Theoretical and research articles in social sciences and humanities: overcoming hurdles to perception of western methodology in Russia

Abstract

Formal, methodological and content-related compliance with the international databases’ standards are required for Russian peer-reviewed journals to be indexed with Scopus and Web of Science. Judging by the experience of the recent years, Russian peer-reviewed journals as well as Russian scientists find difficulties in integrating studies into the international databases. Russia’s journals focused on social sciences and humanities are facing most barriers due to a number of historic reasons: a gap in the country’s individual segment in the world science covering the period of Marxism underpinnings in social sciences and humanities; falling behind the world achievements in sciences directed by the Soviet prevailing ideology; the lack of ethically supported and academically shared competitiveness in the Russian peer-reviewed journal market; an overweighted share of non-original research with dubious contribution to science development. The breakthrough in the field may be caused by intensified competitiveness among Russian peer-reviewed journals, a breakaway from unscrupulous publishing practices towards journals’ changed approaches to the quality of published articles, and authors’ renewed attitude to conducting and documenting the results of their studies. The journals are to transfer from non-original and semi-structured science-like essays to original theoretical and empirical articles, with methodically based and discoursively appropriate structures typical of the world academic community. The article is based on the author’s research of about 800 theoretical and empirical articles published in English in high-metrics sources indexed with the international databases. The author suggests a model adapting international expertise forRussia’s present-day situation, gives detailed recommendations to journal editors and authors relating to articles on social sciences and humanities written in Russian, which enable to efficiently promote Russian journals in their indexation with the international databases

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