The Methodological Approach to the Rating of Scientific Journals Included in the List of Peer-Reviewed Scientific Publication That Should Publish the Main Scientific Deliverables of PhD and a Doctor of Sciences Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop a methodological approach to the formation of the rating of scientific journals included in the List of peer-reviewed scientific publications, in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate of science and doctor of science should be published. The relevance of this rating is not only in the addressing new challenges in conditions of sanctions pressure and defining new requirements for the criteria for publication activity for dissertation council members, etc., but also in identifying leading journals included in Higher Attestation Commission list and developing recommendations for their advancement. Methodology: dialectics, analysis, synthesis, deduction, generalization method, grouping method, statistical and mathematical methods. Conclusions: On the basis of the developed methodological approach and the methodology approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, 2,592 scientific journals of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) publishing the results of scientific research for civilian purposes were ranked. Ratings of the Higher Attestation Commission scientific journals in 432 HAC scientific specialties were formed (during the transition period, the nomenclature of HAC specialties valid in 2021, was used). HAC journals were peer reviewed and ranked on the bases of scientometric indicators within the work of 27 expert councils of the HAC. As a result of work in personal areas, the experts gave more than 2,300 expert opinions on assigning a category to journals (in the cases when the expert council members’ opinion and the category of the journal assigned on the basis of a scientometric assessment were mismatched). Based on the results of an integral assessment of the scientific significance of journals by qualified experts of expert councils who work with postgraduate and doctoral students, HAC scientific journals and, in general, carry out scientific leadership in the framework of the implementation of the training of highly qualified scientific and pedagogical personnel, the following results were obtained. Among the analyzed journals, which are also included in WoS, RSCI, and Scopus, 91, 276, and 160 journals, respectively, are assigned to Category 1, 54, 236, and 130 journals are respectively assigned to Category 2, and 7, 34, and 16 journals are respectively assigned to Category 3. This suggests that the inclusion of a scientific journal in international databases does not always mean that a particular scientific journal is a leading journal in a particular scientific specialty of the Higher Attestation Commission or has a high level of quality. Scientific and practical significance: The developed methodology for ranking the scientific journals included in the List of peer-reviewed scientific publications, in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of candidate of science and doctor of science should be published, includes scientometric and expert evaluation. The obtained results of ranking of the HAC scientific journals will be used in issuing the requirements for members of dissertation councils, members of dissertation councils with academic degrees of Candidate of Sciences and PhD, applicants for scientific degrees defending dissertations in the form of a scientific report. This, in turn, will make it possible to form transparent rules for the work of the system for training scientific and pedagogical personnel of the highest qualification and to increase the number of postgraduate and doctoral students who have defended their defenses.