Scholarly Open Access
New Open-Access Publisher Launches with 66 Journal Titles
Recently launched, and with 66 brand-new journals, Horizon Research Publishing Corporation carefully hides its headquarters location on its website. The "contact us" page does not list any location. [Update, 2013-06-08: The website now lists this address: Horizon Research Publishing 506 N GARFIELD AVE #210 ALHAMBRA CA 91801 USA].
Its spam email is signed, "Horizon Research Publishing, USA," but I doubt it's really from the United States. The publisher uses the URL http://zj.nkwww.com/, which is registered to Wanlun Guo in Linyi, Shandong, China. So apparently this is a Chinese operation and the spam email is misrepresenting the publisher's true location. [See a copy of the spam email in Appendix B, below.]
None of the 66 journals has any content yet, and none appears to have editorial boards either. Horizon is currently engaged in a massive spam email campaign to recruit editorial board members. Strangely all the journals have live "Submit manuscript" buttons, so the publisher seems willing to accept papers despite not having any established editorial boards.
Its Twitter account has ten followers and its Facebook page has one "like," an indication that this is a new operation. The publisher's logo is a stylized unicorn.
I found this on one of the firm's FAQ pages:
Q2: How can I know the status of my paper?
A: Please send your paper title and paper ID to preview@hrpub.org. The editorial assistant (Alice Bella) will give you a promote response within 48 hours.
I think that "Alice" and "Bella" are two figures from contemporary popular culture, so this seems like a contrived name to me. Also, the answer is ungrammatical.
The journals cover a broad array of disciplines, and each has a broad scope within its particular field. This dual strategy means that pretty much every scientific article has a potential place in the publisher's portfolio. Each journal's home page is similar to all the others; they all were built off the same template.
The publisher is waiving all article processing charges through July, 2013 and will then charge $150 per article, not an unreasonable fee.
I don't think the world needs another 66 OA jorunals with broad scopes. The publisher's use of "USA" in its spam may be an attempt to mislead. I recommend against joining these editorial boards and against submitting any papers to this publisher.
Appendix A: List of Horizon Publishing Journals as of May 1, 2013:
- Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism
- Advances in Economics and Business
- Advances in Energy and Power
- Advances in Library and Information Science
- Advances in Pharmacology and Pharmacy
- Advances in Quantum Engineering
- Advances in Signal Processing
- Advances in Surgical Science
- Advances in Zoology and Botany
- Bioengineering and Bioscience
- Cancer and Oncology Research
- Chemical and Materials Engineering
- Civil Engineering and Architecture
- Computational Research
- Computer Science and Information Technology
- Energy and Environmental Engineering
- Environment and Ecology Research
- Food Science and Technology
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases
- Intelligence Science and Technology
- International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics
- International Journal of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
- International Journal of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science
- International Journal of Wireless Engineering
- Investment and Trade
- Linguistics and Literature Studies
- Manufacturing Science and Technology
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Nanoscience and Nanoengineering
- Natural Resources and Conservation
- Nursing and Health
- Open Journal of Dentistry and Oral Medicine
- Preventive Medicine and Hygiene
- Probability and Statistics
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Sport and Art
- Universal Journal of Accounting and Finance
- Universal Journal of Agricultural Research
- Universal Journal of Applied Mathematics
- Universal Journal of Applied Science
- Universal Journal of Biomedical Engineering
- Universal Journal of Chemistry
- Universal Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Universal Journal of Communications and Network
- Universal Journal of Computational Mathematics
- Universal Journal of Control and Automation
- Universal Journal of Educational Research
- Universal Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Universal Journal of Engineering Science
- Universal Journal of Food and Nutrition Science
- Universal Journal of Geoscience
- Universal Journal of Industrial and Business Management
- Universal Journal of Management
- Universal Journal of Marine Science
- Universal Journal of Materials Science
- Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering
- Universal Journal of Medical Science
- Universal Journal of Microbiology Research
- Universal Journal of Physics and Application
- Universal Journal of Plant Science
- Universal Journal of Psychology
- Universal Journal of Public Health
- Universal Journal of Service Science
- Universal Journal of Software Engineering
- World Journal of Computer Application and Technology
- World Journal of Internal Medicine
Appendix B: Example of spam email sent out by Horizon Publishing in April, 2013:
From: "joinus@hrpub.org"
To: "—" <[redacted]>>
Sent: April 26, 2013 9:55 AM
Subject: Horizon Research Publishing: Call for Editorial Board Members/Reviewers/Editor-in-Chief
Dear Colleages,
Horizon Research Publishing (HRPUB) is a worldwide open access publisher serving the academic research and scientific communities by launching peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of academic disciplines.
We are seeking to establish a new international Editorial Board. If this experience sounds interesting to you, please complete the downloadable application form, and send it to joinus@hrpub.org<mailto:joinus@hrpub.org>.
