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Inflated citations and metrics of journals discontinued from Scopus for publication concerns: the GhoS(t)copus Project

View ORCID ProfileAndrea Cortegiani, Mariachiara Ippolito, Giulia Ingoglia, Andrea Manca, Lucia Cugusi, View ORCID ProfileAnna Severin, Michaela Strinzel, Vera Panzarella, Giuseppina Campisi, View ORCID ProfileLalu Manoj, Sharon Einav, View ORCID ProfileDavid Moher, Antonino Giarratano
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.26.007435
Andrea Cortegiani
1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S). Section of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Intensive Care and Emergency. Policlinico Paolo Giaccone. University of Palermo, Italy
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  • For correspondence: andrea.cortegiani@unipa.it
Mariachiara Ippolito
1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S). Section of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Intensive Care and Emergency. Policlinico Paolo Giaccone. University of Palermo, Italy
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Giulia Ingoglia
1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S). Section of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Intensive Care and Emergency. Policlinico Paolo Giaccone. University of Palermo, Italy
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Andrea Manca
2Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Italy
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Lucia Cugusi
2Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Italy
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Anna Severin
3Swiss National Science Foundation, Bern, Switzerland
7Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
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Michaela Strinzel
3Swiss National Science Foundation, Bern, Switzerland
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Vera Panzarella
4Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S), Section of Oral Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Giuseppina Campisi
4Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S), Section of Oral Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Lalu Manoj
5Centre for Journalology, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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Sharon Einav
6Intensive Care Unit of the Shaare Zedek Medical Medical Centre and Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
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David Moher
5Centre for Journalology, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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Antonino Giarratano
1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Science (Di.Chir.On.S). Section of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Intensive Care and Emergency. Policlinico Paolo Giaccone. University of Palermo, Italy
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Abstract

Background Scopus is considered a leading bibliometric database. It contains the largest number of abstracts and articles cited in peer reviewed publications. The journals included in Scopus are periodically re-evaluated to ensure they meet indexing criteria. Afterwards, some journals might be discontinued for publication concerns. Despite their discontinuation, previously published articles remain indexed and continue to be cited. The metrics and characteristics of journals discontinued for publication concerns have yet to be studied. This study aimed (1) to evaluate the main features and citation metrics of journals discontinued from Scopus for publication concerns, before and after discontinuation, and (2) to determine the extent of predatory journals among the discontinued journals.

Materials and Methods Eight authors surveyed a list of discontinued journals from Scopus (version July 2019). Data regarding metrics, citations and indexing were extracted from Scopus or other scientific databases, for the journals discontinued for publication concerns.

Results A total of 317 journals were evaluated. The mean number of citations per year after discontinuation was significantly higher than before (median of difference 64 citations, p<0.0001), and so was the number of citations per document (median of difference 0.4 citations, p<0.0001). The total number of citations after discontinuation was 607,261, with a median of 713 citations (IQR 254-2056, range 0-19468) per journal. The open access publishing model was declared for 93% (294/317) of the journals, but only nine of these are currently indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Twenty-two percent (72/317) of the journals were included in the Cabell blacklist.

Conclusions The citation count of journals discontinued for publication concerns, increases despite discontinuation. Countermeasures should be taken to ensure the validity and reliability of Scopus metrics both at journal- and author-level for the purpose of scientific assessment of publishing.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted March 27, 2020.
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Inflated citations and metrics of journals discontinued from Scopus for publication concerns: the GhoS(t)copus Project
Andrea Cortegiani, Mariachiara Ippolito, Giulia Ingoglia, Andrea Manca, Lucia Cugusi, Anna Severin, Michaela Strinzel, Vera Panzarella, Giuseppina Campisi, Lalu Manoj, Sharon Einav, David Moher, Antonino Giarratano
bioRxiv 2020.03.26.007435; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.26.007435
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Inflated citations and metrics of journals discontinued from Scopus for publication concerns: the GhoS(t)copus Project
Andrea Cortegiani, Mariachiara Ippolito, Giulia Ingoglia, Andrea Manca, Lucia Cugusi, Anna Severin, Michaela Strinzel, Vera Panzarella, Giuseppina Campisi, Lalu Manoj, Sharon Einav, David Moher, Antonino Giarratano
bioRxiv 2020.03.26.007435; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.26.007435

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