Changing the rules for the formation of the List of peer-reviewed scientific publications
Order of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science of February 12, 2018 No. 99 “On Amendments to the Rules for Forming a List of Peer-Reviewed Scientific Publications, in which the main scientific results of dissertations should be published for the degree of candidate of science, for the degree of doctor of science, and the requirements for peer-reviewed scientific publications for inclusion in the list of peer-reviewed scientific publications in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate of science must be published, for the degree of doctor of science , approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated December 12, 2016 No. 1586 ”(registered by the Ministry of Justice of Russia on March 15, 2018, registration No. 50368) aroused great interest from the scientific community, which is already tired of the endless reforms of the procedures for defending candidate and doctoral dissertations.
In theory, they are all aimed at improving the quality of dissertations, the results of which should be published in these journals, increasing the efficiency and professionalism of their discussion. On the one hand, to achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase the ratings of scientific journals by improving the quality of published articles, on the other hand, much depends on the competent scientific policy of the editorial board, its ability to determine the most promising areas of scientific research. We need to work with talented youth, hold scientific conferences, actively participate in scientific discussions. Pay more attention to review literature on modern achievements in science.
New in the rules
A new requirement that will now be imposed on journals from the list of VAK is to limit the subject matter of published materials to three branches of science and five groups of scientific specialties in total. The time of multidisciplinary publications is a thing of the past. This is an effective measure against the so-called “junk magazines”, the main principle of which is “omnivorous” to attract customers. Until quite recently, dissertation councils did not pay attention to the lack of coincidence of the specialty codes of the dissertation and the journal in which the applicant published his article.
This also determines the requirement for journals that their main content must correspond to the scientific specialties and branches of science declared in the list. The procedure for including publications in this list is still declarative, and the list itself is formed by scientific specialties and their respective branches of knowledge in accordance with the nomenclature of scientific specialties approved by Order of the Ministry of Education and Science dated October 23, 2017 N 1027 “On approval of the nomenclature of scientific specialties, for which academic degrees are awarded” (registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on November 20, 2017, registration N 48962).
The editorial statement of the publication contains the rationale for inclusion in the list and its compliance with the Requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission. Probably, more attention should be paid to the bibliometric factors of the journal such as the impact factor, Hirsch index. Until now, you can find journals in the list of VAK that do not have an impact factor. Of course, bibliometric indicators are not the ultimate truth, but the general idea along with other factors, as a rule, gives the correct one.
Now publications can be excluded from the list by the Decree of the Ministry on the basis of the recommendation of the Higher Attestation Commission in case of violation of the Requirements for peer-reviewed publications. In other words, this work should be carried out constantly, without interruptions.
Attention is drawn to the need to tighten the requirements for publications included in the list. This refers to information openness, the presence of a peer review institute, and the qualitative composition of the editorial boards and editorial boards of scientific journals. Qualified peer review is not only a filter for weak articles, but an important element of the authority of the publication. Only high-quality articles can provide the journal with a high rating.
As for the members of the editorial boards, it is necessary to publish their scientific degrees and academic titles on the journal’s website. The editorial board, among other things, is the representative body of the publication, ensuring its scientific authority. When submitting an application for inclusion of a journal in the list, all members of the editorial board or editorial board must sign their agreement with this decision.
Among other changes, it should be noted that when a journal is removed from the list, its re-inclusion can be considered on a general basis only after three years. It is believed that an increase in the term will help the journal correct shortcomings in its work, restore the trust and respect of readers.
The decision to remove “Astrophysics Data System” and “Agris” from the VAK list is not a big surprise. Discussions on this topic have been going on for years. But if the “Astrophysics Data System” database is already included in the Web of Science, then the exclusion of “Agris” may adversely affect the placement of publications of our compatriots.
Further, it should be noted that the publication on the website of the Higher Attestation Commission of the List of peer-reviewed journals included in international databases and citation systems as of March 16, 2018 in accordance with the document containing the Changes that are made to the rules for the formation of a list of peer-reviewed scientific publications, in which to publish the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate of science, for the degree of doctor of science, and the requirements for peer-reviewed scientific publications for inclusion in the list of peer-reviewed scientific publications in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate of science should be published, for the degree of Doctor of Science, approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated December 12, 2016 No. 1586. These journals are included in the List of the Higher Attestation Commission for their scientific profile and are not regulated by the Requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science.
The total number of publications in the above list is 967. This is 50 more journals than in June 2016. This gives us hope that in the near future we will not have a VAK List, at least in its current form. But that’s another topic.
You might be interested:
Publication of articles in journals included in the list of HAC
