Over the past decade, university faculty members in many countries have increasingly been encouraged, and in some cases required, to publish their research in internationally recognized journals. This, of course, includes journals indexed by Scopus. Such policies are generally intended to strengthen research visibility, institutional reputation, and the international standing of universities.
Alongside this development, a growing number of publication-support providers have emerged. They may operate as companies, research-support organizations, editorial consultants, or individual professionals. Their services can include manuscript preparation, language editing, journal selection, submission assistance, and other forms of publication support.
For faculty members, working with such service providers is not necessarily unusual. Researchers may develop professional relationships with them through previous academic experiences. When colleagues later ask for recommendations, it may therefore seem natural to share the contact details of a provider whose services one has previously experienced. However, from my experience, such recommendations should be made with appropriate caution and transparency.
An important consideration is that the status of an academic journal may change over time. A journal that is indexed by Scopus when an article is submitted or published may subsequently have its coverage discontinued following the relevant evaluation and decision-making processes of the indexing system. Consequently, neither an author nor a person who recommends a publication service can reasonably guarantee that a journal will retain its indexing status indefinitely.
This distinction is important because unexpected changes in journal status can sometimes lead to misunderstandings. A person who has received a recommendation may later face difficulties and assume that the individual who made the recommendation was responsible for, or closely associated with, the subsequent outcome. In some circumstances, a professional recommendation may even be interpreted as evidence of an undisclosed arrangement or collusion. Such conclusions should not be drawn without evidence.
A recommendation is a recommendation—not a guarantee, endorsement of every future action by a service provider, or assurance that a journal will remain indexed indefinitely. Faculty members should therefore communicate this distinction clearly whenever they introduce colleagues to external publication-support providers.
At the same time, researchers themselves have an important responsibility to conduct independent due diligence. Before submitting a manuscript, authors should verify the journal’s current indexing status, editorial policies, peer-review procedures, publisher information, and publication practices through reliable and official sources. Do not blame other people; it is our own responsibility. So, academic decisions should not rest on another person’s recommendation.
It is also prudent to establish clear professional boundaries. Where publication-support services involve fees, manuscript preparation, authorship arrangements, or other substantive assistance, written agreements or memoranda of understanding (MOUs) can help clarify the roles, expectations, and responsibilities of all parties.
The broader lesson is one of professional fairness. Academic colleagues should be able to assist one another without automatically becoming responsible for circumstances that are outside their reasonable control. A person who makes a good-faith recommendation should not automatically be held responsible for a subsequent change in a journal’s indexing status, particularly when that change results from an independent evaluation by the indexing authority.
In today’s increasingly competitive publishing environment, academic goodwill should be accompanied by transparency, independent verification, and appropriate documentation. These simple precautions can protect researchers, professional relationships, and the integrity of scholarly communication.
Dr. Djuwari is a scholar who received an Award of Peace and Humanity from the World United Humanitarian Organization (UHO), based in the UK, in 2026. The President of the International Association of Scholarly Publishers, Editors, and Reviewers (IASPER) lives in Surabaya, Indonesia
###
