Operation of Medical Journal Citation Databases Without Control. Dilemma: Are They What They Want to Be in the Eyes of Scientific Community

The decision of the citation database to include or not include a journal is not subject to the control of another entity, or the professional public, and there are no internationally established ethical standards that the citation database would have to apply. As a consequence of the absence of control, the already mentioned offensive reviews and arbitrary interpretation of the criteria for journal inclusion appear. Given that a journal’s entry into the citation database is a condition for its long-term survival, people who make decisions in the citation databases gain the power to shut down or revive certain journals based on personal preferences. Any power that is not controlled is eventually abused. Therefore, our proposal is to urgently establish the principles of ethical behavior of citation databases at the global level and find ways to ensure compliance with such principles.