HSE’s 'Foresight' among Top Russian Journals in Scopus' Research and Innovation Rankings
The SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) is an integral tool in analysing the academic significance of journals indexed on Scopus, and the SJR reflects the influence held by a particular journal’s articles. The higher a journal’s SJR, the more important articles from the journal are for the world academic community. The SJR figures in particular are used to determine rating quartiles.
Overall, the Business, Management, and Accounting (miscellaneous) category, to which HSE’s Foresight belongs, included 285 journals in 2015, Foresight being the first Russian publication to be included in this category. (For more information, please see the journal’sprofile on the website of the SCImago Journal and Country Rank.) In addition, HSE’s publication ranked second in this category among all journals in the Eastern European regional ranking.
Lastly, Foresight is among the top-ten Russian journals in the social sciences and humanities, which are part of the first and second quartiles in the Scopus ranking.
The Quality Category
Foresight’s rise to the second quartile in the Scopus database demonstrates the publication’s quality and overall recognition within the international academic community. As a result, the journal’s visibility is strengthening in the global information space, which naturally attracts some of the best authors.
The quality of universities’ academic publications also impacts the location of the universities themselves in Russian and international rankings, and this is further confirmed by the results of the new Russian university ranking created by the Expert Analytical Centre. According to the ranking, HSE is the clear leader in a number of different areas, and this is largely thanks to the high level of publication activity demonstrated by HSE faculty.
In addition, HSE and many other Russian universities factor in international citation database rankings – above all, WoS and Scopus – when evaluating the publication activity of the school’s staff. The positions are also used when calculating raises and other bonuses.
Factors for Success
Foresight’s position on the Scopus ranking greatly improved after the launch of the English-language version of the journal, Foresight and STI Governance, in 2013. In addition, the publication’s editorial policies became stricter, as did the selection process used when determining which articles would ultimately make it to publication. Leading experts are brought in to review the articles as well, including HSE faculty and other leading experts from Russian and international organisations.
The geographic range of the journal’s authors and editors now spans five continents and upwards of 20 countries, with the journal publishing up to 30 new Russian and foreign authors every year. Over the last several years, Foresight’s editorial board has grown primarily thanks to foreign experts, who now make up nearly 75% of the board.
The main areas of focus for the journal have not changed considerably and still include developmental trends and indicators in science, technology, and innovation; the analysis of best practices in science, technology, and innovation policy; and methods and best practices in research and foresight. The journal’s readership has also been growing largely thanks to the journal’s focus on multidisciplinary research and on various areas in the social sciences and humanities.