WHO AND HOW SHOULD ASSESS RESEARCH RESULTS OF A SCIENTIST
B.А. MALITSKY
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5312-6828
Nauka naukozn. 2017, 3(97): 34-53
https://doi.org/10.15407/sofs2017.03.034
Section: Development of Science and Technology Potential
Language: Russian
Abstract: The essence of the approach to assessment of researchers’ results, based on citation indexes, including Hirsch index, which is broadly used in the global practice and propagated in Ukraine is highlighted. Facts are given illustrating that an approach based on these indicators is impermissible, as they do not always capable to measure the quality of research and publication activity in prestigious scientific journals, or can be falsified in someone’s mercenary interests. It is stressed that «simplicity» is a feature making this method appealing to R&D administration bodies, as R&D bureaucracy does not care that it overlooks other scientific criteria of social, economic, technological, organizational or psychological dimension. The ruining effects for R&D system from its use are demonstrated by case of Russia. The concern is expressed about attempts of some «pseudo-experts» in science policy to impose this method on the Ukrainian R&D system, with giving arguments from theory and practice of R&D organization and researchers’ performance assessment, to prove its failure. The conclusion is made that methods like this are good for power offices in the first place, as they ignore many problems of the national R&D, which, once solved, would increase automatically the measures of international publication activity of Ukrainian researchers.
Keywords: assessment, citation, amount of citations. impact-factor, Hirsch index, publication, scientific journal, scientific knowledge, researcher.
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