Candidates for Removal from Scopus: First Edition
Dear Researchers,
My name is Vasyl Malets — Director of Futurity Publishing and an expert in scientometrics.
Every year, tens of thousands of scholars worldwide fall victim to predatory or problematic journals that operate solely for profit. As a result, researchers lose:
- 💸 significant amounts of money,
- ⏳ valuable time,
- 😓 nerves and professional reputation.
To help you avoid such risks, we are launching a new series — “Candidates for Removal from Scopus.” In this rubric, I will analyze journals that are currently at risk of being delisted from Scopus and clearly explain the reasons behind these risks.
❗️This is your chance to get an honest warning and protect your resources.
In this first edition, we present a list of 5 journals that are currently highly risky for publication and may soon be excluded from Scopus.
List of journals
E-ISSN: 2617-6548
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101057630
🔗 Journal website: International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies
Overview
The journal initially accepted only high-quality papers between 2022–2024.
However, since December 2024, it has drastically changed its editorial practices:
- began sending out mass invitations for submissions,
- started accepting a very high number of low-quality papers,
- many recent articles are AI-generated text fragments, comparable in size and quality to student abstracts.
Journal Profile
- Quartile: Q2
- Scope: Multidisciplinary
- Indexed in Scopus since: 2021
- Publication fee: 1,200 USD
Main Issues Identified
- 10x increase in the number of published papers compared to 2024.
- Review time reduced from 2–4 months to as little as 10 days.
- Significant decline in publication quality.
Top 5 Countries with the Most Papers
- Indonesia
- Saudi Arabia
- Kazakhstan
- Vietnam
- Malaysia
Current Status
- The journal is currently on hold and under review by the Scopus CSAB board.
- Probability of removal from Scopus: 100%
- Probability of de-indexation (removal of already indexed articles in 2025): 95%
E-ISSN: 2576-8484
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101018315
🔗 Journal website: https://learning-gate.com/index.php/2576-8484/
Overview
In the last year, the journal has published over 2,500 papers, regardless of their quality — ranging from plagiarized submissions to AI-generated articles of the lowest standard.
The journal was already placed “On Hold” in 2024, but somehow managed to pass the review process. Until mid-2024, only quality papers were accepted. However, since June–July 2024, the journal has adopted a “publish-anything” strategy, while simultaneously raising the publication fee to 1,250 USD.
Journal Profile
- Quartile: Q3 (Scimago)
- Scope: Multidisciplinary
- Publication fee: 1,250 USD
Main Issues Identified
- 10x increase in the number of published articles compared to 2024.
- Review time reduced from 2–4 months to as little as 10 days.
- Severe decline in quality: acceptance of all submissions purely for profit.
Top 5 Countries with the Most Papers
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Iraq
- Thailand
- Vietnam
Current Status
- The journal is currently on hold and under review by the Scopus CSAB board.
- Probability of removal from Scopus: 100%
- Probability of de-indexation (removal of already indexed articles in 2025): 50% – since the journal has already passed one review, and Scopus rarely removes articles after such cases, though the risk remains.
ISSN:1579-1726 | E-ISSN:1988-2041
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100468901#tabs=1
🔗 Journal website: https://ores.su/es/journals/retos/
Overview
This Q2 journal, focused on education and physical therapy, suddenly turned predatory in 2024. By December, it was already under CSAB review.
Surprisingly, it managed to pass the evaluation — raising suspicions that corrupt practices involving Scopus reviewersmay have played a role, since by its performance indicators the journal should not have passed.
Currently, the journal is again under review and faces an almost certain exclusion from Scopus.
Journal Profile
- Quartile: Q2 (Education & Physical Therapy)
- Indexed in Scopus since: 2017
- Publication fee: 300 EUR
Main Issues Identified
- Submission-to-publication time: only 1 month.
- Number of issues: increased from 4 in 2023 to 11 in 2024, and already 8 by early 2025.
- Self-citation rate: approximately 60%.
Top 5 Countries with the Most Papers
- Spain
- Chile
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- Colombia
Current Status
- The journal is currently on hold and under review by the Scopus CSAB board.
