Policy Development and the SCOPUS Citation System: Part 3: The Work of the Content Selection Advisory Board 2017 - 2019
Policy Development and the SCOPUS Citation System: Part 3: The Work of the Content Selection Advisory Board 2017 - 2019
SCOPUS occupies a central role in the global ecosystem of academic publication. It is a key component of a proprietary information system which has been developed by Elsevier BV for the provision of bibliometric information on the performance of authors, journals, books, publishers, faculties and institutions to Universities, Corporations and Governments around the world.
The academic journal content of SCOPUS is curated by the SCOPUS Content Selection Advisory Board (CSAB), working through the Scopus Title Evaluation Platform (STEP) and a range of supporting technical systems.
The CSAB was created in 2004 and STEP was developed from 2009 onwards. The SCOPUS CSAB plays a key role in developing the policies which maintain Trust, Integrity and Quality in the academic publishing ecosystem. In previous essays, I have described the technical development of SCOPUS and of STEP, and policy development from 2004 to 2016.
This quality assurance programme developed in parallel with dramatic changes in the academic publishing landscape, including the move from paper to digital and on-line publishing; the development and explosive growth of open access publication, and the change in the funding model from subscription based publishing to Article Processing Charge (APC) based funding.
These changes have also brought a tidal wave of publication malpractice in many forms and of considerable complexity as individuals and organisations seek personal advantage from citation manipulation and paper fakery, and easy profit from various forms of predatory publishing.
In this essay, I describe the further development of the SCOPUS quality assurance programme and the policy work of the CSAB through 2017 to 2019, with particular reference to Altmetrics. The Citescore and Virtual Citescore: an Appeals system for SCOPUS applicant journals; the launch of the China Advisory Board; publication and conference fraud; and entity to entity assessment models for SCOPUS.
SCOPUS, SCOPUS Radar, SCOPUS Content Selection Advisory Board, SCOPUS Title Evaluation Platform, Bibliometrics: Journal-Re-evaluation, Journal Appeals, Web of Science, Publishing Ethics, Publication Malpractice, Citescore, Virtual Citescore, Academic Conferences, Conference Fraud
University of Southampton
Rew, David
36dcc3ad-2379-4b61-a468-5c623d796887
1 March 2026
Rew, David
36dcc3ad-2379-4b61-a468-5c623d796887
Rew, David
(2026)
Policy Development and the SCOPUS Citation System: Part 3: The Work of the Content Selection Advisory Board 2017 - 2019
(Essays in the Art and Science of Academic Journal Editing and Publishing)
University of Southampton
44pp.
Record type:
Monograph
(Working Paper)
Abstract
SCOPUS occupies a central role in the global ecosystem of academic publication. It is a key component of a proprietary information system which has been developed by Elsevier BV for the provision of bibliometric information on the performance of authors, journals, books, publishers, faculties and institutions to Universities, Corporations and Governments around the world.
The academic journal content of SCOPUS is curated by the SCOPUS Content Selection Advisory Board (CSAB), working through the Scopus Title Evaluation Platform (STEP) and a range of supporting technical systems.
The CSAB was created in 2004 and STEP was developed from 2009 onwards. The SCOPUS CSAB plays a key role in developing the policies which maintain Trust, Integrity and Quality in the academic publishing ecosystem. In previous essays, I have described the technical development of SCOPUS and of STEP, and policy development from 2004 to 2016.
This quality assurance programme developed in parallel with dramatic changes in the academic publishing landscape, including the move from paper to digital and on-line publishing; the development and explosive growth of open access publication, and the change in the funding model from subscription based publishing to Article Processing Charge (APC) based funding.
These changes have also brought a tidal wave of publication malpractice in many forms and of considerable complexity as individuals and organisations seek personal advantage from citation manipulation and paper fakery, and easy profit from various forms of predatory publishing.
In this essay, I describe the further development of the SCOPUS quality assurance programme and the policy work of the CSAB through 2017 to 2019, with particular reference to Altmetrics. The Citescore and Virtual Citescore: an Appeals system for SCOPUS applicant journals; the launch of the China Advisory Board; publication and conference fraud; and entity to entity assessment models for SCOPUS.
Text
Working Paper David Rew SCOPUS CSAB Policies 2017 - 2019 01.03.2026
- Author's Original
More information
Published date: 1 March 2026
Additional Information:
David Rew, MA MB MChir (Cambridge) FRCS (London)
Honorary Consultant Surgeon to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK
And to the Clinical Informatics Research Unit.
Former Editor in Chief of the EJSO, The European Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2003-2009
Subject Chair for Medicine to the SCOPUS Content Selection Advisory Board, Elsevier BV,
The Netherlands, 2009 to the Present
Keywords:
SCOPUS, SCOPUS Radar, SCOPUS Content Selection Advisory Board, SCOPUS Title Evaluation Platform, Bibliometrics: Journal-Re-evaluation, Journal Appeals, Web of Science, Publishing Ethics, Publication Malpractice, Citescore, Virtual Citescore, Academic Conferences, Conference Fraud
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 509667
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/509667
PURE UUID: c5d88eb4-14cc-4891-8875-cd607fe8e5f1
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 02 Mar 2026 17:31
Last modified: 03 Mar 2026 03:03
Export record
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
