Russian govt to use Scopus for national research assessment

MOSCOW, RUSSIA: The Russian government has officially selected Scopus, an online solution from scientific, technical and medical information products and services provider, Elsevier as a tool for its national research assessment.

Measuring research performance forms a significant part of Russia's "Science and Technology Development in 2013-2020" program as declared by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2012.

Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research, Scopus was designed and developed with input from over 500 users and librarians internationally.

Its database contains abstracts and references from nearly 20,500 peer-reviewed journals from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage. Direct links to subscribed full-text articles, library resources and other applications like reference management software, make Scopus quicker, easier and more comprehensive to use than any other literature research tool.  

The aim of Russia's "Science and Technology Development in 2013-2020" program is to create an internationally competitive and well-functioning R&D sector, one in which efforts to modernize the economy are supported by science, technology and innovation. Within the program there is an emphasis on research assessment, measuring not only quantity but also quality of research output. Using data from Scopus, the Russian government will be able to map out its national research landscape, and compare it with other countries.

Ivan Sterligov, Director of Center of Situational Analysis at Russia's Ministry of Education and Science, noted, "Our state program is aimed at creating an innovative, secure infrastructure for Russian science and increase the efficiency of our fundamental and applied research. It will allow us to allocate financial resources to priority areas in science and technology. As a widely recognized and trusted source of scientific data, Scopus will help us define effective criteria for this."

Igor Osipov, PhD, Elsevier Regional Director for Russia and Belarus said, "Elsevier is honored to further develop its collaboration with the Russian government. Scopus will provide baseline data to assess research output across Russia in a strategic, forward-looking manner. We consider the launch of the program by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev a landmark event in the reform of science and education and a significant step towards quality benchmarking data for Russian researchers and decision makers, both in Russia and in an international context."