This year, the formation of Category “B” is being carried out under updated regulations, with strengthened requirements for the quality of scholarly journals, transparency of editorial policies, publication ethics, peer review procedures, and the reliability of information published on journal websites.

What Has Already Been Done?

By April 30, founders of scholarly periodicals submitted their applications through the URIS system. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES) conducted an initial review of the submitted materials and, by May 30, compiled ranking lists of journals within the relevant disciplinary clusters.

Important: The ranking list is a working tool for the further review of applications by the Commission on Publication Ethics and the Formation of the List. Until the completion of the expert evaluation process and the adoption of final decisions by the MES, it is not considered final, does not determine a journal’s status, and is not intended for public dissemination.

Interim Results of Application Processing

• Applications submitted: 1,394
• Journals preliminarily recommended for inclusion in the List: 974

For the remaining journals, work is ongoing regarding explanations and clarifications related both to technical issues and compliance with the requirements of the new Procedure.

These figures are provisional and may change based on the results of expert evaluations, the review of explanations, and additional verification of information.

What Is Happening Now?

The Commission on Publication Ethics and the Formation of the List is currently analyzing the compliance of journals with the requirements of the Procedure, verifying submitted and corrected information (where applicable), reviewing comments and explanations provided by journal founders, and preparing recommendations regarding the final evaluation results.

Particular attention is being paid to:

• Academic integrity;
• The quality of editorial procedures;
• Transparency of journal policies;
• Proper DOI management;
• Completeness of information about editorial boards;
• Peer review processes;
• Open access policies.

Following the completion of the expert evaluation, the MES will make a reasoned decision regarding each journal:

• Inclusion in the List and assignment of Category “B”; or
• Rejection of inclusion in the List.

The final List of Ukrainian Scholarly Professional Journals will be approved by an MES Order and published on the Ministry’s official website.

The objective of the updated procedure is to establish a high-quality, transparent, and ethical environment for Ukrainian scholarly journals that complies with contemporary standards of academic integrity and international publication ethics.

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