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.
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]