- Probability of removal from Scopus: 100%
- Probability of de-indexation (removal of already indexed articles in 2025): 50% – since the journal already passed one review, and Scopus rarely removes previously indexed content after such cases, though the risk remains.
ISSN:2229-7359 | E-ISSN:0976-4402
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101096350
🔗 Journal website: https://www.theaspd.com/
Overview
This journal began its predatory activity in early 2025. Within just a few months, it has already published over 1,000 articles on a wide range of topics — from philosophy and philology to machine learning.
Although it positions itself as a multidisciplinary journal and promises rapid publication for 700 USD, even the title clearly indicates it should specialize in environmental and natural sciences.
In its official scope, the journal explicitly states it accepts only articles related to natural sciences. Nevertheless, the archive already contains hundreds of papers completely unrelated to this field, which is a direct violation of its editorial policy.
Journal Profile
- Quartile: Q3
- Country of origin: India
- Publication fee: 700 USD
Main Issues Identified
- Publishing articles that do not match the declared scope.
- Extremely high number of issues published.
- Lack of proper peer review.
- Mass publication solely for profit.
Top 5 Countries with the Most Papers
- India
- Iraq
- Indonesia
- Saudi Arabia
- Malaysia
Current Status
- The journal is currently active, and most papers are already indexed in Scopus.
- However, it is expected to be placed on hold shortly, followed by exclusion with full de-indexation of articles.
Risk Assessment
- Probability of removal from Scopus: 100%
- Probability of de-indexation (removal of already indexed papers): 100% — due to scope mismatch and serious violations of quality standards.
ISSN: 1972-6325
🔗 Scopus link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100228948
🔗 Journal website: https://www.tpmap.org/
Overview
For many years, this journal was considered a reputable outlet, indexed in both Scopus and Web of Science, publishing high-quality research in psychology.
However, since summer 2025, the journal appears to have either been sold or deliberately shifted its editorial policy for profit. Within a short period, it released 4 special issues containing more than 1,000 questionable articles.
Journal Profile
- Quartile: Q4 (plus indexed in Web of Science)
- Country of origin: Italy
- Publication fee: 800 EUR
Main Issues Identified
- Publishing articles outside the declared scope (psychology).
- Mass release of special issues.
- Lack of genuine peer review.
- Bulk publishing purely for financial gain.
Current Status
- The journal is currently active, but the latest articles have not yet been indexed in Scopus.
- It is expected to soon be placed on hold and then excluded, with full de-indexation if the recent special-issue papers are indexed.
Risk Assessment
- Probability of removal from Scopus: 100%
- Probability of de-indexation (removal of already indexed papers): 100% — due to scope mismatch and violations of quality standards.
🛡️ How to Protect Your Publications
Publishing in Scopus is not only about prestige but also about your invested money, time, and reputation.
Unfortunately, no journal can guarantee absolute indexing stability.
That’s why it is important to work with experts who thoroughly verify each journal before submission and provide guarantees for article indexing.
Need a publication in Scopus or Web of Science — without risk or stress?
Order “Journal Selection & Submission Support” from Futurity Publishing.
We will handle the entire process for you:
from verifying and selecting a reliable journal for your topic — to the final publication of your article.
No predatory journals, no delays, no loss of indexing.
📩 Submit your request — and we will find the perfect journal for you today.
Conclusion
Today we introduced a new series designed to help you better navigate problematic and predatory journals, and avoid losing time, money, and reputation.
This edition covered 5 journals currently on the verge of being excluded from Scopus.
It is particularly noteworthy that two of them belong to the second quartile (Q2). This clearly demonstrates that even a high quartile is not a guarantee of reliability — such journals can also end up at risk of removal.
If you previously believed that Q2 automatically meant safety — unfortunately, that is an illusion.
Any journal can be excluded from Scopus if it violates editorial policies or fails to meet quality standards.
And as always, I want to emphasize:
the possibility of fast publication may seem very attractive.
But it is essential to carefully consider the potential consequences:
- loss of money,
- loss of time,
- loss of reputation.
Therefore, always analyze journals thoroughly before submitting your paper and check their reputation.
If you need professional support in choosing a journal or organizing your publication, our team will be glad to help.
This was Vasyl Malets
Scientometrics expert and founder of Futurity Research Publishing.
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