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Wikipedia:WikiProject Academic Journals/Journals cited by Wikipedia/Questionable1

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This is The Wikipedia CiteWatch, a bot-compiled listing of potentially cargo cult, conspiracist, denialist, fake, junk, not even wrong, obsolete, predatory, pseudoscientific, quack, or otherwise unreliable publications cited by Wikipedia through the |journal= and |doi= parameters of citation templates (see this Signpost article for details). It is based on several lists of unreliable or questionable publications (such as those compiled by Jeffrey Beall, the University Grants Commission, Quackwatch, or Wikipedia editors) and currently reflects the state of Wikipedia as of 1 June 2026. See Q9 in the FAQ for the update schedule.

This list is a starting point to detect unreliable sources which are cited by Wikipedia, but it does not answer whether it is appropriate to cite them. Due to the somewhat arbitrary nature of what exactly constitutes an unreliable source, as well as imperfect matching algorithms, the list may feature publications and publishers which...

  1. are flat-out promoting pseudo/junk scholarship or quackery
  2. are flat-out predatory/vanity venues, with sham peer-review processes
  3. were once-reliable, but have since been acquired by predatory publishers
  4. were once-unreliable, but no longer engage in problematic practices
  5. reflect the sources' good but imperfect judgment of what is unreliable
  6. are problematic in some areas (e.g. pseudoscience), but reliable in others (e.g. news)
  7. are problematic in some other way (e.g. circular references, or deprecated sources)
  8. are problematic but used in an acceptable manner (e.g. primary sources about frauds)
  9. are misclassified because of a spelling variation (red links especially)
  10. are misclassified because of false positives, miscategorization, or flawed bot logic
  11. are reliable, but share names with imposter publications and publishers
  12. are about pseudoscholarship as a topic, rather than being pseudoscholarly themselves

While many, if not most, publications and publishers on this list have some questionable aspects to their publishing practices, these can still be reliable (or be otherwise acceptable) in limited circumstances. The CiteWatch cannot determine the full context in which a source is used, therefore use common sense and judgement before removing a citation from an article (see Q8 in the FAQ). When in doubt, discuss things on the article's talk page or at the reliable sources noticeboard – especially before a mass purge of a source. The Unreliable/Predatory Source Detector user script may also interest you.

Additions and removals from the listing – including false positives – can be discussed at WT:CITEWATCH. False positives can also be directly handled at WP:JCW/EXCLUDE.
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Rank Target/Group Entries (Citations, Articles) Total Citations Distinct Articles ⁠Citations/article⁠
1 MDPI | {{doi|10.1989}} · {{doi|10.20944}} · {{doi|10.32545}} · {{doi|10.3390}} · {{doi|10.35995}}
[Beall's publisher list / update]
MDPI is very much hit-and-miss. MDPI on Beall's original list in 2014, but was removed in 2015. The updated list says "Some of their journals have a very poor peer-review; some are fine." Social Sciences could be multiple other journals. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 517 MDPI-related entries
29739 20813 1.429
2 Frontiers Media | {{doi|10.3389}} · {{doi|10.4175}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Very much hit-and-miss. See note on Beall's list. Will accept almost anything (80-90% of submissions), and has sacked editors for being too selective. Many journals have impact factors and are listed on DOAJ, and Frontiers Media remains part of COPE and OASPA. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 298 Frontiers Media-related entries
18925 13054 1.450
3 Hijacked journal
[Beall's hijacked list · Beall's hijacked list / update · Beall's journal list · Bohannon's list of hijacked journals]
Hijacked journals are legitimate academic journals with imposters pretending to be the legitimate publication. These citations are likely not problematic, but it is good to check that the real journal is being cited.
All 257 Hijacked journal-related entries
7367 6002 1.227
4 Hindawi (publisher) | {{doi|10.1100}} · {{doi|10.1155}} · {{doi|10.3814}} · {{doi|10.4061}} · {{doi|10.5402}} · {{doi|10.6064}} · {{doi|10.7167}} · {{doi|10.7217}}
[Beall's publisher list*]
Listed on Beall's list in 2010, but later removed as a 'borderline case'. In 2023, Hindawi retracted several thousands of articles from paper mills. Wiley estimates that 10-13% of all Hindawi papers are affected, though this may vary from journal to journal. Evaluate on a case by case basis (see Q8 in the FAQ).
All 622 Hindawi (publisher)-related entries
6864 5915 1.160
5 Medknow Publications | {{doi|10.4103}} · {{doi|10.6219}}
[Beall's publisher list* · Beall's journal list / update]
Listed on Beall's list in 2011, but removed in 2012. Several of its journal are listed on the updated list, however.