Apply for Membership ( Editorial Board Members / Reviewers / Editor-in-Chief )
(1) Download <http://www.hrpub.org/download/HRPUB_Membership_Application_Form.pdf> the membership application form .
(2) Complete and send the application form to joinus@hrpub.org <mailto:joinus@hrpub.org> .
Look forward to receiving your application.
Yours sincerely,
Horizon Research Publishing , USA
joinus@hrpub.org<mailto:joinin@hrpub.org>
http://www.hrpub.org
–
If you no longer wish to receive email from us, please click this link<http://service.hrpubmail.org/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=21d3b7784f5fcc09fad4ca1c0ff61ca0>
[End of blog post]
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 at 9:47 AM and is filed under author fees, Scholarly Open-Access Publishers, spam email, Unethical Practices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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IRINGA
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"Justice John Marshall has rendered his decision, now let him enforce it."
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Wanabidii,
Kwa hili naomba kusema kidogo. Kwanza niungane na Anna Nyanga kuwa tunatakiwa kuziona opportunities na kuzidaka pale inapobidi. Kama unao uwezo usiwe na mashaka. Jitokeze. Pambana. Kama kazi. Ifanye vizuri. Jenga ngazi kuelekea kwenye mafanikio na fursa zaidi.
LAKINI: tunahitaji kuwa makini sana. Baadhi ya hawa watu wanakusanya CV za watu na kuzitumia kuwaibia watu. Wataweka CV yako kwenye page ya kuwa na wewe ni sehemu ya "Editorial Board" kumbe huna hata habari na kinachoendelea huko. Pamoja na kuwa ninakubali kuwa nafasi ikitokea tusiilazie damu, nashauli umakini zaidi kabla hatujalizwa. Sio dhambi kuchukua muda na kufanya ka utafiti kidogo kabla hujaingia kichwakichwa.
Ili kuonyesha ninachomaanisha, tafadhali fuata kiunganishi hiki hapa chini. Najua wengi wanaweza kulizwa kwa kutokuwa proactive:
http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/05/02/horizon-research-publishing-corporation/
Mbarikiwe!
Kim
On 5/22/2013 11:13 PM, anna nyanga wrote:
--Wanabidii, si kweli kama reviewer ni waandishi wazuri. Sasa hivi ni kazi kama kazi nyingine.Ukiwa reviewer utapewa miongozo ya unachotakiwa kufanya. Mara nyingi unareview kazi zilizo kwenye field yako na si vinginevyo.Nawaombeni tuanze kubadilika na kuziona fursa. Tusikae kukatishana tamaa. Ukiona una sifa na una muda omba.Wakati umefika wa kufikiria makubwa. Kuna watu wanaishi kwa kurekebisha lugha tu mfano editing cost 1 hour mtu anaramba 100 Euro.Nilikuwa nasoma sababu 17 ambazo matajiri na masikini wanatofautiana. Leo naomba niziseme tatu.1.Rich think big while poor think small2. Rich focus on oppotunity while poor focus on obstracles3.Rich constantly learn and grow while poor think they know it all.Nawatakia usiku mnono.
From: Lugano Wilson <luganowilson@gmail.com>
To: intelligentnet@googlegroups.com
Cc: NGO afya club NGO <afya-club-2310@googlegroups.com>; wanabidii@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 4:15 PM
Subject: [wanabidii] Re: FW: Horizon Research Publishing: Call for Editorial Board Members/Reviewers/Editor-in-Chief
Luganohawa wamarekani wanataka kuwaombaomba kila siku!hiusually Journals do look for reputable reviewers from known/reputable Journals. those who publish frequently are the best reviewers
--
On Tue, May 21, 2013 at 11:21 AM, Africa j bwamkuu <jbwamkuu@gmail.com> wrote:
FYI--
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bwamkuu, Africa <A.Bwamkuu@kit.nl>
Date: Tue, May 21, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Subject: FW: Horizon Research Publishing: Call for Editorial Board Members/Reviewers/Editor-in-Chief
To: "Africa j bwamkuu (jbwamkuu@gmail.com)" <jbwamkuu@gmail.com>
Africa Bwamkuu
From: joinus@hrjoin.org [mailto:joinus@hrjoin.org]
Sent: dinsdag 21 mei 2013 5:43
To: Bwamkuu, Africa
Subject: Horizon Research Publishing: Call for Editorial Board Members/Reviewers/Editor-in-ChiefDear Colleague,Horizon Research Publishing, USA (HRPUB) is a worldwide open access publisher serving the academic research and scientific communities by launching peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of academic disciplines.We are seeking to establish a new international Editorial Board. If this experience sounds interesting to you, please complete the downloadable application form, and send it to joinus@hrpub.org. Once you are selected for an editorial board member/a reviewer, three manuscripts can be published free of charge every year.Apply for Membership ( Editorial Board Members / Reviewers / Editor-in-Chief )(1) Download the membership application form .
