On the problem of assessing the contribution of Russian social sciences and humanities to world science

The problem of an unbiased assessment of scientific contribution and research results has been discussed more than once on the pages of our journal. Some authors continue to analyze thoroughly statistical figures from the Web of Science databases, while others (whose number is increasing) question not only the validity of conclusions based on these data but also the adequacy of the current approach to quantitative assessments of scientific productivity. In particular, the necessity to account not only for direct but also for indirect contribution of a country's science to world science is discussed, and the fact that the welfare of a country is related to the skill to use scientific achievements rather than to achievements as such is stated in the article below.