All 556 Medknow Publications-related entries
6340 4790 1.324
6 Bentham Science Publishers | {{doi|10.2174}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Bentham Open is listed, although Bentham Science Publishers is not.
All 317 Bentham Science Publishers-related entries
4145 3271 1.267
7 Dove Medical Press | {{doi|10.2147}}
[Beall's journal list / update]
Formerly on Beall's original list as 'Dove Press', but several journals are listed on the updated list.
All 160 Dove Medical Press-related entries
2701 2201 1.227
8 Alternative medicine
[Unreliable fields]
Some fields are more unreliable than others
All 487 Alternative medicine-related entries
2683 1920 1.397
9 Case report
[Unreliable fields]
Case reports may be perfectly fine citations, however they will usually fail WP:MEDRS as individual cases are considered anecdotal evidence.
All 278 Case report-related entries
2076 1705 1.218
10 Parapsychology
[Unreliable fields]
Several skeptical publications setting out to debunk rather than promote nonsensical claims may be included here.
All 103 Parapsychology-related entries
1485 1010 1.470
11 Baishideng Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11569}} · {{doi|10.12998}} · {{doi|10.13105}} · {{doi|10.35711}} · {{doi|10.35712}} · {{doi|10.35713}} · {{doi|10.37126}} · {{doi|10.3748}} · {{doi|10.4239}} · {{doi|10.4240}} · {{doi|10.4251}} · {{doi|10.4252}} · {{doi|10.4253}} · {{doi|10.4254}} · {{doi|10.4291}} · {{doi|10.4292}} · {{doi|10.4329}} · {{doi|10.4330}} · {{doi|10.4331}} · {{doi|10.5306}} · {{doi|10.5312}} · {{doi|10.5313}} · {{doi|10.5314}} · {{doi|10.5315}} · {{doi|10.5316}} · {{doi|10.5317}} · {{doi|10.5318}} · {{doi|10.5319}} · {{doi|10.5320}} · {{doi|10.5321}} · {{doi|10.5409}} · {{doi|10.5410}} · {{doi|10.5411}} · {{doi|10.5412}} · {{doi|10.5492}} · {{doi|10.5493}} · {{doi|10.5494}} · {{doi|10.5495}} · {{doi|10.5496}} · {{doi|10.5497}} · {{doi|10.5498}} · {{doi|10.5499}} · {{doi|10.5500}} · {{doi|10.5501}} · {{doi|10.5527}} · {{doi|10.5528}} · {{doi|10.5662}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 53 Baishideng Publishing Group-related entries
1411 1071 1.317
12 Pseudo-scholarship
[Unreliable fields]
All 284 Pseudo-scholarship-related entries
1243 1052 1.182
13 Current Science
[Beall's journal list / update]		 1182 993 1.190
14 Tabloid journalism
[Unreliable fields]
All 32 Tabloid journalism-related entries
1076 579 1.858
15 Cureus | {{doi|10.7759}}
[—]
Uses crowd-sourced "post-publication peer-review".		 941 833 1.130
16 ResearchGate | {{doi|10.13140}}
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#ResearchGate.
All 234 ResearchGate-related entries
826 755 1.094
17 AME Publishing Company | {{doi|10.21037}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 71 AME Publishing Company-related entries
805 661 1.218
18 Propaganda
[Unreliable fields]
All 192 Propaganda-related entries
740 600 1.233
19 Impact Journals (New York State, USA) | {{doi|10.18632}}
[Beall's publisher list]		 667 550 1.213
20 Conspiracy theory
[Unreliable fields]
All 60 Conspiracy theory-related entries
616 535 1.151
21 F1000 (publisher) | {{doi|10.12688}} · {{doi|10.12703}} · {{doi|10.21955}} · {{doi|10.21956}} · {{doi|10.3410}} · {{doi|10.4089}} · {{doi|10.5256}} · {{doi|10.7490}}
[See ]
All 33 F1000 (publisher)-related entries
582 500 1.164
22 Forbes
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Forbes.com contributors, staff is reliable, contributors are not.
All 12 Forbes-related entries
538 469 1.147
23 Blog hosting services
[WP:SPSLIST]
See WP:BLOGS.
All 207 Blog hosting services-related entries
480 417 1.151
24 Oncotarget
[Beall's journal list]		 467 405 1.153
25 Race and intelligence controversy
[Unreliable fields]
All 11 Race and intelligence controversy-related entries
436 216 2.019
26 Rolling Stone
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Rolling Stone; good for culture news reporting; unreliable for politically/societally sensitive reporting; Culture Council articles unreliable.		 406 374 1.086
27 Frontiers in Bioscience | {{doi|10.2741}}
[Beall's publisher list]		 365 342 1.067
28 Medwell Journals | {{doi|10.3923}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Veterinary Research is most likely the one published by BioMed Central, rather than Medwell. Social Sciences could be multiple other journals.
