UGC's 'preferred' journals are still predatory?

In January 2017, the University Grants Commission of India released a list of 38,635 Journals that it considers 'genuine' and hence articles published only in these journals will be used for academic performance evaluation.

The last list published was scattered across 5 scanned pdf documents. It was almost impossible to search. The Wire published an analysis of these Journals and found at least 35 of them Predatory

I did an independent analysis and found only 25. The differing numbers arise from the simple fact that those PDFs are hard to parse.

The good news is that UGC re-released the list in text format on April 14th, 2017. However, the bad news is there are as many as 82 journals that overlap with Jeffrey Beall's list now. There probably could be more, since here I just check for an exact match (case-sensitive, equal spaces etc.)

All the data and scripts are hosted here

This notebook is GPLv3 licensed. Please see LICENSE for details.

Update 10th May 2017: Added a clean function to handle inexact matches. The current tally of Journals is 94 (Merging Jan 2017 and Dec 2016 versions of Beall's list). There are 50 predatory publishers.


In [1]:
import pandas as pd
from fuzzywuzzy import fuzz
import re
from fuzzywuzzy import process

pd.set_option('display.max_colwidth', -1)
pd.set_option('display.max_columns', None)
pd.set_option('display.max_rows', None)

def clean_name(x):
    ## Remove things in braces such as :
    ## Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment (JFAE) => Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
    cleaned = re.sub(r"\(([A-Za-z0-9_]+)\)", '', x).strip()
    cleaned = re.sub( '\s+', ' ', cleaned ).strip()
    cleaned = unicode(cleaned.lower().replace('&', 'and'), 'utf-8')
    return cleaned

In [2]:
with open('Beall_list_dec2016.txt') as f:
    beall_list_dec = [clean_name(x.strip()) for x in f.readlines()]
df = pd.read_csv('UGC_Journal_list_2017.csv')
df.Title = df.Title.apply(clean_name)
df.Publisher = df.Publisher.astype(str).apply(clean_name)

In [3]:
exact_matches_dec2016 = pd.DataFrame({'Journals': list(set(df.Title).intersection(beall_list_dec))}) 

#fuzzy_matches = [process.extractOne(x, beall_list_dec) for x in set(df.Title)]

In [4]:
exact_matches_dec2016.sort_values(by='Journals').reset_index(drop=True)


Out[4]:
Journals
0 actual problems of economics
1 african journal of traditional, complementary and alternative medicines
2 aging
3 al ameen journal of medical sciences
4 asian journal of chemistry
5 asian journal of pharmaceutical research and health care
6 asian pacific journal of tropical disease
7 australasian medical journal
8 australian journal of basic and applied sciences
9 biomedical and pharmacology journal
10 bionano frontier
11 bioscience discovery
12 biosciences, biotechnology research asia
13 cellular and molecular biology
14 clinics in oncology
15 current botany
16 der pharma chemica
17 european journal of economics, finance and administrative sciences
18 european journal of science and theology
19 european journal of scientific research
20 european journal of social sciences
21 genes and cancer
22 genetics and molecular research
23 global media journal
24 indian journal of scientific research
25 interdisciplinary toxicology
26 international archives of medicine
27 international journal of applied linguistics and english literature
28 international journal of applied research in natural products
29 international journal of biomedical science
30 international journal of collaborative research on internal medicine and public health
31 international journal of communication networks and information security
32 international journal of computer science issues
33 international journal of current pharmaceutical review and research
34 international journal of current research and review
35 international journal of drug development and research
36 international journal of electrochemical science
37 international journal of engineering and technology
38 international journal of health research
39 international journal of network security
40 international journal of pharma and bio sciences
41 international journal of pharmaceutical and clinical research
42 international journal of pharmaceutical and phytopharmacological research
43 international journal of pharmaceutical research and development
44 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and drug research
45 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and research
46 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences review and research
47 international journal of pharmacognosy
48 international journal of pharmacognosy and phytochemical research
49 international journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
50 international journal of pharmacy and technology
51 international journal of renewable energy research
52 international journal of research in ayurveda and pharmacy
53 international journal of sustainable development
54 international journal of toxicological and pharmacological research
55 international proceedings of chemical, biological and environmental engineering
56 international research journal of finance and economics
57 international research journal of pharmacy
58 journal of accounting, ethics and public policy
59 journal of animal and plant sciences
60 journal of applied linguistics
61 journal of applied pharmaceutical science
62 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical research
63 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences
64 journal of clinical and analytical medicine
65 journal of computers
66 journal of electrical engineering
67 journal of environmental biology
68 journal of environmental hydrology
69 journal of language and literature
70 journal of materials and environmental science
71 journal of natural products
72 journal of pharmacy research
73 journal of physical therapy science
74 journal of psychology and theology
75 journal of software
76 journal of theoretical and applied information technology
77 mathematical and computational applications
78 national journal of community medicine
79 oncoscience
80 oncotarget
81 oriental journal of computer science and technology
82 pharmacie globale: international journal of comprehensive pharmacy
83 pharmacologyonline
84 research journal of pharmaceutical, biological and chemical sciences
85 researchers world - journal of arts science and commerce
86 romanian biotechnological letters
87 scholarly research exchange
88 sport science
89 technics technologies education management
90 the criterion: an international journal in english
91 turkish online journal of educational technology
92 world applied sciences journal

