POSI Quality Framework (PQF)
PQF is POSI's editorial selection framework: a composite, evidence-based instrument assessing journal transparency, metadata quality, editorial governance, technical discoverability, open citation visibility, and research integrity readiness through publicly auditable evidence.
PQF supports editorial selection and Core Collection admission. PQF is the criteria a journal must meet to enter the POSI Core Collection — it answers "can this journal be indexed," not "how good is this journal compared to others." Journal rankings and quartiles are derived from PCI, computed within POSI Subject Classification (PSC) categories — not from PQF, and not from a blend of PQF with anything else. PCS is published alongside PCI as a second, independently-sourced citation indicator, but it does not feed the Q1–Q4 quartile calculation — a journal is never shown two competing "quality numbers" answering the same question.
PQF is not a Journal Impact Factor. It is not a citation impact metric and is not a substitute for Web of Science, Scopus, DOAJ, or any other indexing or accreditation service. PQF scores indicate metadata completeness, transparency readiness, and technical discoverability only.
PQF should not be used for individual researcher evaluation, hiring decisions, promotion criteria, funding allocation, or institutional ranking.
Scoring Formula
Each criterion is binary (met / not met). Points are allocated proportionally to criteria satisfied within each subfactor. Maximum total score is 100.
Eligibility Status
| Status | Description | Journals |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible | Meets the evidence bar for Core Collection admission | 21 |
| Review Required | Partial evidence — needs manual review before admission | 9 |
| Insufficient Evidence | Below the evidence bar — not yet admission-ready | 0 |
| Not Eligible | Well below the minimum evidence bar | 1 |
PQF answers whether a journal can be admitted to the Core Collection — it is not a comparative score. For how a journal ranks against its peers, see AJR Ratings & Rankings →
Core Collection Journals — Eligibility
Assessed 2026-06-22| Journal | Publisher | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AFS | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| CSGS | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| CRoPT | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| DIF | Research Front Press | Not Eligible |
| Eng. Frontiers | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Review Required |
| GRHAS | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| Health Nexus | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| JASSP | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
| JCAC | Asia Technology Research Institute | Eligible |
| JCSIS | Asia Technology Research Institute | Review Required |
| JESA | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| JLPCS | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| JMSS | Asia Technology Research Institute | Eligible |
| JSCC | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| J. EAOU | China Architecture Culture Publishing House; European Academy Open University | Review Required |
| PEMR | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| RAE | China Architecture Culture Publishing House | Review Required |
| Resonance | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| RGGD | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| Silence | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| TJISS | J&L Academic Group PLT | Review Required |
| TTS | Panorama Scholarly Group | Eligible |
| 中国文学学刊 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
| 中国法学学刊 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Review Required |
| 人工智能 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Review Required |
| 人文学刊 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
| 医学与护理 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
| 当代设计研究 | China Architecture Culture Publishing House | Review Required |
| 教育与教法 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
| 新闻与传播 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Review Required |
| 艺术与设计前沿 | SHIHARR PUBLISHING LIMITED | Eligible |
Journal Transparency Factor
25 pts maxAssesses the openness of a journal's governance, editorial policies, author charges, and reviewer guidelines.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.Aim & Scope publicly accessible | 3 |
| 2.Peer Review Process clearly stated | 4 |
| 3.Editorial Board publicly listed | 3 |
| 4.APC policy clearly disclosed | 3 |
| 5.APC waiver / discount policy published | 2 |
| 6.Open Access policy clearly stated | 3 |
| 7.Copyright & License clearly stated per article | 3 |
| 8.Publication Ethics policy (COPE or equivalent) | 2 |
| 9.Corrections / Retractions policy stated | 2 |
Metadata Quality Factor
25 pts maxEvaluates article-level metadata completeness including identifiers, abstracts, keywords, and reference lists. Published as a standalone figure elsewhere on POSI under the name Metadata Quality Score (MQS) — same criteria, same points, different page.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.DOI registered with Crossref for all articles | 4 |
| 2.Crossref metadata complete (title, author, date) | 4 |
| 3.Author names structured (given + family) | 3 |
| 4.ORCID supplied for at least one author per article | 3 |
| 5.Abstract and keywords in metadata record | 3 |
| 6.Reference list deposited and parseable | 3 |
| 7.License URI in Crossref metadata | 2 |
| 8.PDF / HTML full-text link stable and accessible | 2 |
| 9.Article type clearly identified | 1 |
Editorial Governance Factor
20 pts maxMeasures editorial board transparency, geographic diversity, and reviewer independence.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.Editor-in-Chief named with institutional affiliation | 3 |
