Completion of Issuance of Editorial Expression of Concerns
Reference to the recently completed inquiry on 'quality concerns' in the first cohort i.e., articles published in 2024 and 2025 by the journal, we hereby report that all fifty-five (55) applicable editorial expressions of concern have issued according to article-level analysis and recommendations by the inquiry team. Corrections / retractions / addressal of concerns are due to be completed by 26 May 2025. Further multiplex inquiry into the content of 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 has been initiated as sanctioned by the editorial board in the extraordinary meeting held on 02 April 2025. These inquiries shall be completed by mid of June 2025.
We are confident that by implementing the given recommendations, quality concerns in the already published content would be addressed satisfactorily as per international standards / COPE guidelines and chances for any future occurrence would be reduced significantly on the given quality parameters. With this confidence, we intend to resume regular publishing operations, which were paused following the Web of Science notification placing the journal in an “on-hold” status.
We thank authors and most importantly our readers for their trust. We appreciate the role of Web of Science and look forward to continuing our work on this matter.
Regards,
Notice updated on 20 May 2025.
Release of Final Inquiry Report (2024/25) on 'Quality Concerns' Raised by the Web of Science
In response to quality concerns raised by the Web of Science, the editorial board of Advancements in Life Sciences initiated an internal inquiry to rigorously assess and address the integrity/quality issues of its published content (2024/25). Following an approved review process, the final inquiry report has now been made publicly available. Click here to download the report.
The final report broadly features:
- Preamble and detailed inquiry process
- Summary of findings across 13 quality indicators
- Manuscript-level analysis highlighting the exact types of post-publication errors and discrepancies
- Corrective measures recommended at article level
- Recommendations for strengthening editorial quality
As per the decision of the board, article level analysis is also being made publicly available at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19fqZSDL8UvD3YupDi2sn72ma9RRoDsAo/ as an update to our readers and authors.
We are determined to do the required compliance with recommendations of the inquiry team by or before 26 May 2025 to uplift quality of the scholarly content (that has been) published and to-be-published.
Furthermore, similar inquiry and quality improvement actions shall promptly be undertaken for the content published in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.
Thank you for your trust and patience.
Regards,
Notice updated on 12 May 2025.
Release of the Initial Report of the Inquiry
Dear Authors and Readers
Consequent to the internal inquiry initiated by the editorial board of the journal 'Advancements in Life Sciences' upon 'quality concerns' raised by the Web of Sciences, an initial inquiry report is now available here.
The report features following elements.
- Preamble
- Process of inquiry
- Summary of Findings
- Manuscript Level Details of the Inquiry
- Additional Considerations by the Inquiry Team
- Recommendations by the Inquiry Team
- Supplementary Notes / Suggestions
- Way Forward
- About the Inquiry Team
In addition to the 25-points summary of findings on 13 indicators, the inquiry team has exactly identified 'Type of Errors Found After Publishing / Other Discrepancies' and advised 'Corrective Measures to be Taken' at article level. Further, they have also given 8 recommendations and 2 suggestions for future reference to uplift quality of the content-to-be-published. Regardless, our word-by-word review of the published content is going-on till completion of this cohort. The team will complete this review by 10 May 2025.
As per the decision of the board, article level analysis is also being made publicly available at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19fqZSDL8UvD3YupDi2sn72ma9RRoDsAo/ as an update to our readers and authors.
We look forward to keep working to uplift quality of the scholarly content (that has been) published and to-be-published with Web of Science.
Thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Attention Readers and Authors
Advancements in Life Sciences has been put “On-Hold” by Web of Science on quality concerns since 25 March 2025. Editorial board of the journal has taken this development very seriously and has convened an extraordinary meeting on 02 April 2025 to discuss this matter.
Given the reputational stake and scientific stature of the founding editors and their research groups/affiliated organizations, the board has decided to take a pragmatic approach i.e., to work with Web of Science editorial team (if asked) and launch internal inquiry to find any lapses / fix responsibility / take corrective measures. The inquiry team consists of three senior editors from the journal's editorial board and two of our independent colleagues. In addition to 24 quality parameters set by Web of Science, they are reviewing following elements of the editorial workflow of all articles published by the journal in year 2024-25 and shall furnish report in three (3) working weeks.
1. Peer review reports
2. Similarity index / AI content reports generated through Turnitin
3. Authors revisions
4. Editorial correspondences between authors, editors and editorial team
5. Copyedited/proofread files
6. Publishing frequency and quantity
7. Citation pattern
8. APC record
We understand the sanctity of scholarly publishing and vis-à-vis required editorial standards as per COPE guidelines. We also appreciate role of Web of Science and other reputed indices for their service to the research community in curating dependable research databases. Therefore, we intend to remain completely transparent in our editorial handling of all submitted manuscripts to Advancements in Life Sciences.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely!
Prof. Dr. Idrees Ahmed Nasir
Chief Editor
Advancements in Life Sciences
International Quarterly Journal of Biological Sciences
Notice updated on 03 April 2025.
