Methodology
Naming note (language standard 2026-09-08): terms of this published specification map to the product as follows: “whitelisted/accredited” = “Meets PublishLens criteria”, “provisionally accredited” = “Provisionally listed”, “risk signals” = “methodology signals”. The list is PublishLens's own, not an official accreditation; the specification text is hash-archived and changes only with a new methodology version.
This methodology is fully published: this page is generated directly from the official assessment specification served by the API.
Current version: v2.2 · public
This platform presents factual data and scores calculated using a published methodology for informational purposes. It is not a judgment on a journal's quality or legitimacy. The final decision rests with the researcher.
When does a journal become "Accredited"?
Conditions
- تقييم كامل: توفّر أدلة قابلة للتحقق آلياً لكل المعايير السبعة (المقام = 100).
- الدرجة الإجمالية ≥ 85 من 100.
- حدود دنيا لكل معيار: C1 ≥ 25، C2 = 10، C4 ≥ 6، C6 ≥ 10، C7 = 10.
- استقرار: مضي 12 شهراً متصلاً في حالة «اعتماد مبدئي» دون انقطاع.
- خلوّ من أي إشارة شطب من فهرس أو اشتباه اختطاف نشطة.
Published version archive
Each version is SHA-256-stamped and archived — a live list from the governance record.
- v1.1Effective from 2026-08-20aab6ad056d1f8664…
- v1.2Effective from 2026-08-20— منهجية PublishLens — الإصدار v1.2 (وضع التقييم الجزئي)ed5bd17787154f71…
- v1.3Effective from 2026-09-03— منهجية PublishLens — الإصدار v1.3 (تفعيل C3/C4/C7 الجزئي)d78e1f4155c8430b…
- v1.4Effective from 2026-09-03— METHODOLOGY v1.3 — Addendum "v1.4" (C3 additional sources: Springer, Cambridge Core)c57da57f0f1fc19a…
- v1.5Effective from 2026-09-03— METHODOLOGY v1.4 — Addendum "v1.5" (C7 second source: Springer publisher-wide policy)00a559dcc705bc43…
- v1.6Effective from 2026-09-04— METHODOLOGY v1.5 — Addendum "v1.6" (C7 publisher-policy sources: Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis)ae140b1e9322fd4c…
- v1.7Effective from 2026-09-04— METHODOLOGY v1.6 — Addendum "v1.7" (C6 restoration: OASPA/STM publisher-affiliation crosswalk)680e1191a1cdb874…
- v1.8Effective from 2026-09-04— METHODOLOGY v1.7 — Addendum "v1.8": the W-1 full-accreditation rule + closing the score-ceiling gaps3486ac8b320343f0…
- v1.9Effective from 2026-09-05— METHODOLOGY v1.9 — Addendum "PCI": the PublishLens Citation Index (self-computed impact metric)f5aa743312142061…
- v2.0Effective from 2026-09-06— METHODOLOGY v2.0 — C1 redefined on two licence-clean selective indexes (Scimago mirror retired)edd8060e9bd5579a…
- v2.1Effective from 2026-09-07— METHODOLOGY v2.1 — Addendum "PTD": the Top-Decile Share (حصّة العُشر الأعلى)51f3871b007279ad…
- v2.2Effective from 2026-09-12— METHODOLOGY v2.2 — Consolidated statement of C2 and C7 as implemented, plus display rules (لا تغيير في الأوزان)945a246fda1c985a…
Assessment on available evidence (partial assessment)
Partial Evaluation Mode — لا تصنيف سلبي في غياب الأدلة — فقط الحالات الأربع
Denominator: what is actually assessed
In words: 30 points if criterion C1 has evidence (otherwise not counted) + 5 fixed points + 10 points if criterion C5 has evidence (otherwise not counted)
den_C1(0|30) + 5 + den_C5(0|10)Possible values: 5 / 15 / 35 / 45
Display threshold: 30 — مقام < 30 → حالة أدلة غير كافية (لا درجة، لا لون سلبي)
أقصى مصدر وحيد = 30/45 = 66.7% < 70% عتبة الاعتماد
Provisional listing
Score threshold: 70%
Mandatory pass: C1 + C2 (C1 ≥ 25 (مصدران مؤكَّدان ومثبَّتان) و C2 > 0)
Criteria
C1 — Recognized Indexing (30)
0 or 30 — 0 إذا لا دليل؛ 30 إذا وُجد مصدر واحد على الأقل
| Points | Condition |
|---|---|
| 30 | إدراج DOAJ حي + إدراج MEDLINE (serfile الرسمي من NLM) — مصدران انتقائيان مستقلان نظيفا الرخصة |
| 15 | أحد المصدرين فقط (DOAJ وحدها أو MEDLINE وحدها) |
| 0 | لا مصدر → C1 خارج المقام |
Excluded rows
- SJR/Scimago mirror | Reason: أُقصيت نهائياً في v2.0 — بيانات SJR حقوق محفوظة بلا رخصة (تدقيق أرشيفي 2026-09-06)؛ لا اعتماد تجارياً على بيانات بلا ترخيص
- Scopus/WoS | Reason: لا مصدر Scopus/WoS رسمي لدى المنصة — لا يُزعم أي منهما
