
Importantly: publisher — Transnational Press London Ltd., has previously appeared in scandals, in particular through the International Journal of Religion, which caused a stir last year.
Features of the magazine:
- Quartile: Q1 (Cultural Studies).
- Country: Great Britain.
- Publication cost: $1200.
Main violations:
- Publication of articles that do not meet the stated scope.
- A sharp increase in the number of releases.
- Lack of peer review.
- Mass publications for profit.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 120%. The journal has already been deactivated, the articles have been deindexed.
4. International Journal of Environmental Sciences
This journal is just beginning its predatory activity. It hasn't published too many materials yet, but it is already actively sending out invitations to authors.
Positions itself as a multidisciplinary publication, promises quick publication for $600. However, the name itself makes it clear that it should specialize in natural sciences.
The scope explicitly states that only articles from the natural sciences are accepted. However, the archive already contains over 170 articles on a wide variety of topics, many of which are have no relation to natural sciences.
Features of the magazine:
- Quartile: Q4.
- Country: India.
- Publication cost: $600.
Main violations:
- Publication of articles that do not correspond to the declared topic.
- Lack of proper peer review.
- Mass publication for profit.
Probability of exclusion from Scopus: 100%. Probability of article deindexation: 100%, due to inconsistency with the topic and violation of standards.
Conclusions:
Today we reviewed four journals that are on the verge of being excluded from the Scopus database.
Among them is one from the first quartile. This clearly shows that even the high quartile does not guarantee safetySuch magazines can also become predatory.
If you still thought that Q1 was always reliable, unfortunately, this is an illusion.
Any publication may be excluded from the database if it violates editorial policy and quality standards.
And finally: the opportunity for quick publication, especially in a journal with Q1, may seem appealing.
But it is important to soberly assess the consequences: loss of money, time, and reputation.
Check journals carefully before submitting an article.
If you need professional help with journal selection or publication — The Academy of Articles will be happy to help!
Sincerely,
Vasyl Malets — Director of the Academy of Articles
Join my personal LinkedIn!
There I share relevant and useful information about scientific publications.
