Science Publishing Group

Science Publishing Group
Name	Science Publishing Group
Type	Publisher
Founded	2012
Headquarters	Unknown

Science Publishing Group is an academic publisher founded in the early 2010s that markets a wide range of open access journals across multiple fields. The publisher has been the subject of scrutiny by scholars, librarians, and regulatory bodies and has appeared in discussions alongside other publishing entities like Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press. The company operates internationally with claimed links to authors in regions including United States, China, India, Nigeria, Iran.

History

The organization emerged during the expansion of open access models that included actors such as Public Library of Science, BioMed Central, Hindawi Limited, MDPI and contemporaries like Bentham Science Publishers, Frontiers (publisher), SAGE Publications. Founders and early executives have not been widely profiled in mainstream sources, unlike founders of Nature (journal), Science (journal), The Lancet, Cell Press. Growth in the 2010s mirrored global trends documented by institutions such as the Directory of Open Access Journals, Committee on Publication Ethics, International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers.

Organizational Structure and Operations

The publisher states an organizational model involving editorial offices, manuscript submission systems, and article processing charges akin to practices at BioMed Central, PLOS, Hindawi. Operational claims reference editorial boards and peer review workflows that researchers compare to standards promoted by Committee on Publication Ethics, World Association of Medical Editors, Council of Science Editors. Staffing and corporate registration details prompted comparisons with corporate structures of Elsevier subsidiaries, Springer Nature imprints, and small commercial houses operating across Guangzhou, Beijing, New York City, London.

Publications and Journals

The publisher lists numerous journals covering areas often found in portfolios of IEEE, ACM, American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, and multidisciplinary outlets such as PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio). Titles span biomedical, engineering, social science, and environmental topics that overlap with journals like Journal of Biological Chemistry, The Lancet Global Health, Environmental Science & Technology. The sheer number of journal titles has been compared with large aggregators such as Scopus (Elsevier), Web of Science (Clarivate), and catalogues like Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

Peer Review and Editorial Policies

The publisher asserts that submitted manuscripts undergo peer review and editorial scrutiny comparable to procedures advocated by Committee on Publication Ethics, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Critics have noted inconsistencies in review timelines and editorial quality when contrasted with practices at Nature Portfolio, Science (journal), JAMA. Allegations by researchers prompted discussions referencing remediation frameworks used by COPE, Directory of Open Access Journals, and policy tools deployed by academic libraries at institutions such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of California.

Controversies and Criticism

Academic critics, librarians, and watchdogs have raised concerns about editorial standards, aggressive solicitation practices, and the legitimacy of certain journals, drawing parallels to past controversies involving OMICS Publishing Group, Bentham Science Publishers, and Hindawi (pre-2019 controversies). Complaints have surfaced in forums frequented by scholars from PubPeer, Retraction Watch, ResearchGate, and have been cited in advisories by university libraries at Cornell University, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne. Some authors reported difficulties with article retractions and refund requests similar to disputes seen with SAGE Publications and Wiley in isolated incidents.

Indexing, Metrics, and Impact

Indexing status for individual journals has varied; some titles have appeared in databases and aggregators like Google Scholar, Scopus (Elsevier), CrossRef, while others have not achieved inclusion in curated indexes such as Web of Science (Clarivate), PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase. Citation metrics and impact indicators have been discussed alongside systems such as Journal Citation Reports, Eigenfactor, SCImago Journal Rank, and researcher identifiers like ORCID. Metrics-related debates mirror wider community concerns exemplified in assessments by San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.

Legal Actions and Regulatory Responses

The publisher has been subject to inquiries, complaints, and notices in the broader context of regulatory attention that previously touched entities like OMICS Publishing Group, which faced legal action from Federal Trade Commission (United States), and other firms reviewed by national agencies in India, Australia, United Kingdom. University and library guidance documents from bodies such as Association of Research Libraries, The British Library, National Library of Medicine have advised scholars to scrutinize publisher practices. In several jurisdictions, academic institutions including University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, and national research councils have issued author advisories relevant to publishing choices.

Category:Academic publishing companies