International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)

Volume 10, Issue 03, March 2019, pp. 1254–1262, Article ID: IJMET_10_03_128
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

SCIENTOMETRICS AS AN INSTRUMENT OF
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN RUSSIAN
SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION
Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov
Doctor of Science, Professor, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Stremyanny lane 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich, PhD,

Associate Professor, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Stremyanny lane 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich, PhD,

Associate Professor, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Stremyanny lane 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

Novikova Elena Yurievna,

Doctor of Science, Professor, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Stremyanny lane 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

Aleхandra Vladimirovna Galanova, PhD,

Associate Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE)
Myasnitskaya Street 20, Moscow, 101000, Russia

ABSTRACT
Usually scientometric indicators for assessing the effectiveness of workers in the
field of science and higher education are considered from the standpoint of their
criticism, identifying the limits of applicability, the impact on the quality of professional
activity of workers. However, like any tools for managing social work, indicators of its
effectiveness also have important social consequences. On the one hand, the assessment
of the work of researchers and teachers using the Hirsch index and the number of
publications in the Scopus and Web of Science systems was closely related to a
significant increase in the level of remuneration of these workers compared to the
average wage levels in the Russian economy. But, on the other hand, there are
opportunities for the formation of large differences in the levels of wages in science and
education, and, hence, for the stratification of workers employed in these industries, the
rich and the poor. This social stratification is the result of the inclusion of non-
commercial activities in market relations.

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 Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov, Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich, Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich,
Novikova Elena Yurievna

Key words: scientometrics, Hirsch index, science, higher education, social sphere,
market, competition, social stratification, personal wealth.
Cite this Article: Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov, Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich,
Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich, Novikova Elena Yurievna, Scientometrics as an
Instrument of Social Stratification in Russian Science and Higher Education,
International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology 10(3), 2019, pp.
1254–1262.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3

1. INTRODUCTION
Let's define "scientometrics" as quantitative indicators used in the field of science and education
to measure the comparative efficiency of scientific and teaching staff. At peresent we can
include indicators of the number of articles registered in a variety of scientometric systems, the
main of which in relation to the Russian management practice are the Scopus and Web of
Science systems and calculated on the basis of registered articles and references to them (the
Hirsch index in its variations) [shtovba, 2013: 265].
Scientometrics, acting as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of human labor, and
therefore the management of this labor, cannot affect it in such a way that the labor itself and
its results change in a "given" direction, associated with the surrounding economic conditions
and human goals in a market society.

2. METHOD
2.1. Relevance
The relevance of issues related to the measurement of labor efficiency in education and science
has two sides. On the one hand, we are talking about the effectiveness of the development of
such important subject areas of human labor as education and science. Labor in these areas is
immaterial, and therefore the role of labor efficiency indicators significantly increases due to
the qualitative specificity of the result of labor, which is very indirectly expressed in any kind
of quantitative indicators. On the other hand, in today's market for each type of work formed
its own performance indicators, usually combined profit indicator or derived from it indicators.
However, the sphere of science and education is mainly a non-profit sphere of activity, so the
key indicator of its market efficiency is how this sphere solves the problem of growth of
monetary incomes of its employees as a source of their personal wealth, just as profit in the
business is a source of personal wealth of the most successful owners of capital. The formation
of a circle of rich scientists and teachers is the reality of modern Russian society.
The development of Russian science and education takes place in the direction of their
adaptation to the existing market relations. If until recently, the main areas that allow to achieve
personal wealth were the sectors of the economy, the coverage of market relations between
science and education allows a certain number of workers in these areas to become part of the
rich layer of Russian society. Thus, if this trend is applied to the entire social sphere, there are
no areas of social work in which an employee would not find himself in conditions that create
a potential opportunity for him to become a rich member of Russian society. At the same time,
those who for various reasons failed to take advantage of this opportunity automatically fall
into the layers of poor members of society.

