Questions and answers
What journals, authors and institutions ask us most, answered as the sites answer it — each with the page that says more.
For journals and publishers · For authors and researchers · DOIs and the registry · About us
For journals and publishers
What does Smart Scholars do for a journal?
We read a journal's public record — its website, Crossref, DOAJ, the ISSN Portal, OpenAlex — and fix what stops indexes and readers from trusting it: DOIs that do not resolve, incomplete Crossref records, missing ORCID iDs and licences, and the indexing applications themselves. Our tools for it are Journal Audit, GetIndexed and DOI Doctor. All our services →
Is the first audit really free?
Yes. The first Journal Audit is free, and it shows what the journal needs before anything is bought. Start the free audit →
How long does an audit take?
Most reports are delivered within 24 to 48 hours. A website that blocks our crawler has to let it in, or give us a login, first; if it still cannot be read, the audit is refunded in full. How services are delivered →
Can you guarantee that our journal will be accepted by Scopus, DOAJ or Web of Science?
No one honest can. Acceptance belongs to each index, decided on its own criteria. We prepare and file the application and correct what we are engaged to correct; if an index refuses an application for something we were engaged to correct and had the access to correct, we redo that application once at no charge. What we do not promise →
Will you change anything without our approval?
No. Nothing is deposited at Crossref, sent to an index, written to your website or posted on your accounts until you approve it on the page.
What access do you need?
To check a journal, only its address. For work in your own systems, a login or key with the least access that will do the work: it is stored encrypted, used only for your work, and deleted when you ask or within thirty days of the last service ending. Credentials you give us →
Do you charge per DOI?
No: there are no per-DOI agent fees. Our services are priced per journal, by stage and by service, and quoted after the audit; Crossref's and archives' own fees, where there are any, are paid by the journal to them directly. How our services are priced →
How do we pay?
By card, UPI or net-banking through Razorpay, or by a direct UPI or bank transfer with its reference number (UTR); a direct payment is confirmed by our team, usually within a few hours on working days.
Can we cancel, and get our money back?
An order cancelled before the work begins is refunded in full, and a refund is started within 7 days of being agreed. The other cases are on one page. Cancellation & refunds →
For authors and researchers
Is the Journal Trust Rating free?
Yes, free to check. It rates a journal from A to E from the public record — the ISSN Portal, Crossref, DOAJ, OpenAlex and the Keepers Registry — and every finding links to the register it came from, so you can check it yourself. Check a journal →
Can a journal pay to change its grade?
No. No journal can pay to change its grade, and no lists are sold. A grade changes only when the public record changes, and then it recomputes itself.
Do you sell citations, or write papers?
No. We do not write, ghost-write, translate or alter scholarly content, and we do not create citations, references, reviews or peer-review records that did not happen.
DOIs and the registry
Is Smart Scholars a DOI Registration Agency?
Not yet. Until the DOI Foundation appoints us, the DOIs we register for clients are registered at Crossref — under the client's own Crossref membership or through a sponsor — and our DOI Registry holds every one of them with its record and its full history. Governance of the registry →
How should a DOI be shown?
As a full link — https://doi.org/ followed by the DOI — on the article's page, in its PDF and in reference lists, so that every reader reaches the work wherever it moves. Showing a DOI →
Where can I see whether your sites are working?
On the status page: every site, the DOI Registry and its Handle server, checked twice an hour, with the last 90 days. Status →
About us
Who are you?
Smart Scholars, a partnership firm in Hyderabad, India, registered as a micro enterprise (Udyam UDYAM-TS-20-0215979) and under the Telangana Shops and Establishments Act, and a member of ALPSP. About us →
How do we reach a person?
On WhatsApp at +91-9885134413, Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 19:00 India time, or by e-mail at mou@smartscholars.in. The Ask AI button answers questions about our services at any hour. Contact form →
What do you do with our data?
Only what each service needs, never sold, never used for advertising. Every cookie we set, and how long we keep each thing, is on the privacy page. Privacy →
Not answered here? Ask in the community, or write to us. Community · mou@smartscholars.in
