Predatory Journals

Predatory Journals#

Gets top cited articles from potential predatory journals

!pip install pandas
!pip install orjson

Requirement already satisfied: pandas in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (2.1.4)
Requirement already satisfied: numpy<2,>=1.23.2 in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (from pandas) (1.26.4)
Requirement already satisfied: python-dateutil>=2.8.2 in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (from pandas) (2.8.2)
Requirement already satisfied: pytz>=2020.1 in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (from pandas) (2023.3.post1)
Requirement already satisfied: tzdata>=2022.1 in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (from pandas) (2023.3)
Requirement already satisfied: six>=1.5 in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (from python-dateutil>=2.8.2->pandas) (1.16.0)

Requirement already satisfied: orjson in /home/natalie-widmann/anaconda3/lib/python3.11/site-packages (3.10.7)

import orjson
import pandas as pd
from banal import ensure_dict
import requests
import os

Define helper functions#

# Get OpenAlex json
def get_json(*args, **kwargs):
    res = requests.get(*args, **kwargs)
    assert res.ok
    return res.json()

# Extract properties from Openalex API objects with nested dictionaries
def extract(obj, *paths):
    paths = list(paths)
    for p in paths[:-1]:
        obj = ensure_dict(obj.get(p))
    return obj.get(paths[-1])

Load journal list#

It’s difficult to categorize a journal as predatory journal as there are different critiera and the actual publication process can vary from the peer review process which is promised on the journal website.

Lists of potential predatory journals exists, but are also critized. Therefore, before any accusation or publication, validate the list of analyzed journals.

For more detail, have a look at the following resources:

For the purpose of this Jupyter notebook we use a small sample of journals of the first list to show the general steps for investigation.

# Create the DataFrame with the provided information
data = {
    "warnlist__name": ["Abstract and Applied Analysis", "Academic Exchange Quarterly", "Adalya Journal", "HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research", "Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics", "Professionals Center for Business Research"],
    "warnlist__url": [
        "https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/", 
        "http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/", 
        "http://adalyajournal.com/",
        "http://ijtir.hctl.org/",
        "http://www.jpharmacol.com/",
        "http://pcbr.net/"
    ],
    "warnlist__additional_info": ["", "", "hijacker of a legitimate journal", "", "published by Medknow", ""],
}

warn_list = pd.DataFrame(data)
warn_list.head()
warnlist__name warnlist__url warnlist__additional_info
0 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/
1 Academic Exchange Quarterly http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/
2 Adalya Journal http://adalyajournal.com/ hijacker of a legitimate journal
3 HCTL Open International Journal of Technology ... http://ijtir.hctl.org/
4 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics http://www.jpharmacol.com/ published by Medknow

Define function to get journal and article information#

SOURCE_URL = "https://api.openalex.org/sources"
JOURNAL_COLS = ['id', 'issn', 'display_name', 'works_count', 'country_code', 'cited_by_count', 'works_api_url']
ARTICLE_COLS = ["id", "doi", "title", "publication_year", "publication_date", "oa_url", "cited_by_count", "location_count", "is_retracted"]

BASE_PARAMS = {
    "per_page": 100,
    "page": 1,
    "sort": "cited_by_count:desc",
}


def get_top_articles_in_journal(warnlist_info={}):
    
    # Get OA journal data based on ISSN
    issn = warnlist_info.get('warnlist__issn', None)
    if issn:
        url = SOURCE_URL + f'/issn:{issn}'
    else:
        name = warnlist_info.get('warnlist__name').replace(' ', '%20')
        url = SOURCE_URL + f'?filter=display_name.search:{name}'
    print(url)
    journal_resp = get_json(url)
    
    if journal_resp['results'] == []:
        return 
    
    else:
        journal_resp = journal_resp['results'][0]
        journal_data = {f"journal__{k}": v for k, v in journal_resp.items() if k in JOURNAL_COLS}
    
        # Get 100 most cited articles from journal
        articles_resp = get_json(journal_resp['works_api_url'], params=BASE_PARAMS)
    
        articles = articles_resp["results"]
        if not articles:
            return
            
        # get metadata for each article
        for article in articles:
            article_data = {f"article__{k}": v for k, v in article.items() if k in ARTICLE_COLS}
            article_data["article__journal"] = extract(article, "primary_location", "source", "display_name")
            article_data["article__primary_topic"] = extract(article, "primary_topic", "display_name")
            article_data["article__primary_field"] = extract(article, "primary_topic", "field", "display_name")

