The Deanship of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Basrah organized a specialized scientific workshop aimed at academic faculty and postgraduate students to thoroughly examine scientific promotion criteria, standards for rigorous international publishing, and vital mechanisms to avoid predatory journals.
The workshop encompassed two fundamental tracks. Assistant Professor Dr. Zuhair Ghalib Al-Shahin inaugurated the first axis by comprehensively reviewing all administrative and legal regulations mandated for attaining scientific promotions, specifying minimum duration requirements across various ranks (three years for Instructor, four for Assistant Professor, and six for Professor). Furthermore, he meticulously detailed the nature of research required for each respective rank, alongside the specific conditions for acquiring sufficient promotion points through publications in peer-reviewed and academically approved rigorous journals.
The second axis featured an extensive lecture by Professor Dr. Osama Ayoob Yaqoob, focusing profoundly on strategic methodologies for selecting appropriate scientific journals and systematically excluding commercial or predatory publications in strict accordance with the Research and Development Directorate's official directives. The session incorporated practical training for postgraduate students on effectively navigating the Scopus database, extracting monthly updated validation spreadsheets, and utilizing Beall's List to rigorously verify journal legitimacy, thereby safeguarding their research efforts from unaccredited publications.
