Detecting a network of hijacked journals by its archive

Anna Abalkina

Scientometrics, 2021, vol. 126, issue 8, No 32, 7123-7148

Abstract: Abstract This study describes a method for identifying hijacked journal domains based on an analysis of the archives of clone journals. This method is based on the argument that fraudulent publishers recycle identical papers to create a fictitious archive for a hijacked journal. A Google Custom Search API is used to search the details of papers published in hijacked journals (title/authors/affiliation) and provide links to where similar texts were published. An analysis of the archives of hijacked journals facilitates the detection of 62 clone websites of 57 authentic journals. It also enabled the prediction of two hijacked journal websites before they became operational. This study shows that the majority of detected hijacked journals are within a network of clone journals organized by the same fraudulent individual(s). The information and content of nine out of the 57 examined legitimate journals have been compromised in international and national scientometric databases by hijackers, which poses a challenge for the international academic community.

Keywords: Clone journals; Hijacked journals; Fraudulent publishers; Archive; Academic ethics; Fraud detection; Network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 D23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04056-0

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