All 19 Medwell Journals-related entries
341 295 1.156
29 Chiropractic
[Unreliable fields]
All 33 Chiropractic-related entries
312 162 1.926
30 Daily Star (United Kingdom)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Daily Star.		 285 156 1.827
31 Unpublished
[—]
May simply be in need of being updated to the published version. Otherwise, these probably fail WP:V.
All 161 Unpublished-related entries
273 251 1.088
32 Superseded theories in science
[Unreliable fields]
All 56 Superseded theories in science-related entries
260 237 1.097
33 Quadrant (magazine)
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Quadrant.		 255 165 1.545
34 e-Century Publishing Corporation
[Beall's publisher list]
All 20 e-Century Publishing Corporation-related entries
248 232 1.069
35 Science Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11648}}
[Beall's publisher list · Beall's publisher list / update]
Social Sciences could be multiple other journals. Several of SPG journals are named either identically or are very similar to other publications, e.g. International Journal of Data Science and Analysis vs International Journal of Data Science and Analytics and may thus have similar ISO 4 abbreviations. It was founded in 2012, so references prior to 2012 are unlikely to be of this publisher.
All 30 Science Publishing Group-related entries
239 219 1.091
36 Journal of Management
[Lying about DOAJ]
Not the Southern Management Association journal		 234 183 1.279
37 Canadian Center of Science and Education | {{doi|10.5539}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 30 Canadian Center of Science and Education-related entries
230 218 1.055
38 HuffPost
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#HuffPost contributors, staff is debatable, contributors/editorial partners are not reliable.
All 12 HuffPost-related entries
219 208 1.053
39 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks
[WP:CIRCULAR / WP:MIRROR]
Many entries are listed for mirroring small excerpts only.
All 30 Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks-related entries
204 193 1.057
40 Medical Hypotheses
[See ]
Purposefully not peer-reviewed.		 198 162 1.222
41 Aging (journal)
[Beall's journal list]		 189 152 1.243
42 Psychology Today
[Quackwatch's list]		 156 133 1.173
43 Symbiosis (publisher) | {{doi|10.15226}}
[Beall's publisher list]		 143 129 1.109
44 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
[Quackwatch's list]		 137 113 1.212
45 Anti-vaccine movement
[Unreliable fields]
See also WP:JCW/PATTERNS#CAM.
All 41 Anti-vaccine movement-related entries
135 123 1.098
46 OMICS Publishing Group | {{doi|10.11131}} · {{doi|10.12715}} · {{doi|10.14303}} · {{doi|10.15412}} · {{doi|10.21767}} · {{doi|10.24105}} · {{doi|10.3371}} · {{doi|10.36648}} · {{doi|10.37532}} · {{doi|10.4066}} · {{doi|10.4172}} · {{doi|10.47128}} · {{doi|10.54931}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Vegetos is published by Springer Nature since 2019.
All 30 OMICS Publishing Group-related entries
133 123 1.081
47 Marquis Who's Who
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Marquis Who's Who.
All 17 Marquis Who's Who-related entries
128 112 1.143
48 Diva Enterprises | {{doi|10.5958}}
[UGC]
Several of their journal fail UGC criteria. Those that pass are listed here. Those from listed as UGC Group 1 are probably fine. UGC Group II could be fine, depending on the database. Those without UGC recognition are very likely not fine. Those unmentioned are definitely not fine.
All 53 Diva Enterprises-related entries
124 118 1.051
49 Genetics and Molecular Research | {{doi|10.4238}}
[Beall's journal list]		 120 109 1.101
50 International Journal of Nanomedicine
[Beall's journal list / update]		 115 83 1.386
51 Munis Entomology & Zoology
[Beall's journal list]		 114 101 1.129
52 American Scientific Publishers | {{doi|10.1166}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 22 American Scientific Publishers-related entries
101 90 1.122
53 Spectrum (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list]		 100 85 1.176
54 Project Innovation
[Beall's publisher list]
These journals were acquired by Project Innovations at some point, but were well-established before that. Project Innovations also switched owners at several points, the most recent being 2004. Unclear when problems with publisher started.		 97 91 1.066
55 Creationism
[Unreliable fields]
All 20 Creationism-related entries
93 64 1.453
56 Daily Express
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#Daily Express.		 85 77 1.104
57 Genocide denial
[Unreliable fields]
All 18 Genocide denial-related entries
68 44 1.545
58 Pulsus Group | {{doi|10.19144}} · {{doi|10.21282}} · {{doi|10.4066}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Purchased by OMICS Publishing Group in 2016. The Journal of Agriculture is likely an older, non-Pulsus journal.
