Scopus is one of the most authoritative scientometric databases, indexing only carefully selected, high-quality scientific publications. The platform imposes strict requirements on journals and regularly checks their compliance with the stated standards. Publications that violate Scopus rules or demonstrate suspicious activity may lose their indexing. What reasons most commonly lead to journals being excluded from Scopus? We explain in our new article.
Scopus applies strict selection criteria and regularly monitors the activities of indexed publications. If a journal no longer meets the established requirements, it may be referred for re-evaluation, the indexing of new materials may be temporarily suspended, or it may be completely excluded from the database.
Below, we examine the most common reasons why scientific journals may lose their indexing in Scopus.
Low quality of scientific content
One of the main reasons for a journal’s exclusion from Scopus is the publication of materials with insufficient scientific value. Such shortcomings include weak methodology, unsubstantiated conclusions, a lack of scientific novelty, unconvincing results or their low practical significance. A significant number of similar studies that duplicate already known results and do not contain proper scientific analysis are also assessed negatively. Such publications are not considered a substantial contribution to the development of the relevant field.
Violations of academic integrity
Scopus pays particular attention to compliance with ethical standards in scientific publications. A journal may lose its indexing because of systematic cases of plagiarism, duplication of articles, the use of other authors’ texts without proper citation, or the repeated publication of the same results.
Serious violations also include manipulation of authorship, the inclusion in the list of authors of individuals who did not participate in the research, the concealment of conflicts of interest, and the publication of materials without the consent of all authors.
Deterioration in the quality of peer review
Peer review must ensure an independent and professional assessment of the material before its publication. If this process becomes merely formal, excessively rapid or effectively absent, the journal may cease to meet Scopus standards. Cases in which articles are accepted within a few days, reviewers lack the appropriate qualifications, authors influence the selection of experts, and so on may also raise concerns.
Inadequate peer review increases the risk of publishing unreliable, low-quality or unoriginal materials.
Citation manipulation
Scopus analyses citation trends in journals, so an abnormally rapid increase in indicators may suggest attempts to artificially increase the publication’s visibility.
Such practices include excessive self-citation, editorial requirements to cite publications from the same journal, reciprocal citation arrangements between publications, and the systematic inclusion in reference lists of sources that are unrelated to the research topic.
Such actions distort the journal’s actual scientific impact and may constitute grounds for discontinuing its indexing in Scopus.
Rapid growth in the number of publications
A sharp increase in the number of articles or issues over a short period may also attract the attention of Scopus specialists. Particularly suspicious are cases in which a journal begins publishing several times more materials without a corresponding expansion of its editorial team and peer-review system.
Such growth may indicate a reduction in manuscript requirements, shorter review periods, and the publication’s primary focus on receiving publication fees.
Changes in editorial policy
A journal is included in Scopus on the basis of its subject area, the composition of its editorial board, its peer-review process and its publishing model. If the publication subsequently makes substantial changes to these parameters, it may cease to meet the database’s original criteria.
For example, a journal may change its scientific field, begin accepting materials outside its stated scope, relax its article selection requirements, or revise its peer-review procedure.
Such cases are usually designated as “Journal change policy”, meaning a substantial change in the journal’s policy.
Problems with the editorial board
The editorial board must consist of qualified specialists with scientific experience relevant to the journal’s subject area. Scopus may scrutinise a publication if members of the editorial board lack the appropriate expertise, their names are listed without their consent, or the composition of the editorial team does not correspond to the journal’s stated international level.
An additional risk arises when a small group of individuals controls the majority of publications, reviews and key editorial decisions.
The exclusion of a journal from Scopus is not always associated with a single specific violation. Such a decision is usually made following a comprehensive analysis of indicators and the identification of systematic violations in the publication’s activities.
Need to publish an article in Scopus? Contact Scientific Publications. Our specialists will audit your work and help you select a scientific journal that corresponds to the subject of your research and your objectives. Do you still have questions? Complete the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly. Together towards new scientific achievements!
