Reasons for Exclusion of Journals from Scopus and Web of Science

Requirements for inclusion of journals in Scopus/Web of Science databases

At the initial sorting stage, an application is submitted and the editor must check whether the scientific journal meets the minimum requirements of Scopus and Web of Science.

They are as follows:

• Scientific content in the journal must be peer-reviewed.
• Publications occur regularly.
• It is mandatory to have an ISSN registered with the International ISSN Centre.
• The content must be relevant and understandable to the international community. This means that references to the literature used to write the articles must have Latin transcription, and scientific articles must have abstracts and titles in English.
• Care should be taken to ensure that the journal has a statement of publishing ethics and unfair publishing practices.
• The journal must begin publication no earlier than 2 years prior to submitting an application for inclusion in the database.
• The title of the magazine is meaningful and unique.
• The three most recent releases can be downloaded in PDF format.
• There is information about the editor-in-chief. If a scientific journal has more than 1 editor-in-chief, then up to 3 people can be indicated.
• Information about the editor-in-chief or editors is available via the link. This may be in the form of a resume, personal or institutional web page describing professional achievements, past and current affiliations, and awards.

The application itself is submitted via a special online form, in which all fields must be filled in. In addition, samples of scientific articles are uploaded.

First, the journal is checked in Scopus/Web of Science for suitability for inclusion in the database. This is done by reviewers at the Expert Council, and qualitative and quantitative indicators are analyzed. Among the selection criteria, 5 categories can be distinguished: journal policy, content, representativeness, regularity of the journal's publication, and online availability.

They are sure to pay attention to whether the editorial policy is convincing, what types of peer review are present, where the editors and scientists come from, whether there is an important contribution to science, whether the abstracts are clear, how readable the articles are. In addition, the journal must be published on schedule, the home page on the Internet must be presented in English, and the journal's website itself must meet quality criteria.

If the initial sorting fails, all problem areas will have to be eliminated. In case of a successful solution, editorial sorting and editorial evaluation takes place.

Main reasons for exclusion from the database

In 2021, 45 scientific publications were excluded from the Scopus database. Such exclusions occur regularly, and re-evaluation is carried out annually. Reasons may include non-compliance with Scopus/Web of Science requirements, concerns about publication issues, violations identified during the verification process using the Radar system.

The latter draws attention to a sharp increase in the number of published articles, changes in the geolocation of scientists, and an excess of self-citation, which falls under the concept of abnormal behavior. Some scientific journals lose their place in databases due to ethical issues. Complaints about the publication also become the reason for the check.

The cooperation of Scopus and Web of Science databases with publications is carried out in accordance with the law. Journals must comply with academic integrity, copyright, their pricing policy must be transparent, publications must correspond to the profile of the journal and its specialization. If these requirements are violated, this serves as a reason for exclusion from indexing.

Scopus/Web of Science care about the high quality of materials, so the policy of excluding some scientific journals from the database is quite understandable. Interestingly, there is a special list of unscrupulous publishers and journals, which was created and continues to be updated by the American librarian Jeffrey Beall. This list is used by both databases.

Can logs be returned to the database after exclusion?

If a journal has already been excluded, it will not be easy to get into the database. To re-apply for inclusion, you need to wait at least 5 years.

Indexing of articles in Scopus and Web of Science after journals are removed from databases

It is important to understand that if a journal has been removed from the Scopus or Web of Science database and is no longer indexed, this does not mean that the article posted in it will not be indexed either. If it has already been indexed, it will not be excluded. However, do not forget to check the lists of excluded scientific journals while your article is not yet published! If the journal is excluded during this period, the article will not be included in the database. To find out whether an article is indexed, simply enter the author's first and last name and the science section in the search box on the relevant sites.

Attention! There are now more than 1000 known publishers and magazines that are considered predatory. This means that their goal is to make a profit, not to develop science, and publications are purely formal. Materials are not checked by editors and scientists, are not reviewed, publication occurs in minimal time (sometimes 5 days), one issue may contain a large number of articles (for example, 40) of small volume.

Such journals provide false information about their activities and ascribe to themselves non-existent authority, falsifying data on scientific indicators – impact factors, quartiles.

Some may not be indexed in any database, let alone Scopus/Web of Science. Unscrupulous publishers often “forget” to remove information that a scientific publication has already been excluded from the databases. Such publications are dangerous for scientists: by choosing the wrong platform for posting your article, you can not only lose time and money, but also your reputation. Another danger is represented by clones of sites of real authoritative publications – Fake magazines. They cannot be included in the database at all, including Web of Science.

Understanding these nuances can sometimes be very difficult for someone inexperienced in such matters. For a researcher, the best solution may be to seek help from professionals with an excellent reputation. For example, the company Academy of Articles publishes scientific articles only in verified scientific journals Scopus and Web of Sciencee and provides assistance to authors in matters of publishing the works of scientists.