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Practical Journal Insight Project (PJIP)

Practical Journal Insight Project (PJIP)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Website (Opens in new window) Supporters Page (Opens in new window)

About

Launched: 2022
Record Updated: Sep 11, 2026
Index or directory
The Practical Journal Insight Project (PJIP) is a free, open-access journal directory designed to improve transparency in academic publishing. The platform covers more than 15,000 journals across all subject areas, uses a highly specific subject classification system, and presents a wide array of different metrics in an interactive and highly customisable interface.
The project supports research by empowering scholars with insights to make informed decisions about where to submit their work. By presenting a variety of novel datapoints - such as journal-reported review times, acceptance rates, editorial board members, word or page limits, and research integrity indicators (and much more)- researchers are better aware of a journal’s standing before they submit. This prevents wasted submission cycles, protects early-career researchers from predatory venues, and aims to incentivise accountability.

Mission

The PJIP exists to make academic publishing transparent and accountable by serving as the single open source for complete journal data. Some of the problems we aim to solve include: the lack of transparency in scholarly publishing, by aggregating publicly available data on peer-review speeds, acceptance rates, submission requirements, and much more; the fragmentation of information, by combining scattered policies, citation metrics, and indexing statuses into a single open dataset; hidden research integrity risks, by exposing anomalous behaviour in publicly available bibliographical data; and the paywalled metadata barriers currently present in commercial indexes.

Key Achievements

In 2026, the PJIP achieved the following key milestones:
Expanded Coverage: Scaled the platform to cover an additional 5,000 journals, bringing the total to 15,000 indexed journals.
Created Research Integrity Indicators & Risk Alerts: Introduced monitoring tools that detect anomalous behavior - including excessive self-citation, sudden output surges, tortured phrases, high retraction rates, and journals citing retracted content - alongside high-visibility alerts for major journal risks like site hijacking and mass editorial walkouts.
Published Educational Resource: Released "A Guide to Academic Journal Metrics" (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21747045) providing a clear framework to evaluate and navigate journal quality standards.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Technical Documentation

In Progress
Website (Opens in new window)

Open API

In Progress
Website (Opens in new window) Website (Opens in new window)

Open Data Statement

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Open Product Roadmap

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • html
  • javascript
  • mysql
  • python

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Content Licensing

  • Creative commons licenses

Standards

Metadata

  • JSON
  • REST
  • Schema.org
  • Web Ontology Language (OWL)

Integrations

  • Creative Commons Licenses

Community Engagement

Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to governance
  • Contribute to user research or user testing

Engagement with Values Frameworks

  • FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management and Stewardship
  • Principles for Open Scholarly Infrastructure (POSI)
  • San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

Policies & Governance

Governance Summary

PJIP is currently run by a single founder and directory, with guidance provided by an advisory committee. Progress is being made to formalise its governance structure by registering as a Community Interest Company (CIC).

Policies

Bylaws

In Progress
Website (Opens in new window)

Privacy Policy

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Governance Records

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Governance Structure & Processes

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Policy Statements

Board Structure

  • Advisory board or steering committee

Board Level

  • Provider

Community Governance

  • Ad hoc

Additional Information

Organizational History

A history of PJIP can be viewed at https://www.pjip.org/about.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Individual maintainer

Full-time Staff

0

Volunteers

1-5

Non-profit Status

Community interest company (CIC)

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Funding Needs

At present, the project does not have a stable, long-term funding source. We are actively working to secure sustainable support through a combination of grants, institutional sponsorship, and fees for commercial data reuse (Database is CC-BY-NC)
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