Poland’s Ministry of Science announces completion of new journal scoring regulations to be published by end of March, with new list expected after summer holidays.
New Regulation Details
During Friday’s press conference, Deputy Minister of Science Karolina Zioło-Pużuk announced that the ministry is completing work on a new regulation concerning the rules for creating the list of scored journals. She assured that the ministry is focusing on democratization, transparency, mechanisms to counter unethical practices, and valuing publications in Polish.
List Purpose and Scope
The list of scored journals is an official list published by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, which assigns points for publishing articles in scientific journals. Approximately 35,000 titles are evaluated, with the new list serving in the evaluation process of research activities of universities and institutes for 2026-2030.
Two-Part Structure
Prof. Rafał Stanisławski from the Science Evaluation Commission explained that the list will consist of two parts. The first part will automatically include journals from Scopus and Web of Science databases and the Polish scientific journals support program, forming over 90% of the list. The second part will include journals added at the request of experts, with PAN scientific committee members voting on journal scoring.
Different Evaluation Standards
In humanities, social sciences and theology, any journal can be submitted for expert evaluation, potentially receiving up to 200 points. In exact and technical sciences, expert evaluation will mainly concern industry journals without bibliometric indicators, limited to a maximum of 70 points. After evaluation, KEN may reduce scores or exclude journals violating ethical standards.
New Threshold and Changes
The biggest change is introducing a new intermediate category for monographs (140 points), addressing the previous gap between 80 and 200 points. Polish publishers will now have a chance for maximum evaluation, and textbooks will be included in the definition of monographs. Computer science conference presentations will still use the CORE ranking but with significantly reduced scoring.
Minister’s Role
Deputy Minister Zioło-Pużuk addressed concerns about potential ministerial “manual control” of journal scoring, stating that while the possibility won’t formally disappear, its use would be illogical after implementing a lengthy, multi-person evaluation process.