            # Get authors and institutions
            for authorship in article["authorships"]:
                author = {f"author__{k}": v for k, v in authorship["author"].items()}
                for institution in authorship["institutions"]:
                    institution = {f"institution__{k}": v for k, v in institution.items() if k != 'lineage'}
                    yield {**warnlist_info, **journal_data, **article_data, **author, **institution}

Get the top cited articles of each journal#

df = pd.DataFrame()
for idx, journal in warn_list.iterrows():
    print(journal['warnlist__name'])
    try:
        df = pd.concat([df, pd.DataFrame(get_top_articles_in_journal(journal.to_dict()))])
    except Exception as e:
        print(e)

Abstract and Applied Analysis
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:Abstract%20and%20Applied%20Analysis

Academic Exchange Quarterly
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:Academic%20Exchange%20Quarterly

Adalya Journal
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:Adalya%20Journal

HCTL Open International Journal of Technology Innovations and Research
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:HCTL%20Open%20International%20Journal%20of%20Technology%20Innovations%20and%20Research

Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:Journal%20of%20Pharmacology%20and%20Pharmacotherapeutics

Professionals Center for Business Research
https://api.openalex.org/sources?filter=display_name.search:Professionals%20Center%20for%20Business%20Research

Clean Data#

df = df[df['warnlist__name'] == df['journal__display_name']]

def join_list_column(df, column_name, separator=", "):
    """
    Convert a list stored in a DataFrame column into a string with joined values.
    """
    df[column_name] = df[column_name].apply(lambda x: separator.join(map(str, x)) if isinstance(x, list) else x)
    return df

df = join_list_column(df, 'journal__issn')
df.head()
warnlist__name warnlist__url warnlist__additional_info journal__id journal__issn journal__display_name journal__works_count journal__cited_by_count journal__country_code journal__works_api_url ... article__primary_topic article__primary_field author__id author__display_name author__orcid institution__id institution__display_name institution__ror institution__country_code institution__type
0 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fractional Laplacian Operators Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5065940783 João Marcos do Ó https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7039-4365 https://openalex.org/I169045520 Universidade Federal da Paraíba https://ror.org/00p9vpz11 BR education
1 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Iterative Algorithms for Nonlinear Operators a... Computer Science https://openalex.org/A5064838271 Dan Butnariu None https://openalex.org/I91203450 University of Haifa https://ror.org/02f009v59 IL education
2 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Iterative Algorithms for Nonlinear Operators a... Computer Science https://openalex.org/A5012941200 Elena Resmerita https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6670-8966 https://openalex.org/I4210158379 Johann Radon Institute for Computational and A... https://ror.org/05a94k872 AT facility
3 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Iterative Algorithms for Nonlinear Operators a... Computer Science https://openalex.org/A5012941200 Elena Resmerita https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6670-8966 https://openalex.org/I138211613 Austrian Academy of Sciences https://ror.org/03anc3s24 AT government
4 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fixed Point Theorems in Metric Spaces Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5081792390 Erdal Karapınar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6798-3254 https://openalex.org/I45542416 Atilim University https://ror.org/04pd3v454 TR education

5 rows × 28 columns

Store data#

os.makedirs('./results', exist_ok=True)
df.to_csv('./results/openalex__predatory_journals.csv', index=False)

Analysis#

Journals#

journals = df.drop_duplicates(subset=['journal__id', 'journal__display_name'])
journals.head()
warnlist__name warnlist__url warnlist__additional_info journal__id journal__issn journal__display_name journal__works_count journal__cited_by_count journal__country_code journal__works_api_url ... article__primary_topic article__primary_field author__id author__display_name author__orcid institution__id institution__display_name institution__ror institution__country_code institution__type
0 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fractional Laplacian Operators Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5065940783 João Marcos do Ó https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7039-4365 https://openalex.org/I169045520 Universidade Federal da Paraíba https://ror.org/00p9vpz11 BR education
0 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics http://www.jpharmacol.com/ published by Medknow https://openalex.org/S144901397 0976-500X, 0976-5018 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics 722 15196 IN https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Animal Research Studies Veterinary https://openalex.org/A5070767219 Jaykaran Charan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4857-6725 https://openalex.org/I129862065 Government Medical College https://ror.org/007fenw03 IN education
0 Professionals Center for Business Research http://pcbr.net/ https://openalex.org/S4210234709 2409-9783 Professionals Center for Business Research 22 101 PK https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Wireless Sensor Networks for Data Analysis Computer Science https://openalex.org/A5079242255 Grzegorz Chodak https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9604-482X https://openalex.org/I11923345 Wrocław University of Science and Technology https://ror.org/008fyn775 PL education

3 rows × 28 columns

# Overview on journals
print(f'Found {len(journals)} of {len(warn_list['warnlist__name'].unique())} journals on warn list.')