All 19 Pulsus Group-related entries
66 65 1.015
59 Pharmacognosy Reviews
[Beall's journal list / update]		 66 62 1.065
60 IGI Global | {{doi|10.4018}}
[ · ]
IGI Global is mostly criticized for it's book-publishing practices. Criticism is mostly silent on its journals, several of which have impact factors.
All 44 IGI Global-related entries
61 60 1.017
61 Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
[Beall's journal list / update]		 60 57 1.053
62 Nucleus
[Lying about DOAJ]
Make sure it's ISSN 1982-2278, there are many other publications with the same/similar name.		 60 54 1.111
63 Alternative Medicine Review
[Quackwatch's list]		 58 53 1.094
64 African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines
[Beall's journal list]		 57 55 1.036
65 Alchemy
[Unreliable fields]
All 15 Alchemy-related entries
57 53 1.075
66 National Association of Scholars | {{doi|10.51845}}
[Beall's publisher list]		 54 48 1.125
67 International Journal of Computer Applications
[Lying about DOAJ · Beall's publisher list]		 51 49 1.041
68 Scientific Research Publishing | {{doi|10.4236}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Chinese Medicine likely refers to the BioMed Central journal. Comput. Chem. likely refers to Computer & Chemistry.
All 9 Scientific Research Publishing-related entries
49 44 1.114
69 Astrology
[Unreliable fields]
All 21 Astrology-related entries
49 41 1.195
70 Homeopathy
[Unreliable fields]
All 8 Homeopathy-related entries
48 26 1.846
71 Research Square | {{doi|10.21203}}
[—]
Preprint service		 47 47 1.000
72 Jaypee Journals | {{doi|10.5005}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 16 Jaypee Journals-related entries
46 44 1.045
73 Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
[Quackwatch's list]		 45 29 1.552
74 Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
[Beall's journal list]		 43 40 1.075
75 Journal of Physical Therapy Science
[Beall's journal list]		 42 33 1.273
76 Science Publications | {{doi|10.3844}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 13 Science Publications-related entries
40 40 1.000
77 Genes & Cancer
[Beall's journal list]		 40 34 1.176
78 CESNUR
[WP:RSP § Generally unreliable]
See WP:RSP#CESNUR.		 38 27 1.407
79 Bioinformation | {{doi|10.6026}}
[Beall's journal list]		 37 35 1.057
80 Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences
[Beall's journal list]		 36 36 1.000
81 Journal of Environmental Biology
[Beall's journal list]		 36 35 1.029
82 VS Infosolution | {{doi|10.30574}}
[Discussion]		 36 35 1.029
83 African Research Review
[Beall's publisher list]		 36 33 1.091
84 Vegetarian Times
[Quackwatch's list]		 36 33 1.091
85 Bridges (magazine)
[Quackwatch's list]		 36 29 1.241
86 HIV/AIDS denialism
[Unreliable fields]
All 8 HIV/AIDS denialism-related entries
36 26 1.385
87 Journal of Psychology and Theology
[Beall's journal list]		 35 31 1.129
88 Authorea | {{doi|10.15200}} · {{doi|10.22541}}
[—]
Preprints		 35 30 1.167
89 International Institute for Science, Technology and Education | {{doi|10.7176}}
[Beall's publisher list]
Search for iiste.org
All 7 International Institute for Science, Technology and Education-related entries
34 28 1.214
90 IJPUB - International Peer Reviewed, Open Access Journal
[Beall's journal list / update · Lying about DOAJ]		 33 32 1.031
91 Alternative & Complementary Therapies
[Quackwatch's list]		 31 30 1.033
92 Interdisciplinary Toxicology
[Beall's journal list]		 31 29 1.069
93 Kowsar Publishing | {{doi|10.5812}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 15 Kowsar Publishing-related entries
31 26 1.192
94 Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
[Beall's journal list · Quackwatch's list]		 31 22 1.409
95 Allied Academies | {{doi|10.35841}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 11 Allied Academies-related entries
30 30 1.000
96 Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science
[Beall's journal list]		 30 30 1.000
97 European Journal of Social Sciences
[Beall's journal list]
Possibly hijacked. The journal published by Librairie Droz, hosted on Open Edition is legitimate. The one published by Social Sciences Research Platform is listed by Beall.		 30 28 1.071
98 InTech Open Access Publisher | {{doi|10.5772}}
[Beall's publisher list]
All 24 InTech Open Access Publisher-related entries
29 27 1.074
99 International Journal of Mathematics
[Lying about DOAJ]
Refers to the IAEME journal, not the World Scientific one		 29 25 1.160
100 Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry
[Beall's journal list]		 28 27 1.037
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