On the influence of the regulatory framework for highest qualification performance review in the Russian Federation on the quantity of theses defenses at Tomsk 184 State University (2000-2016)

The article elaborates on the influence of the regulatory framework for highest qualification performance review in the Russian Federation on the quantity of theses defenses at Tomsk State University in 2000-2016. The sources for the research are documents from the Tomsk State University current archive, the "Itogi nauchno-issledovatel'skoi dejаtel'nosti" ("Results of Research Activities") digests, editions of the "Byulleten' Vysshej attestacionnoj komissii Ministerstva obra-zovaniya i nauki Rossijskoj Federacii" ("Bulletin of Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation") for 2000-2016. Scientometric analysis was one of the main research methods. In order to determine the quantitative parameters of the document flow, we applied the following criteria: theses defenses timeline; degrees sought by the researchers; theses allocation into branches of science. Overall, we studied 2722 Candidate of Sciences theses and 533 Doctor of Sciences theses. The performed research allowed us to state significant changes to the system of highest qualification performance review during the studied period: restructuring the theses committees network, establishing the new program nomenclature, introducing the passports of scientific programs, tightenening the requirements for theses (introducing the List of scientific journals to publish the main results of researches with the minimal number of articles published, implementing the new "Antiplagiat" (anti-plagiarism) system. Changes in the regulatory framework affected the number of theses defenses. The lowest number of theses were defended in 2001, 2008, and 2014. The highest number was reached in 2007. Throughout the studied period, researchers defended theses in 19 branches of science at TSU. We separately studied the qualitative allocation into scientific programs and the dynamics of theses defenses in historical sciences. Overall, 403 theses in historical sciences were defended. For the period between 2001 and 2013, we observed a stable trend of increasing number of theses defenses, especially in 2007-2013, which was followed by a substantial drop. The highest number of theses were defended in the "Domestic History" program (38% of the total number of theses). Thus, significant alterations were made in the system of performance review for academic personnel at the beginning of XXI century in the Russian Federation. Those changes tightened the requirements for degree candidates and substantially affected the dynamics of theses defenses at Tomsk State University.

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