Update

Update for Beall's list Jan 2017 version. For some reason, the total count reduces to 43.


In [5]:
with open('Beall_list_Jan2017.txt') as f:
    beall_list_jan = [clean_name(x.strip()) for x in f.readlines()]
    
exact_matches_jan2017 = pd.DataFrame({'Journals': list(set(df.Title).intersection(beall_list_jan))})
exact_matches_jan2017.sort_values(by='Journals').reset_index(drop=True)


Out[5]:
Journals
0 african journal of traditional, complementary and alternative medicines
1 aging
2 al ameen journal of medical sciences
3 asian journal of chemistry
4 asian journal of pharmaceutical research and health care
5 asian pacific journal of tropical disease
6 australasian medical journal
7 australian journal of basic and applied sciences
8 biomedical and pharmacology journal
9 bionano frontier
10 bioscience discovery
11 biosciences, biotechnology research asia
12 cellular and molecular biology
13 clinics in oncology
14 current botany
15 der pharma chemica
16 european journal of science and theology
17 european journal of scientific research
18 genes and cancer
19 genetics and molecular research
20 global media journal
21 indian journal of scientific research
22 interdisciplinary toxicology
23 international archives of medicine
24 international journal of applied linguistics and english literature
25 international journal of applied research in natural products
26 international journal of biomedical science
27 international journal of collaborative research on internal medicine and public health
28 international journal of communication networks and information security
29 international journal of computer science issues
30 international journal of current pharmaceutical review and research
31 international journal of current research and review
32 international journal of drug development and research
33 international journal of electrochemical science
34 international journal of engineering and technology
35 international journal of health research
36 international journal of network security
37 international journal of pharma and bio sciences
38 international journal of pharmaceutical and clinical research
39 international journal of pharmaceutical and phytopharmacological research
40 international journal of pharmaceutical research and development
41 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and drug research
42 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and research
43 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences review and research
44 international journal of pharmacognosy
45 international journal of pharmacognosy and phytochemical research
46 international journal of pharmacy and technology
47 international journal of renewable energy research
48 international journal of toxicological and pharmacological research
49 international proceedings of chemical, biological and environmental engineering
50 international research journal of finance and economics
51 international research journal of pharmacy
52 journal of accounting, ethics and public policy
53 journal of applied linguistics
54 journal of applied pharmaceutical science
55 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical research
56 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences
57 journal of clinical and analytical medicine
58 journal of computers
59 journal of electrical engineering
60 journal of environmental biology
61 journal of environmental hydrology
62 journal of food, agriculture and environment
63 journal of language and literature
64 journal of materials and environmental science
65 journal of natural products
66 journal of pharmacy research
67 journal of physical therapy science
68 journal of psychology and theology
69 journal of software
70 journal of theoretical and applied information technology
71 mathematical and computational applications
72 national journal of community medicine
73 oncoscience
74 oncotarget
75 oriental journal of computer science and technology
76 pharmacie globale: international journal of comprehensive pharmacy
77 pharmacologyonline
78 research journal of pharmaceutical, biological and chemical sciences
79 romanian biotechnological letters
80 scholarly research exchange
81 sport science
82 technics technologies education management
83 the criterion: an international journal in english
84 turkish online journal of educational technology
85 world applied sciences journal