(2) Complete and send the application form to joinus@hrpub.org .
Look forward to receiving your application.Yours sincerely,
Horizon Research Publishing , USA
joinus@hrpub.org
http://www.hrpub.org---
If you no longer wish to receive email from us, please click this link
--
Africa Jumanne Bwamkuu
Information and Communication Technology Advisor/Trainer
Information Reseach & Advisory Services, ILS
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam, Netherlands
Tel. +31 (0) 20 568 8311
Mob: +31 (0)6 443 67051
Alternative e-mail: a.bwamkuu@kit.nl
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19 Responses to New Open-Access Publisher Launches with 66 Journal Titles
I think if publisher wants to earn his bread n butter, what is wrong in it. Scholar community is wise enough. Once they shall find it predatory, they shall kick it out of arena. LOLZ
Although I agree that they're not a serious threat to serious scholars (although obviously they waste time), I would argue that these kinds of scams hurt the perception of science with the public. Especially the extent to which misconduct appears in journals like these. People already have relatively little faith in certain areas of scientific study (especially when funded by particular organisations and published by for-profit publishers like elsevier). Therefore this is a real problem.
Are universal journals more prestigious than International ones?
To my mind, not all recently established journals are predatory going by the term. But i simply think this very one is. It is rather sad and astonishing when a publisher commits too many grammatical blunders in its website and in the mails it send to scientists. This appears to be the case with Horizon Research Publishing Corporation.
I feel frustrated to see that the work and achievements of researchers and scientists are being robbed of by the predators.
Lying about your location as a journal to the scientists is as bad as lying about your job to women you get to know.
If you really are a great guy it shouldn't matter, but the fact you lied about it will break your neck…understandably, as most likely you're not a great guy.
[...] Jeffrey Beall keeps an eye on academic journal publishers and has a list of open access journals that are 'predatory publishers'. He also blogs about new publishers and I was only slightly surprised to see a journal about diabetes in the 66-strong list of shiny new journals from 'Horizon Research Publishing Corporation' in his latest (2 May 2013) post. [...]
Thanks for doing this in public spirit. I got here searching on Google for this mysterious HRPUB that popped up in the mail. Emails are now sent from 'joinus@hrjoin.org' too it seems, but the content is otherwise similar. Unlike zj.nkwww.com which is China registered, hrpub.org and hrjoin.org are hosted on a USA (California) hosting provider VPLS (vpls.net). The scam is probably progressing to the next phase ? I hope you don't get sued though ! Lucky for you to be in the USA where free speech is protected !
Dear SteathySleuThing,
I think that at least the publisher is not run by a one man show, because one is in China, and two are in USA
Dear Mr. Beall,
Why are you so anti New Publishers? Only time will answer, whether they are goor or bad. However, if you judge them bad from the very beginning, is it not cruel?
Big and established publishers also have bad journals, for example: Accupuncture and related therapies (Elsevier), but you have not put Elsevier in your list yet, why?
Do you have conflict of interest?
What publisher are you associated with? If a new publisher uses deception or lack of transparency as a business practice, then it deserves to be the subject of scrutiny and critical thinking. I limit my list to OA publishers and journals and Elsevier is not OA. Perhaps you want to create your own list.
Dear Mr Beall,
I am not associated with any publisher. I only wonder, why you did not include big publishers that have open access option in your list.
Elsevier has many journals with open access option, the same as Bentham Science. You Included Bentham open in your list, but not Elsevier Open
For some of its journals Elsevier uses the hybrid model; overall it is not an open-access publisher. Bentham Open (not Bentham) is an open-access publisher.
Actually, their Twitter account (@hrpub) has only one follower right now. *They* follow ten accounts, rather unrelated to their business, like Spanish editions of BBC and CNN.
Dear Mr Beall,
I do not understand. Bentham open in under Bentham Science publisher. Moreover, when you submit to Bentham Science, they will ask whether you want to choose open access option or not. Is it not the same as Elsevier or any other publishers, which have open access option?
I think it's different because of the way they have branded it.
Galuh, that Horizon Research Publishing is clearly a fraud. don't be stupid. period.
I just got an email from these folks. The giant red font was a tip off that HRPUB wasn't the most reputable of publishers. Also, the "joinus" in the email address was a bit strange, wasn't it? Reminds me of something from a B horror movie.
They appear to be registered as a company in the USA:
http://www.bizapedia.com/ca/HORIZON-RESEARCH-PUBLISHING-CO-LTD.html
I would never consider sending an article there, but apart from the terrible grammar on their website and emails, what else is there to make you feel this is a scam rather than simply another (as if we need one) new publisher?
The reason I became aware of this company is because a colleague is apparently on the editorial board of one of the journals.