Multiple OMICS journals delisted from major index over concerns

SCOPUS, the publication database maintained by Elsevier, has discontinued nearly 300 journals since 2013, including multiple journals published by OMICS Publishing Group.

Although the reasons the widely used database gives for discontinuing journals often vary, in all cases OMICS journals were removed over “Publication Concerns.”

Here’s what SCOPUS said recently about how it vets journals:

…several initiatives have been adopted over the past two years helping to reinforce that content indexed in Scopus represents “good quality research,” and that underperforming titles (as determined by the CSAB re-evaluation process), or titles for which concerns have been raised, are identified and their ongoing content coverage discontinued.

When a title no longer meets the quality standards of Scopus it is added to the ‘Discontinued Sources list,’ maintained on the Scopus info site. Publishing this list, along with both the source title and book title lists, provides transparency into what is, or will no longer be, covered in Scopus; important information to have at hand when you are looking for which titles you want to publish in.

You can find a list of all the discontinued journals on SCOPUS’s website.

OMICS is currently being sued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which alleges the publisher has deceived readers about reviewing practices, publication fees, and the nature of its editorial boards. It was also included on librarian Jeffrey Beall’s now-defunct list of possible predatory publishers.

Hat tip: Khalid El Bairi

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