Found 3 of 6 journals on warn list.

journals['journal__country_code'].value_counts()

journal__country_code
GB    1
IN    1
PK    1
Name: count, dtype: int64

Top Articles & Authors#

# Analyse common authors
authors_df = df.drop_duplicates(subset=['article__id', 'author__id'])
author_counts = authors_df['author__display_name'].value_counts()
author_counts[:10]

author__display_name
Xiao‐Jun Yang            6
Dumitru Băleanu          6
Subramani Parasuraman    5
Stevo Stević             4
Hiren Trivedi            4
Hasan Bulut              3
Yusuf Pandır             3
Shaher Momani            3
Omar Abu Arqub           3
Jatinder Singh           3
Name: count, dtype: int64

cols = ['journal__display_name', 'article__id', 'article__title', 'author__display_name', 'institution__display_name']
frequent_authors = author_counts[author_counts >= 5].index
frequent_authors_df = authors_df[authors_df['author__display_name'].isin(frequent_authors)]
frequent_authors_df[cols][:10]
journal__display_name article__id article__title author__display_name institution__display_name
30 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2138514701 Application of Local Fractional Series Expansi... Xiao‐Jun Yang China University of Mining and Technology
146 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2127778721 Local Fractional Sumudu Transform with Applica... Dumitru Băleanu King Abdulaziz University
149 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2127778721 Local Fractional Sumudu Transform with Applica... Xiao‐Jun Yang China University of Mining and Technology
162 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2125576051 Local Fractional Series Expansion Method for S... Xiao‐Jun Yang China University of Mining and Technology
173 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2025308345 On Fractional SIRC Model with<i>Salmonella</i>... Dumitru Băleanu King Abdulaziz University
179 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2069284056 Mittag-Leffler Stability Theorem for Fractiona... Dumitru Băleanu Çankaya University
185 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2095733540 Local Fractional Fourier Series with Applicati... Xiao‐Jun Yang China University of Mining and Technology
194 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2074811663 Local Fractional Variational Iteration and Dec... Dumitru Băleanu King Abdulaziz University
200 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2074811663 Local Fractional Variational Iteration and Dec... Xiao‐Jun Yang China University of Mining and Technology
266 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2044829482 A Local Fractional Variational Iteration Metho... Dumitru Băleanu King Abdulaziz University

Institutions#

institution_df = df.drop_duplicates(subset=['article__id', 'institution__id'])
institution_counts = institution_df['institution__display_name'].value_counts()
institution_counts[:10]

institution__display_name
King Abdulaziz University                                               12
Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research    11
China University of Mining and Technology                                6
Çankaya University                                                       6
Government Medical College                                               6
Institute of Space Science                                               5
M. P. Shah Medical College                                               4
All India Institute of Medical Sciences                                  4
Al-Balqa Applied University                                              4
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts                                     4
Name: count, dtype: int64

