Abstract:

In accordance with the requirement of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC), journal issue data from the List of Peer-reviewed scientific publications in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of Candidate of Sciences and for the degree of Doctor of Sciences (HAC List) have been regularly published in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) in the bibliographic database eLibrary.ru for more than 20 years. In March 2023, the editorial offices of journals from the HAC List, in accordance with the recommendation of the HAC, have post data of 2022 year issues in the Russian Scientific Journals database (RSJ) created by the Russian Scientific Research Institute RIEPP. In April 2025, by order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, a new requirement was added — for a journal from the HAC List, along with registration in the RISC eLibrary.ru, registration in the Information System (IS) “Metaphora”, developed by the Russian Center for Scientific Information, is required. Journals from the HAC List are recommended to regularly transfer metadata of published issues of journals to the “Metaphora” through specially organized interfaces. What role do the RSJ and “Metaphora” databases play in the infrastructure of scientific publications?

In addition, according to commission of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Center for Scientific Information performs the function of the operator of the “White List” of scientific journals. The “White List” in 2023 was formed by the Interdepartmental Working Group (IWG) of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The "White List" is supposed to be used to monitor and evaluate the publication activity of Russian scientists. The "White List" currently includes about 29,000 English-language international journals and about 1,000 Russian-language journals from the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) database. In 2025, the Russian-language part of the "White List" significantly expanded due to the inclusion of journals from HAC List into the "White List". We would like to receive detailed information from the ideologists of the "White List" on how the levels (U1, U2, U3, U4) of the “White List” journals and the categories (K1, K2, K3) of journals on the HAC List will correspond?

Abstract:

Starting from spring 2022 a national system for evaluating the effectiveness of scientific research and development is being created using the database of leading Russian journals Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). The article represents some results of the analysis of the RSCI normalized rating published in December 2022. Using the journal citation graph constructed from the data Math-Net.Ru on the example of thematic group OECD 101.Mathematics we show that in the case of a large number of self-citations of the journals, a relationship between the normalized rating and the number of references is found, and the relationship with self-citation is somewhat stronger than without self-citation. Analysis of the distribution of the journals by thematic groups shows that using a single attribute, such as the OECD, as a criterion does not allow forming a group as a community of journals with a single strongly connected component in the citation graph. We conclude that the research methods of journal citation graphs are a good basis for a comparative analysis of the characteristics of journals and their ranking, which means they can be used as tools for further development and improvement of journal ratings.

Abstract:

Subject ontology in the context of this article is understood as a set of key concepts related to a certain field of science, with their semantic connections, supplemented by indexes of various classification systems describing this scientific field. Subject ontologies are a necessary component of each subspace that is part of the Unified digital space of scientific knowledge (DSSK). This article presents the results of research related to the construction of subject ontologies based on the created automated system for supporting terminological dictionaries and suggests a methodology for identifying new key terms in a particular field of science. The proposed methodology is based on the use of existing classification systems in conjunction with citation databases, such as Web of Science and Scopus for English–language publications and the Russian citation index for Russian-language publications. The methodology involves dividing the scientific field into a number of sections in accordance with the selected classification system, extracting from the CSB the core of articles related to each section, and from the articles - new author's keywords, which should constitute, in combination with the corresponding sections of classification systems, the basis of the subject ontologies of this scientific field.

Abstract:

According to the portal Math-Net.Ru a graph of journal citation is constructed. To increase the reliability of the model, the citation time interval was chosen from 2010 to 2021, when the distribution of citation articles stabilized at the level of 3500-4500 citations per year. The structure of link aging is studied and it is shown that their half-life is equal to 8 years. Therefore, the publication date of the cited articles was limited to 2002. For the constructed citation graph, the main properties, such as a small diameter and a high density, are obtained, indicating a high level of scientific communication in the Math-Net.Ru. The absence of the “Matthew effect” as a pronounced advantage in quoting established journals in relation to less well-known ones is shown. Adequacy of the journal citation graph Math-Net.Ru as a model of scientific communication confirmed by comparing the ranking of journals in the citation graph with their SCIENCE INDEX rating in eLIBRARY.RU. A direct moderate relationship between the two rankings is shown. A number of meaningful conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the citation graph.