Union of Dec2016 and Jan2017 version overlapping UGC's list


In [6]:
overlap_jan_dec = pd.concat([exact_matches_dec2016, exact_matches_jan2017]).drop_duplicates().sort_values(by='Journals').reset_index(drop=True)
overlap_jan_dec


Out[6]:
Journals
0 actual problems of economics
1 african journal of traditional, complementary and alternative medicines
2 aging
3 al ameen journal of medical sciences
4 asian journal of chemistry
5 asian journal of pharmaceutical research and health care
6 asian pacific journal of tropical disease
7 australasian medical journal
8 australian journal of basic and applied sciences
9 biomedical and pharmacology journal
10 bionano frontier
11 bioscience discovery
12 biosciences, biotechnology research asia
13 cellular and molecular biology
14 clinics in oncology
15 current botany
16 der pharma chemica
17 european journal of economics, finance and administrative sciences
18 european journal of science and theology
19 european journal of scientific research
20 european journal of social sciences
21 genes and cancer
22 genetics and molecular research
23 global media journal
24 indian journal of scientific research
25 interdisciplinary toxicology
26 international archives of medicine
27 international journal of applied linguistics and english literature
28 international journal of applied research in natural products
29 international journal of biomedical science
30 international journal of collaborative research on internal medicine and public health
31 international journal of communication networks and information security
32 international journal of computer science issues
33 international journal of current pharmaceutical review and research
34 international journal of current research and review
35 international journal of drug development and research
36 international journal of electrochemical science
37 international journal of engineering and technology
38 international journal of health research
39 international journal of network security
40 international journal of pharma and bio sciences
41 international journal of pharmaceutical and clinical research
42 international journal of pharmaceutical and phytopharmacological research
43 international journal of pharmaceutical research and development
44 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and drug research
45 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences and research
46 international journal of pharmaceutical sciences review and research
47 international journal of pharmacognosy
48 international journal of pharmacognosy and phytochemical research
49 international journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
50 international journal of pharmacy and technology
51 international journal of renewable energy research
52 international journal of research in ayurveda and pharmacy
53 international journal of sustainable development
54 international journal of toxicological and pharmacological research
55 international proceedings of chemical, biological and environmental engineering
56 international research journal of finance and economics
57 international research journal of pharmacy
58 journal of accounting, ethics and public policy
59 journal of animal and plant sciences
60 journal of applied linguistics
61 journal of applied pharmaceutical science
62 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical research
63 journal of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences
64 journal of clinical and analytical medicine
65 journal of computers
66 journal of electrical engineering
67 journal of environmental biology
68 journal of environmental hydrology
69 journal of food, agriculture and environment
70 journal of language and literature
71 journal of materials and environmental science
72 journal of natural products
73 journal of pharmacy research
74 journal of physical therapy science
75 journal of psychology and theology
76 journal of software
77 journal of theoretical and applied information technology
78 mathematical and computational applications
79 national journal of community medicine
80 oncoscience
81 oncotarget
82 oriental journal of computer science and technology
83 pharmacie globale: international journal of comprehensive pharmacy
84 pharmacologyonline
85 research journal of pharmaceutical, biological and chemical sciences
86 researchers world - journal of arts science and commerce
87 romanian biotechnological letters
88 scholarly research exchange
89 sport science
90 technics technologies education management
91 the criterion: an international journal in english
92 turkish online journal of educational technology
93 world applied sciences journal

Total Journals in Beall's list:

1250 Beall_list_dec2016.txt

1310 Beall_list_Jan2017.txt

1112 Beall_list_oct2016.txt

Publisher list overlap

Dec 2016 version


In [7]:
with open('Beall_publisher_list_Dec2016.txt') as f:
    beall_pubisher_list_dec = [clean_name(x.strip()) for x in f.readlines()]
publisher_matches_dec2016 = pd.DataFrame({'Publisher': list(set(df.Publisher).intersection(beall_pubisher_list_dec))})
publisher_matches_dec2016.sort_values(by='Publisher').reset_index(drop=True)


