About a year ago I carried out a monitoring of articles that Azerbaijani authors published in foreign predatory journals. For this monitoring I selected three journals that the scientific community had included in the list of predatory journals and that reputable scientific institutions in their home countries had declared predatory. These were the Danish Scientific Journal, the Slovakian International Scientific Journal and the Norwegian Journal of Development of the International Science. These journals are journals that public sources label as predatory and whose predatory nature can be identified through a brief search. I recorded the number of Azerbaijani authors who published in these journals during a 15-month period from January 2023 till the end of March 2024. I also recorded their academic degrees and their affiliations. My article also included information about the work done in Azerbaijan to combat predatory journals, the gaps in the university system that make cooperation between Azerbaijani authors and predatory journals possible and the steps that need to be taken.
After the publication of the monitoring results, I decided to continue this study in order to determine the current level of cooperation between Azerbaijani authors and foreign predatory journals and to observe any changes in this field. I therefore carried out a new monitoring of articles published by Azerbaijani authors in the three journals mentioned above during the nineteen months from April 2024 to October 2025.
The results showed that cooperation between Azerbaijani authors and all three predatory journals continues at a large scale. These predatory journals have also expanded their author base. They now attract authors not only from universities but also from the academic staff of specialized research institutes. The measures taken to protect against predatory journals and the recommendations made have not been not sufficient to curtail the problem. Let us look at the results for each journal in more detail.
Monitoring results for the predatory journals
During the 19-month monitoring period from April 2024 to October 2025, the Danish Scientific Journal published 60 articles by 118 Azerbaijani authors: 22 of these were single-authored articles, while 38 were co-authored. Among these authors were 9 professors, 23 associate professors, 21 PhDs, 13 students and 52 lecturers. Eighteen authors published two or more articles in this journal.
During the monitoring period, the Slovakian International Scientific Journal published 104 articles by 157 Azerbaijani authors: 63 of these were single authored articles, while 41 were co-authored. Among these authors were 6 professors, 19 associate professors, 19 PhDs, 34 students and 79 lecturers. Nineteen authors published two or more articles in this journal.
During the monitoring period, the Norwegian Journal of Development of the International Science published 239 articles by 410 Azerbaijani authors: 109 of these were single-authored articles, while 130 were co-authored. Among the Azerbaijani authors who published in this journal were 17 professors, 72 associate professors, 75 PhDs, 62 students and 184 lecturers. Forty-six authors published two or more articles in this journal.
Table 1. Distribution of Azerbaijani authors who published in the three predatory journals by affiliation during the monitoring period.
| Affiliation | Danish Scientific Journal | Slovakia International Scientific Journal | Norwegian Journal of Development of the International Science | Total* |
| Aerospace Research Agency (Ministry of Defense Industry) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) and its institutes | 2 | 3 | 11 | 13 |
| Azerbaijan University of Languages | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Azerbaijan State Agricultural University | 5 | 6 | 22 | 32 |
| Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University | 8 | 27 | 34 | 63 |
| Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University | 13 | 7 | 37 | 53 |
| Azerbaijan Institute of Theology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| Academy of Public Administration under the President of Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Azerbaijan Technical University | 2 | 6 | 11 | 16 |
| Azerbaijan Technological University | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Azerbaijan Medical University | 14 | 10 | 74 | 81 |
| Azerbaijan University of Tourism and Management | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Azerbaijan University | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Baku Eurasian University | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Baku Business University | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Baku State University | 8 | 8 | 37 | 51 |
| Baku Engineering University | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Baku Slavic University | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Institutes under the Ministry of Science and Education (Genetic Resources, Physics, Catalysis, Microbiology, Dendrology, Oil and Gas, Geology, Physiology) | 15 | 13 | 35 | 61 |
| Ganja State University | 4 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| State Institute for Advanced Training of Doctors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Heydar Aliyev Military Institute | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Military Research Institute (Ministry of Defense) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Khazar University | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 |
| Western Caspian University | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| National Aviation Academy | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| National Defense University | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| National Nuclear Research Center (Ministry of Digital Development) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nakhchivan State University | 8 | 30 | 25 | 58 |
| Nakhchivan Teachers Institute | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Odlar Yurdu University | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| SOCAR and the Oil and Gas Research Institute | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sumgayit State University | 5 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Azerbaijan State Economic University (UNEC) | 3 | 6 | 10 | 14 |
| V. Y. Akhundov Scientific Research Institute of Medical Prevention (Ministry of Health) | 11 | 7 | 9 | 27 |
| Independent authors | 8 | 5 | 17 | 30 |
Note*: The numbers in the table show the number of authors who published in each journal. Authors who published two or more articles in a single journal are counted as one. Authors who published in all three journals are also counted as one in the overall total.