Abstract:

Currently, Russian institutions are almost completely disconnected from Western information resources and services related to the publication of scientific journals. In such conditions, the task of replacing the departed services, reorientation to domestic scientific journals, Russian online library resources has become particularly actual. In the largest bibliographic database the eLibrary.ru, focused on Russian-language scientific publications, collected information about almost 15 thousand Russian-language journals. In the eLibrary.ru there is an analytical system "Russian Science Citation Index" that processes metadata of articles from more than 5 thousand Russian scientific journals. Is the eLibrary.ru ready to serve as a national bibliographic database? For what reason "white lists" of journals appear in Russian organizations?

The main problem of the RSCI is the quality of the constructed ratings of scientific journals. The methods of calculating ratings over the past years have caused certain criticisms. The paper provides an example of a rating of journals from the section "Mathematics" built in the RSCI. Journals that are little known among professional mathematicians were in the first positions. Serious deformations in the ratings of the eLibrary.ru undermine the confidence of scientists in the assessments of the credibility of Russian journals proposed by the eLibrary.ru. The reaction of some universities and scientific organizations is quite expected: organizations are beginning to introduce their own criteria for the success of the publication activities of employees associated with the publication of articles in journals from the so-called "white lists". The white list of journals is compiled, as a rule, by the expert councils of the organization specifically for each discipline and scientific direction. Scientometric indicators may be taken into account when compiling white lists, but they are not the primary criterion for the selection of journals. White lists can now become a reasonable addition to the ratings of bibliographic databases.

Abstract: The article presents the events that took place last year in the world of Russian scientific publications. There is a slow slide towards paid access of some academic journals turned in open access in 2018. The European Union has announced plan "S" for the mass transition of scientific journals to open access. New models of the scientific publication are introducing. Reporting on publications requested by the Ministry of education and science in 2019 does not take into account the size of the readership of the article. Neither the Ministry of education and science, nor the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) does not encourage publication in the public domain. In Russian Science Citation Index began the fight against widespread fraudulent trade in references to the article, but the HAC is not interested in this activity. A proliferation of contradictory the term "self-plagiarism" has spread. This label is widely stigmatized authors and journals for repeated publications.

Abstract: For the past seven to eight years the fundamental library of Herzen University has been a key link in the chain of building effective research activities of the university and its implementation in publications. the creation and development by the library of a software module that operates in the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia was a new stage in this activity; this module allows real-time output of structured current and comparative data on scientometric indicators of university teachers and researchers. The program module was created on the basis of database interaction with the API of scientometric resources such as Russian Science Citation Index, Scopus and Web of Science with the goal of further processing and systematization of the data obtained. The authors pay special attention to the development prospects of the created complex and the possibilities of data integration, including the implemented earlier synchronization of information with the profiles of teachers on the university website.

Abstract: Based on information from open sources, a table was compiled reflecting the indicators of 128 full members of the Russian Academy of Education (RAE) in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). The main results are given in a condensed form and compared with the results of a similar study performed several years earlier. The conclusions and features of the RSCI as an analytical tool are discussed.

Abstract:

The tool for building ratings of scientific journals is one of the popular services of bibliographic databases. The task of building a rating is usually divided into two main subtasks: determining the reference group of journals and calculating the rating indicator for journals of this reference group. Practice shows that for the correct comparison of journals, a necessary condition is to limit the reference group to exclusively journals of a certain subject. In the case of methodological errors made at the stage of selecting a reference group, the values of the journal index in the rating may differ greatly from the expected ones.

For example, in the ranking of journals in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) according to the two-year impact factor in the thematic area “Mathematics”, classical fundamental mathematical journals, contrary to expectations, do not reach the first positions of the rating. The first positions were taken by journals for which mathematics is not the dominant profile discipline. Analysis of statistical data on the subject of published articles and citations in journals that occupy leading positions in the RSCI rating shows that the multidisciplinary nature of these journals significantly influenced the rating indicators.

The noted misunderstanding leads to the idea that in this case, not all the articles of the journal should have been involved in the calculation of the rating, but only those related to this thematic area. At the same time, the existing scheme of thematic classification of directions also raises questions. The "bottom-up" classification, which is gaining popularity and works on a representative array of articles, seems to be more promising. Here thematic clusters are isolated on the basis of the concept of proximity of articles, interpreted as the proximity of their bibliographic links. And further, the thematic affiliation of the article is not assigned by the volitional decision of the author or the editorial board, but is strictly formally calculated on the basis of its bibliographic list.