2.2. The purpose and objectives

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 Scientometrics as an Instrument of Social Stratification in Russian Science and Higher Education

The purpose of this article is to identify the social consequences of evaluating the effectiveness
of teaching and research activities, concentrated in the form of a small group of indicators of
publication activity. To achieve this goal, it is nessesary to:
 to analyze ways of influence of indicators of publication activity on teaching and scientific
activity;
 identify the reasons for changes in approaches to the assessment of intangible labor;
 substantiate the possible consequences of using this kind of indicators.

2.3. Object and subject of research

The object of the research is the scientific and teaching activity and its evaluation with the help
of generally accepted scientometric indicators, first of all, such as the Hirsch Index and the
number of articles in journals included in the Scopus and Web of Science systems [Egghe,
2006: 137, Hirsch, 2005: 16570].
The subject of the study is the consequences of the use of scientometric tools to assess the
effectiveness of labor in higher education and science.

2.4. Method of research

The study is based on the use of the laws of formal logic, analysis and synthesis, induction and
deduction, analogy and comparison. Through the use of these methods, the analyzed object of
study can be considered from different sides, which allows to study the consequences of the use
of appropriate tools.

2.5. Scientific novelty

The scientific novelty of the study is to substantiate and consider the social consequences of the
assessment of the work of scientists and teachers of higher educational institutions with the help
of scientometric indicators in modern conditions.

3. RESULTS
3.1. The reasons for the change of evaluation criteria of labor
Currently, the main indicators of assessing the success of Russian scientists and University
professors (and after that, the universities and research institutions themselves) are, on the one
hand, the presence of a set number of annual publications (articles) registered in the Scopus
(Scopus) and Web of science (Web of Science, WoS), and, on the other hand, the achievement
by scientists and teachers of a given level of the indicator called the "Hirsch Index", which is
automatically calculated in this kind of systems based on the citation of the authors '
publications. The citation index of Russian scientists can even be free [the citation Index of
Russian scientists]. For the convenience of reasoning, both of these estimates will be briefly
called a single term "scientometrics", and these groups of workers simply"employees".
In the case of employees scientometric indicators become the most important criterion for
the competition for the previous position in which a person worked earlier because of his
relevant academic and scientific titles, work experience, or to occupy a new position.
This primacy stems from two points. First, because of the wages themselves. In modern
conditions (according to the may decrees of the President of Russia of 2012), each scientific
and teaching position implies a salary on average twice the average salary in the region. It is
believed that the two-time difference in the average wage levels of workers with ordinary
qualifications and workers with higher qualifications can be considered reasonable and
acceptable, taking into account the existing economic opportunities of the country.

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 Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov, Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich, Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich,
Novikova Elena Yurievna

Secondly, because of the number of jobs for researchers and University professors. The
relative lack of funding from the Federal (or, in General, state) budget of the country leads to
the fact that the number of jobs in science and education tends to decrease, which is evident in
the trend of reducing the number of universities and research institutions in the country.
In parallel, it should be noted that for known reasons, the number of candidates and doctors
of Sciences in Russia has increased disproportionately compared to the Soviet times (about 10
times despite the fact that the population of Russia is lower than in the USSR 2 times). This has
sharply devalued the" quality " of diplomas of higher qualification, which, in fact, was one of
the main external reasons for the search for new, "non-Soviet" criteria for assessing the quality
of research workers. However, it is impossible not to see the fact that the actual scientific and
pedagogical activity of this phenomenon is little affected, because the "fictitious" candidate or
doctor of science can not conduct any scientific or pedagogical activity. Therefore, in relation
to those who actually work in science or education, the change in the assessment of the quality
of their work has a completely different economic background than the obviously justified
"fight against borrowing" in scientific dissertations.
In the most General form, the reason for the change in the criteria for assessing intangible
labor is that science and education (as well as other social spheres) are transformed into spheres
that are subject to the laws of the capitalist economy, the essence of which in this case is not
aimed at profit, as is typical for the branches of material production, but in creating conditions
for the formation of high personal wealth and even personal wealth for scientists and teachers.
The very specific nature of those scientometrics indicators does not matter too much. What
is really important is that such estimates become criteria for the admission of an employee to a
high salary, but equally irrelevant is the fact whether the employee is a real scientist or a decent
teacher, because no quantitative indicator can adequately measure the quality of work.

