ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF SCIENTISTS BASED ON PUBLICATIONS IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS OF THE SCOPUS AND WEB OF SCIENCE DATABASES IN REGULATORY DOCUMENTS OF KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Kazakhstan’s accession to the Bologna process led to a transition to the Western model of personnel training as well as to the adoption in 2011 of new regulatory legal acts (RLA), which legislated the introduction of new methods for assessing the qualifications of scientists based on publications in journals indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) international databases. Changes were systematically made to these RLAs, which were dictated both by the high dynamism of the development of the scientific field and the formation of new challenges and threats that required solutions. The article examines the dynamics of amendments to the RLA regarding the requirements for journals included in the Scopus and WoS international databases to publish research results by Kazakhstani authors. The method of content analysis of the contents of the texts of RLA and a bibliometric approach were used to assess the impact of changes in legal regulations on quantitative indicators of the publication activity of Kazakhstani authors in international journals. Based on the analysis, 4 conditional stages in the development of state science policy were identified. The first stage – 2011-2014 – the adoption of the Law “On Science” and the reorientation of researchers to publications in international journals. Second stage – 2015-2018 – relaxation of requirements for international journal publications, particularly for applicants for academic titles in the social and humanitarian fields. Third stage – 2019-2022 – harmonization of legal regulations regarding requirements for journals for the publication of research results and the introduction of alternative options for publication channels depending on the scientific direction of scientists, as well as the development of changes to the requirements in the RLA based on proposals from the Council of Young Scientists. The fourth stage – 2023-2024 – further expansion of alternative options for publishing research results in journals included in international databases. It was revealed that at the initial stage of introducing a method for assessing the qualifications of scientists based on publications in journals included in international databases, the potential of RLA had a significant effect on the number of publications of Kazakhstani authors in the Scopus and WoS databases. Then, this potential decreased and the introduction of new instruments of state science policy is required to stimulate the growth of publication activity of Kazakhstani authors. 

Keywords: Regulatory legal acts, science policy, publication activity, publications, Scopus, Web of Science