The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) of many journals listed among those recently removed from the University Grants Commission’s list of approved journals does not match the actual ISSN of the stated journals, as verified from the ISSN database.
The ISSN is an eight-digit, international standardised code that identifies all serials, journals, magazines, periodicals, irrespective of their medium (print or electronic). The ISSN’s role is to identify a publication.
Apart from the criticism that the list has removed some prestigious journals as approved UGC journals, the instances of factual errors hit the credibility of the list itself.
For instance, 1680743X, the stated ISSN of an entry ‘Journal of Data Science, Columbia University’, as per the UGC’s list, turned out to be that of the Journal of Data Science (online), Taiwan, when checked at the ISSN database.
Similarly, Chartered accountant: Journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, which has the ISSN 0009-188X, is shown on the removed list as having the ISSN 0009188X.
The list has two entries for the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) journal Indian Educational Review (online). One shows the ISSN as 0019561X and the other 0972561X.
The journal’s ISSN as per its website, and the ISSN database, is 0972561X, while the other number shows no results on the ISSN database.
The Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Oxford, also has two entries on the removed list. While one shows the correct ISSN 20471076, the other shows the number 20491076 that threw no results on the ISSN database.
The UGC says that the list is dynamic and stakeholders can complain if a deserving journal has been removed from it. However, with data inaccuracy, it may have more to worry about.