3.2. Labor evaluation criteria as the basis of competition

The desire of employees to achieve higher scientometric indicators inevitably generates
competition between them due to the quantitative and qualitative limitations of the "publishing
system" in the face of a variety of magazines and publishers. Quantitative limits follow from
the fact that the power of the publishing system lags behind the number of articles and books
that claim to be published. Indeed, if as a mandatory task to require hundreds of thousands of
employees to publish several works annually, the amount of necessary printing activity
becomes huge. The way out is a paperless form of publications in the form of electronic
publications, but this volume of information hiding behind the process, in fact, denies the
expediency or public utility of these publications themselves.
Qualitative limitation has a completely different basis, which is that as soon as the
quantitative "limits" of publication activity do not "work", then there is a division of the journals
and publishers themselves into more ("worthy", "recognized", "elected", "core") and less
important. There is competition among the "publication systems" themselves, which leads to a
difference in scientometric indicators for groups of these systems, and thus the possibility of
obtaining "high" scientometric indicators again becomes impossible for most workers.
Competition between writers is replaced by competition between those who publish printed
publications.
The insignificance of scientometrics for the results of the work of the employee is that it
should only provide competition for workers ' high wages, but not for the best results of their
work. There is a substitution of the qualitative result of work with the chosen quantitative
indicator, so that the result of the work is not its useful effect, but the corresponding number of
a certain kind of published articles. This is analogous to the fact that in the production of a

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 Scientometrics as an Instrument of Social Stratification in Russian Science and Higher Education

commodity only everything that allows it to be sold profitably is essential, and not its actual
utility. But unlike the product, which can usually be used (consumed) and with more, and at a
lower level of its quality, the usefulness of any employee can not be measured only by its ability
to write a scientific article. This is similar to the requirement that all students (students) in the
future become successful and rich people, were able to write novels, compose music, etc.

3.3. Scientometrics and Finance

The use of scientometrics allows to solve an important social problem of reducing the total
number of scientific and pedagogical workers and thus relatively reduce the cost of the state for
many social services. But the reduction in the number of these workers necessarily results in a
reduction in the number of consumers of these services and a reduction in useful results (quality
of services). Useful result in science and teaching is replaced by the number of articles and
quotations, which has no close connection with the real scientific achievements and training of
students in professional skills. There is a paradox: the relatively higher the wages of intellectual
workers, the relatively worse the quality of their work. This is a consequence of the fact that
the quality of scientific or teaching work is not characterized by scientometrics. However, the
ability to hold positions and at a lower quality of work will inevitably lead to the fact that in
science and teaching, on average, there will be only those who will be able by any means to
achieve the established indicators as criteria for getting a job and a high salary.

3.4. Scientometrics and mediation

Since the "secrets" of achieving the necessary indicators of the number of articles and
quotations quickly become well known, so far, on the one hand, the process of increasing and
structuring the "publication standards" begins, and, on the other hand, there is a parallel increase
in the prices of publications in the "selected" scientometric systems, since the demand for them
will only increase with the growth of "publication standards". Thus, there is a social
phenomenon similar to inflation in the commodity market, which could be called "scientometric
inflation": the increase in requirements for publications increases the demand for them, and this
leads to an increase in prices for the publication of articles.
As usual, only two types of market intermediaries benefit from such dynamics. The first
type is the publishing system itself, which has the "right" to publish articles related to a certain
level of importance. The narrower the range of publishers such, the higher the price of the
publication for researchers. The second type is a mediator between the employees and the
publishers. This group of intermediaries can be called "publishing brokers" by analogy with
brokers in the commodity or financial markets.
In some cases, there are still magazines in which articles are published without any payment,
but for the printed version of the magazine is still required to pay. In General, free publication
of articles is possible only for a very limited number of journals, which are financed, for
example, by "rich" universities or companies. But in General, it is obvious that free is contrary
to the nature of the market. Why publish articles for free, if there is always a monetary demand
from those who can pay for such a service. The market does Not exist for the progress of science
and education, on the contrary, science and education exist for the increasingly full use of
opportunities to become rich and successful in today's market.

3.5. Scientometrics and human capital

The development of scientometrics fully contributes to the "flourishing" and such socio-
economic phenomenon, which in relation to the employee is usually called human capital (and
in relation to the student – "educational capital"). The employee, to take the desired position in
science or University, must from time to time advance large sums of money in the process

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 Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov, Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich, Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich,
Novikova Elena Yurievna

associated with the implementation of the established scientometric indicators. Only in this
case, he will receive his position and the corresponding salary, which is significantly higher
than the average salary. In other words, to become (stay) for a limited period of time a researcher
or a teacher, you will have to "just" pay (advance) the necessary amount of money, and all other
requirements become completely secondary, formal, because in the case of their equivalence
with the indicators of scientometrics, for governing structures ceases to exist the dominant
("only") criterion of selection among hired personnel.
It is obvious that the scientometric criterion of personnel selection may have nothing to do
with science itself or with teaching, but it (along with the relative lack of funding) becomes a
"systemic" reason for what is commonly called the fall in the quality of education and the lack
of really significant achievements in science and technology, lagging behind the world level,
etc. This follows from the fact that the imaginary goals generate imaginary results of scientific
and teaching activities.
On average, the salary of a scientific or pedagogical worker must compensate the amount
of money advanced to his position and the expenses for the current life of the worker (and his
family). At the same time, the inevitable process of rising prices for publications will not only
require the advance of more money from the applicant for the position of the employee, but
also causes the need for further growth of his average salary, which should further compensate
the applicant for the position of the advanced capital.

3.6. Scientometrics and personal wealth

In the social sphere, two chains of self-reproducing dependencies between wages and prices of
goods are formed. The first relates to the prices of goods and the part of the remuneration of the
researcher, which corresponds to the average level in the economy. The second – refers to the
part of the remuneration of the researcher, which exceeds the average level in the economy, and
the prices of publications and other forms of achievement of scientometric indicators.
The average situation, when the salary of a researcher compensates his cash advances and
current costs, can be called "simple reproduction" of his ("human") capital. But in some cases,
the researcher will receive a salary that not only compensates for his life and job costs, and he
will accumulate excess cash income over costs. This option is possible in the case when the
researcher for some "important" reasons "exempt" from the need to advance money to achieve
scientometric indicators. In these relatively rare cases, the employee gets the opportunity to
enrich himself, to accumulate personal wealth, i.e. he moves into the ranks of the rich layer of
society.
Society does not benefit from the fact that it forms only a relatively narrow group of highly
paid and "highly qualified" professionals in science, education, medicine, etc., because the
small size of this group does not allow it to "serve" the needs of many (all, most) members of
society. But this group itself is "on an equal footing" with the owners of "commercial" capital
in the successful and rich elite of society.

3.7. Scientometrics and the export of capital

Scientometrics is not only of economic importance for the social spheres of the Russian
economy, but it, at least in its current global version, inevitably affects the size of the export of
capital from the country. After all, indexing in scientometric systems is inextricably linked with
publications in foreign journals, conferences and publishing houses. Payment for all these
publications is nothing but one of the directions of legal export of funds (currencies) from
Russia. In addition, some universities or research organizations in order to improve their overall

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 Scientometrics as an Instrument of Social Stratification in Russian Science and Higher Education

scientometric indicators invite relevant foreign researchers, the payment of which in a

significant part also represents the export of capital from Russia.