- PubMed | Reason: إشارة مساندة فقط — لا نقاط
C2 — Valid ISSN (10)
5 or 10 —
| Points | Condition |
|---|---|
| 5 | ISSN-L موجود بصيغة صحيحة |
| 10 | ISSN confirmed in the international ISSN register (official ISSN-L table: identifier present + cluster consistent) |
C3 — Editorial Board (10)
0 or 10 —
C4 — Digital Archiving (10)
0 or 10 —
C5 — Fee Transparency (10)
0 or 10 — 0 إذا غاب المبلغ أو صفر غير مسند؛ 10 إذا وُجد مبلغ/صفر صريح مسند
| Points | Condition |
|---|---|
| 10 | مبلغ > 0 مع عملة معلنة — أو صفر صريح مسند بإدراج DOAJ حي |
| 5 | مبلغ > 0 بلا عملة (صيغة غامضة) |
| 0 | غياب المبلغ أو صفر غير مسند → C5 خارج المقام |
C6 — Publisher Affiliation (20)
0 or 20 —
C7 — Editorial Structure (10)
0 or 10 —
Auxiliary Indicators
Zero weight in score
PR = max(0, 1 - min(CV, 1)) where CV = std(works_count_y)/mean(works_count_y)Window: 5 years — Cold start: requires 3 non-zero years in window; else None with reason=insufficient_data
Null policy: None — no default substitution
PublishLens Citation Index (PCI)Zero weight in score
computed entirely by us — independent of SJR, ARCIF, and Clarivate
PCI_2y(J,Y) = citations received in year Y by citable items J published in {Y-1,Y-2} ÷ count of those itemsCitation source: OpenAlex works parquet counts_by_year (CC0) — independent of SJR / ARCIF / Clarivate
Quartiles: percentile rank within primary scientific field (primary_topic.field) → Q1..Q4; replaces the SJR-derived best_quartile
Window: 2 years — Scope: evaluated journals (evaluated_partial / provisional_whitelisted) with an openalex_source_id bridge
Null policy: None — absence shown as no metric, never zero (absence ≠ deficiency)
Deferred indicators: self_citation_rate · author_geo_diversity
Methodology signals (dated facts from their sources)
- R1 — Index delistingInteraction: gate
Active signal blocks approval regardless of score (even 100). No deduction; approval is entirely blocked until the signal is cleared or an appeal is accepted.
Condition: Removal from DOAJ or Scopus (recorded fact, delisting date is public)
- R2 — RetractionsInteraction: deduct
Fixed 10-point deduction before comparing against the 70 threshold; does not repeat per retraction beyond the threshold.
Condition: count_retractions >= 3 within a rolling 12-month window
- R3 — HijackingInteraction: gate
Active signal blocks approval regardless of score.
Condition: ISSN/domain conflict with ISSN Portal records or a documented hijacking alert from an official body
- R4 — Behavioral patterns (statistical inference)Interaction: out_of_score
Neither added to nor deducted from the whitelist score; displayed as an independent signal labeled 'behavioral pattern — statistical inference'.
Mandatory Disclosure
- This score does not currently include COPE membership data (their site blocks automated access) — verify membership on the COPE website directly.
- No statistical confidence interval is possible for the whitelist score: the score is rule-based, not a statistical estimate — any published CI would be fictitious.
- Commitment to quarterly measurement and publication of the withdrawn_false_positive rate (computed from the database via event-log, no deletions, verifiable by third parties).
- A journal's absence from the whitelist is not a claim of wrongdoing (it may simply lack data); R4 is a statistical inference subject to error.
Sources and their roles
We separate three roles: indexing databases (where a journal is listed), data & citation sources (from which we compute facts and indicators like PCI), and standards registries.
Indexing databases
- DOAJ · CC0
- PubMed (NLM) · public
- MEDLINE (NLM) · public
Registries & standards
The indexing databases integrated so far are open (DOAJ, PubMed/MEDLINE). Commercial databases such as Scopus and Web of Science (SCIE/SSCI/AHCI/ESCI), Embase and PMC are not integrated yet because their data is not open and requires licensing — so a journal's absence from our directory does not mean it is not indexed in those databases.