| 2.Editorial board listed publicly with affiliations | 3 |
| 3.Editorial board institutional affiliations disclosed | 3 |
| 4.Editorial board spans at least 3 countries/regions | 2 |
| 5.Reviewer guidelines publicly available | 2 |
| 6.Author contribution policy stated | 2 |
| 7.Conflict of interest disclosure required from authors | 2 |
| 8.AI use policy in editorial workflow stated | 1 |
| 9.Complaints and appeals policy published | 2 |
Technical Discoverability Factor
15 pts maxAssesses how well a journal exposes its content to indexing systems, search engines, and aggregators. Published as a standalone figure elsewhere on POSI under the name Indexing Readiness Score (IRS) — same criteria, same points, different page.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.sitemap.xml accessible and up-to-date | 2 |
| 2.robots.txt permits academic crawlers | 2 |
| 3.OAI-PMH endpoint active and returns Dublin Core | 3 |
| 4.Schema.org JSON-LD on article pages | 2 |
| 5.Google Scholar citation meta tags on article pages | 2 |
| 6.DOI links resolve correctly (< 5% broken) | 2 |
| 7.Journal pages accessible without broken links or blank pages | 2 |
Citation Visibility Factor
10 pts maxEvaluates whether journal citations are open, machine-readable, and tracked by open infrastructure. Published as a standalone figure elsewhere on POSI under the name Citation Visibility Index (CVI) — same criteria, same points, different page.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.Crossref cited-by data detectable | 2 |
| 2.OpenAlex source record exists and matchable | 2 |
| 3.OpenCitations data detectable | 2 |
| 4.Open reference lists deposited with Crossref (I4OC) | 2 |
| 5.Citation data source clearly attributed | 2 |
Research Integrity Factor
5 pts maxEvaluates journal policies supporting research integrity, reproducibility, and ethical compliance.
| Criterion | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1.Retraction and correction policy published | 1 |
| 2.Plagiarism / similarity detection policy stated | 1 |
| 3.Data availability / data sharing policy published | 1 |
| 4.Ethics approval / informed consent policy stated | 1 |
| 5.Authorship criteria and author disputes policy stated | 1 |
Evidence Requirements
Open Data Only
PQF uses only publicly verifiable information. No proprietary databases, no confidential surveys, no internal access required.
No Citation Impact
Citation counts are used solely for open-citation tracking (CVF), not to rank academic value, influence, or prestige.
Binary Criteria
Each criterion is met or not met. No subjective scoring — any independent reviewer can replicate the assessment from public sources.
Annual Review
Scores are reassessed annually. Journals may request an expedited review after documented material improvements.
Limitations
PQF does not assess peer review quality, editorial rigor, article scientific merit, or author credentials.
PQF does not measure journal prestige, disciplinary impact, or citation influence.
PQF scores reflect the state of publicly available evidence at the time of assessment and may not reflect recent changes.
PQF is not endorsed by or affiliated with Crossref, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, or any indexing organization.
Publisher Conflict of Interest Notice: PQF scores for journals published by Panorama Scholarly Group (PSG) are assessed using the same public criteria as all other journals. Because PSG both operates POSI and publishes the journals it evaluates, readers should be aware of this structural conflict of interest. PQF scores are based solely on publicly verifiable criteria. Independent third-party verification is encouraged. Read our full governance disclosure →
Responsible Use: PQF is an internal quality framework developed by Panorama Scholarly Group. It is not affiliated with Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ, or any commercial citation index. PQF should not be cited as an independent or third-party evaluation of PSG journals.
PQF Eligibility
| Record Type | PQF Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| POSI Verified Journal Record (evidence complete) | Official PQF | Full manual PQF assessment published in Evidence Registry. |
| POSI Verified Journal Record (under review) | Preliminary PQF | Draft scores; subject to change after evidence review. |
| Auto-discovered record | Automated PQF* | Computed primarily from direct verification of the journal's own website, Crossref, and OpenAlex; DOAJ's public registry is used only as a disclosed fallback signal when a site can't be directly crawled — DOAJ listing status is not an eligibility requirement. Not manually reviewed. |
| Submitted journal (under review) | Pending | Assessment begins after POSI evidence review is complete. |
| PSG-published journal | Official PQF (with COI disclosure) | Assessed under same criteria; conflict of interest disclosed. |
Version History
PQF v1.0
2026-06-22
CurrentInitial public release. Six subfactors (JTF, MQF, EGF, TDF, CVF, RIF). 100-point scale. Binary criteria. A+ through E grade scale.
PQF v1.0-auto
2026-06-22
SupersededAutomated variant computed from DOAJ and Crossref signals. Used for DOAJ-listed journals pending manual review. Not equivalent to official PQF v1.0.
PQF v2.0-auto
2026-08-09
CurrentAutomated variant recomputed from POSI's own direct verification — the journal's own website (crawled for the same evidence categories as Official PQF), Crossref metadata completeness, live OpenAlex/OpenCitations checks, and direct sitemap/robots/DOI-resolution probes. DOAJ's public registry is used only as a disclosed fallback signal when a site cannot be crawled directly (e.g. bot-protected platforms) — never as an eligibility requirement. Used for all auto-discovered journals pending manual review, regardless of DOAJ status. Not equivalent to official PQF v1.0.