4. DISCUSSIONS
Scientific and practical interest in the development of market methods for assessing the
effectiveness of scientific and teaching activities, in our opinion, is rooted not so much in their
novelty or importance for improving the effectiveness of science and education, but in the
specificity of their impact on the social status and social stratification of workers in this sphere.
In the available publications on the use of scientometric indicators of evaluation of the work
of scientists and teachers, negative assessments of the indicators used prevail [Report of the
Committee for quantitative evaluation of research, Polyanin, 2013: 21, Polyanin, 2014: 137,
Razin (2013): 58]. Some scientists even propose to exclude the Hirsch index from the
assessment of the researcher [Georgiev, 2011]. At the same time, other authors believe that
scientometrics is necessary and should be adapted [to the Commissioners]. Other authors
believe that it is necessary to find the right place of scientometric indicators for evaluation
purposes [Osipov, Ettinger, 2013: 77]. It is proposed to calculate the indicators of the share
citation [Marvin, 2016: 104]. It is also reasonably pointed out that not all cases apply purely
quantitative methods of assessing labor, based on the number of readers [Razin, 2013: 58]. It is
obvious that, for example, in highly specialized fields of science and activity the number of
readers is extremely small. It is indicated that citations are not taken into account in monographs
and textbooks [Tsyganov, 2013: 256].
Hypertrophy of the role of publication activity [Zhizhin, 2017] and related indices is
unambiguously assessed as one of the reasons for the decline in the quality of both scientific
and teaching activities, simply because workers spend a lot of time on "systematic" creation of
publications on increasing quantitative standards, most often to the detriment of their main
professional activities.
However, it should be noted that the authors who criticize the current system of evaluation
of workers in science and in universities, usually do not see that the reasons for this situation
are rooted in the market relations themselves. All this is the result of deeper market penetration
into, so to speak, "non-market" spheres of labor activity. Most of the authors, one way or
another, apparently, believes that it is necessary to improve (Refine) scientometric indicators in
various directions and then the "negative" side of these indicators will disappear or become less
relevant to assess the quality of work in science and education.
However, the actual scientific developments and research in this area is still obviously not
enough, because mostly the writing community the greatest attention to the question of what
are the negative consequences of the introduction of scientometrics in the evaluation of
employees [Mikhaylov, Mikhaylova, 2010, 2011]. At the same time, the reasons for this
situation remain hidden, or such reasons are declared "incompetence" of the relevant governing
bodies, bodies of management of these social spheres, actively using such scientometric
indicators.

5. CONCLUSIONS
Scientometrics allows not only to manage the processes of employment and remuneration in
the field of science and education, but it also has its final result in the process of social
stratification among scientists and teachers. The division of modern society into rich and poor
citizens takes place not only in the sphere of material production, but also in the fields of science
and education, although the mechanisms of such stratification have their own specifics in each
individual case.

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 Vladimir Aleхandrovich Galanov, Perepelitsa Denis Grigorevich, Digo Svyatoslav Nikolaevich,
Novikova Elena Yurievna

Scientometrics is a market tool for assessing the work of scientists and teachers not because
of its perfection, but because it allows relatively "easy" to implement market mechanisms in
intangible activities in such a way that the latter turns into a sphere subject to the laws of capital
and the goals of achieving personal wealth. Any further improvement of scientometric
indicators and their application to evaluate the results of spiritual (non-material) work will make
the mechanisms of social stratification of modern Russian society in science, education and
other areas even more flexible, sophisticated and hidden.
The obtained results can be used for further research of the problem of scientometrics
application, first of all, in science and higher education. In practice, there is nothing eternal or
better for all cases and life situations, and therefore the process of improving the scientometric
indicators themselves and their specific application in the social sphere [Mikhailov, 2014: 52,
Fedorov, Popov, 2014] will continue taking into account the goals set by the existing state and
the ruling elite of society.
The study makes a feasible contribution to the need to ensure macroeconomic stability of
the modern market economy, while at the same time its focus on creating conditions that
contribute to the further growth of the activity of hired personnel, improving its efficiency by
better understanding the possibilities to use the available estimates to increase wages and
personal enrichment.
It seems that the improvement of indicators of labor evaluation in the social sphere is one
of the necessary conditions and prerequisites for the further development of market relations
and the growth of wealth of certain categories of members of modern society.

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