Out[7]:
Publisher
0 academic journals
1 academic journals, inc.
2 advanced research journals
3 allied academies
4 ame publishing company
5 american scientific publishers
6 astonjournals
7 australian international academic centre pty. ltd.
8 baishideng publishing group
9 business perspectives
10 canadian center of science and education
11 cardiology academic press
12 ceser publications
13 ctr publications
14 digital information research foundation
15 e-century publishing corporation
16 econjournals
17 engineering and technology publishing
18 frontiers in bioscience
19 global research online
20 hikari ltd.
21 indian society for education and environment
22 infofacility
23 institute of advanced scientific research
24 institute of integrative omics and applied biotechnology
25 international academy of business and economics
26 international digital organization for scientific information
27 international information institute
28 international scientific publications
29 internet scientific publications
30 keja publications
31 lifescience global
32 marsland press
33 medwell journals
34 natural sciences publishing corporation
35 north atlantic university union
36 pushpa publishing house
37 research india publications
38 sadguru publications
39 scholars research library
40 science alert
41 science and engineering research support society
42 science publications
43 scientific journals international
44 society of education
45 the academy of business and retail management
46 vbri press
47 wfl publisher
48 wit press
49 world scientific and engineering academy and society

Jan 2017 version


In [8]:
with open('Beall_publisher_list_Jan2017.txt') as f:
    beall_pubisher_list_jan = [clean_name(x.strip()) for x in f.readlines()]
publisher_matches_jan2017 = pd.DataFrame({'Publisher': list(set(df.Publisher).intersection(beall_pubisher_list_jan))})
publisher_matches_jan2017.sort_values(by='Publisher').reset_index(drop=True)


Out[8]:
Publisher
0 academic journals
1 academic journals, inc.
2 advanced research journals
3 allied academies
4 ame publishing company
5 american scientific publishers
6 astonjournals
7 australian international academic centre pty. ltd.
8 baishideng publishing group
9 business perspectives
10 canadian center of science and education
11 cardiology academic press
12 ceser publications
13 ctr publications
14 digital information research foundation
15 e-century publishing corporation
16 econjournals
17 engineering and technology publishing
18 frontiers in bioscience
19 global research online
20 hikari ltd.
21 indian society for education and environment
22 infofacility
23 institute of advanced scientific research
24 institute of integrative omics and applied biotechnology
25 international academy of business and economics
26 international digital organization for scientific information
27 international information institute
28 international scientific publications
29 internet scientific publications
30 keja publications
31 lifescience global
32 marsland press
33 medwell journals
34 natural sciences publishing corporation
35 north atlantic university union
36 pushpa publishing house
37 research india publications
38 sadguru publications
39 scholars research library
40 science alert
41 science and engineering research support society
42 science publications
43 scientific journals international
44 society of education
45 the academy of business and retail management
46 vbri press
47 wfl publisher
48 wit press
49 world scientific and engineering academy and society

Union of Publisher List from Dec 2016 and Jan 2017


In [9]:
overlap_pub_jan_dec = pd.concat([publisher_matches_dec2016, publisher_matches_jan2017]).drop_duplicates().sort_values(by='Publisher').reset_index(drop=True)
overlap_pub_jan_dec


Out[9]:
Publisher
0 academic journals
1 academic journals, inc.
2 advanced research journals
3 allied academies
4 ame publishing company
5 american scientific publishers
6 astonjournals
7 australian international academic centre pty. ltd.
8 baishideng publishing group
9 business perspectives
10 canadian center of science and education
11 cardiology academic press
12 ceser publications
13 ctr publications
14 digital information research foundation
15 e-century publishing corporation
16 econjournals
17 engineering and technology publishing
18 frontiers in bioscience
19 global research online
20 hikari ltd.
21 indian society for education and environment
22 infofacility
23 institute of advanced scientific research
24 institute of integrative omics and applied biotechnology
25 international academy of business and economics
26 international digital organization for scientific information
27 international information institute
28 international scientific publications
29 internet scientific publications
30 keja publications
31 lifescience global
32 marsland press
33 medwell journals
34 natural sciences publishing corporation
35 north atlantic university union
36 pushpa publishing house
37 research india publications
38 sadguru publications
39 scholars research library
40 science alert
41 science and engineering research support society
42 science publications
43 scientific journals international
44 society of education
45 the academy of business and retail management
46 vbri press
47 wfl publisher
48 wit press
49 world scientific and engineering academy and society

In [ ]: