TESL-EJ Blacklist

Sadly, 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

2. Muhammad Tariq Bhatti

Assistant Professor at Shah Abdul Latif University