(25 Nov 2024) Occasionally changes in academic research publishing and technology require changes to our content policy. Elsevier is committed to ensuring the accuracy and quality of our content, so these changes have been created based on thorough study and analysis by team members.
The following changes are now active and will be used in the Scopus content selection process moving forward:
- Removing “2 year” conditions for newly launched journals
One of Scopus journal selection criteria is publication history. We used to make this conditional for most publishers that their newly launched journals can only submit for Scopus review by the CSAB after 2 years of publication. Since August 2024, this conditional criteria is removed. We now advise the publisher of the title to carefully determine what the right moment is to submit the title for Scopus in terms of how much content has been published. Please note that the CSAB still requires some publication history and a number of publications for review and in case of a negative evaluation outcome, there will be an embargo period that the journal cannot apply. With this change, we adopt full transparency and all publishers will be treated equally with the benefit that more recent titles may end up in Scopus faster.
- Encouraging journals to integrate Generative AI policies
Generative AI (GenAI) presents both opportunities and challenges in scientific writing and academic publishing. To improve transparency, Scopus encourages journals to have a dedicated GenAI policy and disclose the use of GenAI in creating content or anywhere else in the peer review and publishing process. We are aware that GenAI is developing rapidly, and Scopus does not demand specific requirements or wording that needs to be covered in such a policy. However, note that major publishers and associations already publish policies or declarations on the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing on their websites, such as:
– The use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in scientific writing
– WAME Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications
- Enhanced scrutiny for journal changes
To maintain our high-quality standards, at Scopus, we ensure that changes to the source (journal) are carefully monitored and validated. The authenticity of source changes are verified before any updates are made. Source changes can include, but are not limited to, changes to the title name, ISSN, ownership, or Editorial oversight of the journal. It is therefore not guaranteed that a journal will remain selected for Scopus coverage after the change, and this is subject to continued discretional review by the Scopus Content Selection & Advisory board (CSAB). Journals that have undergone significant change will be considered a new journal and may be submitted for Scopus review again according to the regular title review process.
Find out more here.
