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  • Vols. 1-15 (1994-2012)
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TESL-EJ Blacklist

Sadly, this this page reports on two cases of academic dishonesty concerning TESL-EJ

1. Assim Suliman Alrajhi, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia

— Submitted to two separate journals simultaneously.

2. Muhammad Tariq Bhatti, Shah Abdul Latif University, Pakistan

— Having agreed to review a submission, he instead downloaded the paper and published it under his own name.

1. Assim Suliman Alrajhi

August 1, 2021

This is to notify the academic world that Assim Suliman Alrajhi <arajhy@qu.edu.sa> of Qassim University, Saudi Arabia submitted the same article to two journals and had it published with the MexTESOL journal, Vol. 44, No. 4
https://mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=22027 after signing a statement with said journal that the paper had not been published elsewhere.  Dr. Asim stated that he was confused between two journals, TESL-EJ and ITESL Journal, although even though we have requested a clarification of why he did not see the TESL-EJ acknowledgment of the submission as well as how he managed to ignore the comments of the TESL-EJ referees sent to him on 21 March 2019. See the messages below for further clarification of the circumstances and the timeline.

Although he had offered to offset the ‘damage’ he has not responded to my request by the stated deadline of 31 July, which has resulted in this posting.

Thomas N. Robb, Editor, TESL-EJ


1 July 2021

Dear Dr. Alrajhi,

It has come to our attention that your manuscript entitled, “English Learners’ Perceptions of Video Games as a Medium for Learning and Integration into the English Curriculum” was submitted to two separate journals, TESL-EJ and the MexTESOL Journal.

You submitted your manuscript to TESL-EJ on 27 December 2019, and to the MexTESOL Journal on 30-31 December 2019. Both journals have a policy against concurrent submission to two journals, as do most journals in our profession. Furthermore, when your paper was accepted by MexTESOL, you signed a document affirming that you had not submitted the same manuscript elsewhere.

I have received a copy of your initial submission to the MexTESOL Journal and have confirmed that both submissions were identical in content. The conclusion (see appended .jpg) also seems to have content that might have come from the TESL-EJ reviewers. Here is a reconstructed timeline of your paper:

27 December 2019 — Paper submitted to TESL-EJ, as submission #611
31 December 2019 — The same paper was submitted to MexTESOL Journal
21 March 2020 — A decision of “Resubmit for Review” was recorded by TESL-EJ and the comments of 4 reviewers were sent to you by email.
3 August 2020 — Manuscript accepted by MexTESOL Journal
13 October 2020 — Letter of acceptance sent by the MexTESOL Journal editor.
November 2020 — Published in the MexTESOL Journal, Vol. 44, No. 4
https://mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=22027

Although there may be, in some cases, extenuating circumstances such conduct is considered to be highly unethical and subject to penalties. Could you please explain your reasons by July 7, 2021 before we proceed to the next step in our grievance process?

Sincerely,
Thomas Robb, Editor


3 July 2021
I sincerely apologize for this huge mistake. (iteslj.org) & (tesl-ej.org)
I am williing to fix it. Please let me know how.
Assim Alrajhi, Ph.D.

14 July 2021

Hello Dr. Alrajhi,

The damage that you caused cannot be undone, but I ask that you take the following steps before the end of the month:
1) Explain, even if you were confused by the names of the two journals, why you did not respond to the emailed feedback to you from the TESL-EJ reviewers.  That should have been a clear clue that something was wrong.
2) Write a letter for me to pass on to our reviewers to explain why their valuable time had been wasted. It should clearly explain the time sequence, why this serious error was made, and an apology to them for their efforts.
If these two steps have not been completed by 31 July, I shall notify the head of your department of your unethical behaviour.  Such a notification is normal for cases like this, but I will not if the above two steps are completed.
I will, however, leave information on the web concerning the double submission as a record of what has happened.
Sincerely,
  Thomas Robb, Editor, TESL-EJ

2. Muhammad Tariq Bhatti

Assistant Professor at Shah Abdul Latif University

  • 11 Sept 2021 — Fatma Şeyma KOÇ makes submission # 1243, “The Role of Supervisory Feedback in EFL Teacher Education: A Systematic Review”
  • 11 Sept 2021 — TESL-EJ requested Bhatti to review ms #1243 by Fatma Şeyma KOÇ
  • 11 Sept 2021 — Bhatti agrees to review the article (3 hours after the request) but never submits his review.
  • Date Unknown: Bhatti, Teevno & Devi steal and publish a full copy of Koç’s article: “The Role of Supervisory Feedback in EFL Teacher Education: A Systematic Review” in Ilkogretim Online – Elementary Education Online, a journal which has since been removed from SCOPUS.
    https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=”21100235609&tip=sid&clean=0″
The issue if further complicated by the fact that Bhatti’s (predatory) journal pre-dated the publication to 2020 which makes the paper seem to have been written earlier than Koç’s submission, but this is an impossible date since the references in Koç’s paper includes one with a 2021 date shown below:

Agheshteh, H., & Mehrpur, S. (2021). Teacher Autonomy and Supervisor Authority: Power Dynamics in Language Teacher Supervision in Iran. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 9(1), 87-106. doi: 10.30466/ijltr.2021.120977

Furthermore, Koç has a complete record of versions starting from 2019 when she first made her proposal on this topic. Despite having attempted to contact both the individual and his superiors, no communications have been received from Bhatti or his university concerning this matter. The original authors now cannot publish their own improved version of their research since their own version is now flagged as “plagiarized.”

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