In June 2026, the Scopus database published a list of academic journals that had been deprived of indexing due to violations of the platform’s standards. The Scientific Publications company analysed the update and prepared an up-to-date list of these publications, as well as the reasons for their exclusion.
Why can academic journals be excluded from Scopus?
Many researchers seek to publish articles in journals indexed in Scopus, as they are considered the most authoritative and high-quality publications. To maintain this level, the database checks publications every month for compliance with its standards. If a journal violates the indexing rules, it loses its indexing.
Scopus identifies a number of violations that may lead to exclusion, including:
- the systematic publication of articles with low scientific value that have almost no impact on the development of the field
- failure to comply with the ethical standards of academic work – borrowing other people’s texts without references, reusing one’s own previous work as new material, and so on
- unusual dynamics in scientometric indicators, including an abnormally rapid accumulation of publications or citations
- the quality of peer review and scientific research does not meet Scopus requirements, and the materials lack originality and novelty
- a sudden change in the publication’s policy – the relaxation of material selection criteria or an abrupt shift to other subject areas
List of academic journals excluded from Scopus in June 2026
| № | Journal title | ISSN / eISSN |
Reason for exclusion |
| 1 | Ecological Safety and Balanced Use of Resources | 24153184 / 25229508 | Discontinuation |
| 2 | Ingegneria Sismica | ISSN: 03931420 | Journal change policy |
| 3 | International Journal of Aquatic Research and Environmental Studies | eISSN: 29807840 | Discontinuation |
| 4 | Journal of Engineering Science and Technology | ISSN: 18234690 | Discontinuation |
| 5 | Journal of Industrial and Management Optimization | 15475816 / 1553166X | Journal change policy |
| 6 | Natural Product Research | 14786427 / 14786419 | Discontinuation |
| 7 | Pain, Joints, Spine | 22241507 / 23071133 | Journal change policy |
| 8 | Pharmazie | ISSN: 00317144 | Journal change policy |
| 9 | Polish Journal of Environmental Studies | 12301485 / 20835906 | Discontinuation |
| 10 | Retos (Spain) | 15791726 / 19882041 | Discontinuation |
| 11 | Tikrit Journal of Engineering Sciences | 1813162X / 23127589 | Discontinuation |
| 12 | Universal Journal of Public Health | 23318880 / 23318945 | Discontinuation |
Why did journals lose their indexing in June 2026?
An analysis of the journals excluded from the Scopus database in June 2026 shows that most of them (8 publications) lost their indexing with the designation Discontinuation. This designation means that the journal’s coverage in Scopus is being discontinued; however, the database itself does not disclose the specific violations that led to this decision.
The remaining publications, namely 4 journals, received the designation Journal change policy. This means that the publication significantly changed its editorial policy, for example, by relaxing the requirements for selecting materials, changing its thematic focus or altering the peer-review procedure, and these changes no longer comply with the criteria under which the journal was included in Scopus.
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