Journals removed from DOAJ appearing within SCImago's ranks: A study of excluded journals

Abstract

Researchers applauded Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)’s new selection criteria that removed many existing journals from its index because they are ‘Not Adhering to Best Practice’. However, many of these journals have acceptable scholarly quality. The present study compares such removed journals to a trustworthy bibliometric database, SCImago Journal & Country Rank (the Scopus Database). It finds many overlaps. Some of the overlapping journals have a high score in the SCImago ranks. This paper calls for a more transparent process of journal reviews by DOAJ or even a re-examination of the selection criteria and/or the evaluation process.