General results of the monitoring
The monitoring showed that during the 19-month period a total of 403 articles by 634 Azerbaijani authors were published in predatory journals. Among these authors were 28 professors, 102 associate professors, 99 PhDs, 104 students at bachelor, master and doctoral levels and 301 lecturers. Eight of the professors, 18 of the associate professors, 17 of the PhDs, 12 of the students and 40 of the lecturers published more than one article in these journals. Fifty-one authors published articles in more than one journal.
During the monitoring period, as the sole author or a co-author, one professor published 8, one associate professor published 10, a student of Baku State University published 12, and one PhD candidate at Azerbaijan Medical University published 16 articles.
Azerbaijan Medical University ranked first in the number of authors who published in all three predatory journals. A total of 81 authors from this university published in all three journals during the monitoring period. Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University ranked second with 63 authors. The institutes under the Ministry of Science and Education ranked third with 61 authors.
Baku State University ranked first in the number of professors who published in predatory journals. Four professors from this university did so. Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Nakhchivan State University, the institutes under the Ministry of Education and Azerbaijan Medical University each followed with three professors.
Baku State University and Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University also ranked first in the number of associate professors who published in predatory journals. Twelve associate professors from each university did so. Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University and Azerbaijan Medical University followed with 9 and 8, respectively.
Azerbaijan Medical University was far ahead of all other universities in the number of PhDs who published in predatory journals. Thirty-one PhDs from this university published articles in these journals. They were followed by Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University with 8, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University with 7 and other universities.
Azerbaijan Medical University also ranked first in the number of lecturers who published in predatory journals. Thirty-nine lecturers from this university published articles in these journals. They were followed by Nakhchivan State University with 38 and Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University with 34.
Among the 104 students who published in predatory journals 15 were bachelor students, 54 were master students and 35 were doctoral students. In the distribution of students by university the top three were Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University with 20, Baku State University with 13 and Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University with 8. No student from Azerbaijan Medical University published in these journals.
Comparison of the monitoring results
A comparison of the two monitoring periods shows several changes in the distribution of authors by universities during the 19-month period.
Table 2. Changes observed in the top ten universities based on the comparison of the two monitoring periods
| Affiliation | Number of authors in the first monitoring (January 2023 to March 2024) | Number of authors in the second monitoring (April 2024 to October 2025) |
| Azerbaijan Medical University | 99 | 81 |
| Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University | 23 | 63 |
| Nakhchivan State University | 96 | 58 |
| Institutes under the Ministry of Science and Education | 52 | 61 |
| Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University | 41 | 53 |
| Baku State University | 30 | 51 |
| Azerbaijan State Agricultural University | 24 | 32 |
| V. Y. Akhundov Scientific Research Institute of Medical Prevention (Ministry of Health) | 14 | 27 |
| Ganja State University | 5 | 18 |
| UNEC | 4 | 14 |
Compared with the first monitoring period the number of professors remained almost the same with 29 in the first and 28 in the second. The number of associate professors doubled from 59 to 102. The number of PhDs rose from 76 to 99. The number of lecturers rose from 185 to 301.
In the first monitoring period, 35 students published in predatory journals: Thirteen were doctoral students, 15 were master students, and 7 were bachelor students. The second monitoring showed a threefold increase in the number of students. 104 students published in predatory journals: 35 were doctoral students, 54 were master students, and 15 were bachelor students. Sixty-one students published articles in co-authored form with academics who hold advanced degrees. These included PhDs, associate professors and professors. This shows that the students entered the author base of predatory journals in an indirect way through the guidance of supervisors or more experienced researchers.
Predatory journals usually attract authors by email invitations. They send mass invitations to researchers whose email addresses they obtain, and they usually succeed in establishing contact. Authors who have already published in these journals then expand the author network further by sending personal invitations or recommendations. Gaps in academic requirements within universities, weak attention to publication criteria and a lack of awareness about predatory journals accelerate the process.
Conclusion
The monitoring of the activities of Azerbaijani authors in predatory journals shows that the number of such authors increased during the nineteen months from April 2024 to October 2025. Of course, the real number of predatory journals and the real number of Azerbaijani authors who publish in them is much higher than the figures shown in the monitoring. The problems mentioned in my previous article still remain. These include weak awareness raising efforts, gaps in academic requirements and oversight mechanisms in universities and in some cases a lack of awareness among authors. These problems have given predatory journals the chance to expand their author networks further. In some cases, these problems have caused new authors, especially students, to fall into the trap of predatory journals through word of mouth by other local authors.
Nakhchivan State University and Azerbaijan Medical University showed some improvement. However, the problem of predatory journals remains relevant in these universities. A completely opposite trend appears in institutions such as Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University. Authors from these universities have increased their cooperation with predatory journals and published more articles.
Part 1