frequent_institutions = institution_counts[institution_counts >= 10].index
frequent_institution_df = institution_df[institution_df['institution__display_name'].isin(frequent_institutions)]
frequent_institution_df[:10]
warnlist__name warnlist__url warnlist__additional_info journal__id journal__issn journal__display_name journal__works_count journal__cited_by_count journal__country_code journal__works_api_url ... article__primary_topic article__primary_field author__id author__display_name author__orcid institution__id institution__display_name institution__ror institution__country_code institution__type
18 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Theory and Applications of Fractional Differen... Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5077672620 Bashir Ahmad https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5350-2977 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
39 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fixed Point Theorems in Metric Spaces Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5055431798 Ravi P. Agarwal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0634-2370 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
146 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Image Denoising Techniques and Algorithms Computer Science https://openalex.org/A5030756029 Dumitru Băleanu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0286-7244 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
173 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Anomalous Diffusion Modeling and Analysis Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5030756029 Dumitru Băleanu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0286-7244 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
194 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Anomalous Diffusion Modeling and Analysis Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5030756029 Dumitru Băleanu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0286-7244 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
214 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fixed Point Theorems in Metric Spaces Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5089045945 Nawab Hussain https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6585-2202 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
226 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Networked Control Systems Engineering https://openalex.org/A5080263475 Fuad E. Alsaadi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6420-3948 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
242 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Statistical Convergence in Approximation Theor... Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5078048991 S. A. Mohiuddine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9050-9104 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
249 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Fixed Point Theorems in Metric Spaces Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5055028868 Tomonari Suzuki https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2524-6045 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education
266 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aaa/ https://openalex.org/S54871839 1085-3375, 1687-0409 Abstract and Applied Analysis 5461 49059 GB https://api.openalex.org/works?filter=primary_... ... Anomalous Diffusion Modeling and Analysis Mathematics https://openalex.org/A5030756029 Dumitru Băleanu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0286-7244 https://openalex.org/I185163786 King Abdulaziz University https://ror.org/02ma4wv74 SA education

10 rows × 28 columns

Articles#

article_df = df.drop_duplicates(subset = ['article__id', 'article__title'])
article_df[cols]
journal__display_name article__id article__title author__display_name institution__display_name
0 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2085926441 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Ma... João Marcos do Ó Universidade Federal da Paraíba
1 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2018094386 Bregman distances, totally convex functions, a... Dan Butnariu University of Haifa
4 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2168203105 Generalized - Contractive Type Mappings and Re... Erdal Karapınar Atilim University
6 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2141858378 Asymptotic Methods for Solitary Solutions and ... Ji‐Huan He Soochow University
7 Abstract and Applied Analysis https://openalex.org/W2091571469 A Theory of Besov and Triebel‐Lizorkin Spaces ... Yongsheng Han Auburn University
... ... ... ... ... ...
229 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics https://openalex.org/W2051152621 Comparative evaluation of adverse drug reactio... Parloop Bhatt B.J. Medical College
230 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics https://openalex.org/W2034042451 Adverse drug reaction profile of oseltamivir i... Prashant Dalvi M. P. Shah Medical College
235 Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics https://openalex.org/W2034072192 Dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome: A rare life... Kolar Vishwanath Vinod Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical ...
0 Professionals Center for Business Research https://openalex.org/W2290575628 The Nuisance of Slow Moving Products in Electr... Grzegorz Chodak Wrocław University of Science and Technology
1 Professionals Center for Business Research https://openalex.org/W3121474442 Economic Integration and Endogenous Growth Rev... Raul A. Barreto University of Adelaide

183 rows × 5 columns

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6))
plt.hist(article_df['article__publication_year'], bins=42, edgecolor='black')
plt.title('Histogram of Publication Year of Publications in Potential Predatory Journals')
plt.xlabel('Year')
plt.ylabel('Number of Publications')
plt.grid(True)
plt.show()
../_images/f6504a40f3a046d73f8ed995c994170457839a3b519b019d942615b2d3120bdc.png 
primary_field = article_df['article__primary_field'].value_counts()
primary_field[:10]

article__primary_field
Mathematics                                     68
Medicine                                        56
Computer Science                                12
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology     9
Engineering                                      8
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics       6
Veterinary                                       5
Physics and Astronomy                            4
Neuroscience                                     3
Decision Sciences                                3
Name: count, dtype: int64

primary_topic = article_df['article__primary_topic'].value_counts()
primary_topic[:10]

article__primary_topic
Anomalous Diffusion Modeling and Analysis                                  25
Theory and Applications of Fractional Differential Equations                8
Fixed Point Theorems in Metric Spaces                                       6
Adverse Drug Reactions and Pharmacovigilance                                6
Iterative Algorithms for Nonlinear Operators and Optimization               5
Animal Research Studies                                                     5
Stability of Functional Equations in Mathematical Analysis                  5
Statistical Convergence in Approximation Theory and Functional Analysis     4
Matrix Inequalities and Geometric Means                                     4
Polypharmacy and Inappropriate Medication Use in Elderly                    4
Name: count, dtype: int64

article_df['article__is_retracted'].value_counts()

article__is_retracted
False    183
Name: count, dtype: int64
Contents