Two Bosnian WoS-indexed journals

[Rajko]

Dear Information Scientists,

Enclosed please find the summary of analysis of two 'scientific journals' from Bosnia that are included in
the WoS.

I would appreciate it very much if you comment this analysis, and state what should be done.

Sincerely,

Rajko Igic
Editor-in-Chief
Scripta Medica (Banja Luka)

WWW.scriptamedica.com (free access)


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http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/03/07/report-details-predatory-practices-of-two-bosnian-journals/

Šipka, P., (2012). Legitimacy of citations in predatory publishing: the case of proliferation of papers by Serbian authors in two Bosnian WoS‐indexed journals. CEES Occasional Paper Series ; no. 2012‐12‐2. Retrieved from http://www.ceon.rs/ops/12122 ISBN 978‐86‐89475‐00‐5


 
Summary
!
This!paper!contains!the!results!of!an!ad!hoc!action!research!undertaken!within!a!CEON/CEES!broader! 
project!on!publishing!misconduct!in!journals!from!Southeast!Europe.!Its!purpose!is!to!urgently! 
communicate!the!alarming!degree!of!misconduct!practiced!by!two!Bosnian!WoS/JCR!journals,!with! 
substantial!involvement!of!a!large!group!of!authors!from!Serbia!who!publish!extensively!and! 
increasingly!in!the!two!journals.!After!comparing!them!with!the!other!two!journals!from!the!same! 
country,!also!indexed!in!WoS/JCR,!it!was!found!that:! 
! 
! The!two!journals,!HealthMed!and!TTEM,!are!published!by!an!organization!(DRUNPP)!of!unclear! 
identity,!low!transparency!and!questionable!management.! 
! The!general!profile!of!these!journals!shows!a!typical!"predatory"!pattern!characterized!by!the! 
discrepancy!between!author!publishing!charges!and!investment!in!journal!quality.!! 
! The!two!journals!are!bibliometrically!isolated,!i.e.!not!being!cited!by!other!quality!journals! 
including!two!controls,!and!even!by!small!non"WoS!Bosnian!journals!of!the!similar!background.!! 
! Relatively!high!Impact!Factor!of!the!two!journals!comes!entirely!from!self"citations,!their! 
mutual!citations!exchange,!and!citations!delivered!by!Serbian!authors.! 
! A!large!amount!of!those!citations!is!illegitimate,!i.e.!either!unjustifiable,!or!fabricated.! 
! The!proofs!exist!of!direct!engagement!of!both!journals’!editorial!staff!in!misconduct.!Some!of! 
these!malpractices,!e.g.!appending!article!reference!lists!with!items!citing!their!own!or!the! 
other!DRUNPP!journal!without!informing!authors!about!the!change,!are!to!our!best!knowledge! 
unprecedented!in!international!academic!publishing.! 
! Clear!indications!exist!of!willing!involvement!of!authors!from!several!Serbian!institutions,!which! 
makes!them!members!of!a!"citation!cartel".! 
! Considering!the!benefits!Serbian!researchers!have!from!publishing!in!WoS!journals,!these! 
authors,!along!with!editors!of!DRUNPP!journals!themselves,!have!to!be!tagged!as!"members!of! 
a!joint!unethical!enterprise".! 
! The!cross"border!spillover!of!fabricating!citations!is!already!taking!place!in!Serbia,!where!two! 
authors,!one!of!which!is!a!prominent!member!of!the!DRUNPP!group,!established!journals!of!the! 
very!same!profile!and!started!very!same!malpractice.! 
!
!CEES!Occasional!Paper!Series!No.!2012"12"2! 
! 
Legitimacy!of!citations!in!predatory!publishing! 
 
 
 "!6"!! 
The!results!call!for!urgent!international!action!of!all!stakeholders!involved.!Relevant!institutions!and! 
individuals!involved!are!in!the!position!to!take!their!fair!share:!! 
! 
(1)!The!Serbian!Ministry!responsible!for!science,!as!both!funding!and!regulatory!institution,!as!well! 
as!the!National!Council!for!Science!and!Technological!Development,!should!take!best!care!that!the! 
two!DRUNPP!journals!are!removed!from!the!list!of!international!publications,!that!papers!published! 
in!the!two!journals!at!any!time!in!the!past!are!not!recognized!as!such,!and!that!authors!heavily! 
involved!in!misconduct!bear!ethical!consequences.!! 
! 
(2)!Publisher!of!WoS/JCR!should!consider!withdrawing!DRUNPP!journals!from!its!lists,!based!on!the! 
conclusions!of!this!study,!as!well!as!on!raw!materials!used!to!arrive!at!these!conclusions,!which!form! 
an!integral!part!of!the!study.! 
! 
(3)!The!authors!who!published!valid!papers!and!have!not!been!indulged!in!unethical!activities!should! 
withdraw!their!papers.!! 
! 
!(4)!Affiliated!institutions!of!DRUNPP!journals!editors"in"chiefs!should!consider!appropriate!measures! 
against!their!staff.!They!are!obviously!most!responsible!for!both!masterminding!technologies!of! 
manipulation!and!engineering!sociocognitive!framework!for!the!project!realization.!! 
! 
(5)!The!Committee!on!Publication!Ethics!(COPE)!as!an!international!organization!protecting!public! 
interest!in!this!field!should!examine!the!case!and!take!appropriate!recommendations.!! 
! 
In!order!to!assist!actions!suggested!above,!CEON/CEES!has!prepared!a!database!and!web!application! 
containing!critical!data!gathered!within!this!study,!including!proofs!for!all!citations!suspected!of! 
illegitimacy!and!all!papers!suspected!of!plagiarism.!The!application!is!available!at! 
http://data%2Dscindeks.ceon.rs/.!Relevant!institutions!are!provided!with!login!credentials!to!access! 
the!application!and!check!integrity!of!the!data,!as!well!as!the!validity!of!analytical!assessments! 
made,!in!order!to!make!sure!that!the!conclusions!of!this!study!are!warranted.!It!was!assumed!that! 
this!was!a!necessary!and!sufficient!condition!for!their!final!decisions!about!possible!interventions.! 
! 
This!study!was!not!supported!by!any!organization!and!has!no!clashes!of!interest.!