COXONE has significantly changed the requirements for scientific journals: what is important to know in 2025
June 3 It became known about the introduction of new regulations for scientific journals included in the KOKSON list. According to the document approved by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (order No. V 2500036221), it comes into force June 21, 2025 (see the text of the law at the link: adilet.zan.kz).
A significant number of faculty members, doctoral students and degree seekers are interested in what changes await scientific journals included by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education (KOKSON) in connection with the new requirements for scientific publications.
The introduced innovations affect both journals planning to apply for inclusion in the list and those that have already been included earlier. In addition, the approach to assessing the quality of scientific publications is being revised - this directly affects doctoral students, postgraduate students and those preparing to defend dissertations or obtain an academic title.
In this article we will take a detailed look at:
what key changes are introduced by the new regulations;
what will happen to the journals previously included in the list;
what requirements will be imposed on author's articles;
and what those planning to defend or be awarded a title in the coming years need to know.
Reasons for changes:
Why new regulation was needed
For the first time, the requirements for scientific journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KOKSON) were introduced in 2016. Their main goal was to stimulate an increase in the scientific level of Kazakhstani publications and a gradual approach to the standards required for indexing in international scientometric databases - Scopus and Web of Science.
However, over the following years, a number of systemic problems in implementing these requirements led to the opposite effect:
The reduction in the number of journals on the list, which in turn created an excessive burden on existing publications.
The formation of significant queues for publication (6–12 months or more), which complicated the timely implementation of dissertation projects and the awarding of academic titles.
The presence of unofficial limits in editorial offices (for example, on the number of sources in the bibliography - no more than 15-20), which contributed to a decrease in the analytical level of materials.
The editorial policies of some journals focused on an internal circle of authors, which led to corruption risks, bias in the review of articles, and limited access for independent researchers.
The quality of peer review was perfunctory: in many cases, editors performed reviews themselves or agreed to publications without proper scientific expertise.
Articles were mainly published in Russian or Kazakh, while the number of English-language publications (as well as authors from abroad) remained minimal.
All of this taken together did not contribute to the growth of the quality of scientific publications, but on the contrary, exacerbated the problem of a formal approach to academic publishing, reducing publication to a reporting tool rather than to the dissemination of the results of scientific research.
As a result, the Ministry received a significant number of requests from doctoral students, teachers and the scientific community regarding the inefficiency of the current system. In this regard, a decision was made to fundamentally update the requirements, aimed at ensuring:
of proper quality of scientific articles;
availability of publications in English;
participation of international authors and reviewers;
transparent criteria for editorial policy.
We will discuss the new requirements in detail in the next section.
Comparison of old and new requirements for scientific journals
| Criterion | Old requirements | New requirements (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Separating logs by levels | It was there, but it was not formalized. | Clear division into Lists 1, 2, 3 |
| The lifespan of the journal | Not defined | At least 1-2 years depending on the list |
| Presence of foreign authors | Recommended, without % | At least 1/3 of articles from foreign authors |
| Publications in English | Not necessarily | 25–33% articles in English |
| External authors (not publications) | Not specified | In List 2 and 3: ≥50% are not affiliated |
| Indexing in databases | Desirable | Required: Citations or Repositories |
| Reviewers from Scopus/WoS | Desirable | Mandatory: h-index ≥ 2 or ≥ 5 |
| Review system | Mentioned | Required: double-blind, questionnaires |
| Article Quality Assessment | No criteria | Official: ≥ 30 points in 6 months |
| Antiplagiarism | Mentioned | Required: StrikePlagiarism, iThenticate |
| Ethical standards | Mentioned | Wanted: COPE, WAME, AI policy |
| Site requirements | Minimum | Full structure, archive, policy |
| DOI | Desirable | Mandatory |
| ORCID | Not mentioned | ORCID or profile required |
| Citation | Not rated | 5-year rating or presence in Scopus |
| Re-checks | Not specified | Provided |
How will the scientific publishing environment of Kazakhstan change after the reform?
As already noted, the new requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan concern not only journals that are submitted for inclusion in the KOKSON list, but also all publications that are already on this list. To date, no clear deadlines have been set for the re-evaluation, but it is obvious that the verification of existing journals will be carried out gradually, within the powers of the Committee.
Based on many years of experience working with KKSON journals, it can be reasonably stated that no more than 20% of current publications fully comply with the new criteria. This means that in the near future we can expect a mass exclusion of scientific journals from the list.
To understand the logic of such actions, it is worth paying attention to the strategic motivation of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which, apparently, is to achieve two key goals:
Increase the number of national journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science.
This is an indicator of the country’s academic quality in the international context, which directly influences the prestige of Kazakhstani science.To increase the number of authors from Kazakhstan publishing in international peer-reviewed journals.
Such dynamics form positive scientometric statistics of the state, improve its position in global rankings, influence the volume of scientific funding, and also contribute to attracting international research projects.
Thus, the new regulation solves both problems simultaneously:
by optimizing the list of KOKSON journals - only those that actually meet modern standards remain;
by redirecting some authors to international journals, which contributes to the growth of scientometric indicators at the country level.
How scientists should act in the context of new requirements
From the moment the new requirements for scientific publications come into force, it is expected that the editorial policy of most journals will change significantly. In particular, editors will begin to approach the assessment of the quality of articles much more strictly, since their further presence in the COXON list will directly depend on this. As a result, those publications that could previously be accepted with formal comments will now be rejected en masse.
At the same time, even an immediate increase in internal quality control will not help some publications to remain on the list. Since the new regulations will assess publishing practices over the past 6-12 months. This means that without a high-quality publication history, the presence of English-language articles, an international authorship and a transparent peer-review system, such journals may be excluded from the list regardless of their current intentions.
In this situation, the risk increases for doctoral students, candidates for academic degrees, and teachers who planned publications in KKSON publications and relied on them for reporting, certification, or defense.
Our recommendation:
Based on many years of experience working with scientific publications, we recommend choosing Scopus journals as the most reliable solution.
The explanation is simple:
Publications indexed in Scopus are clearly recognized for the defense of PhD dissertations and the awarding of academic titles both in Kazakhstan and in most other countries.
Scopus provides a high level of selection, constant quality monitoring, which means the risk of losing status or being excluded from the database is lower than in local registers.
We recognize that until now many authors have chosen KKSON journals due to their lower cost and availability, However, this option may become unavailable or risky in the near future.
On the contrary, publication in a stable, high-quality journal Scopus allows you to:
avoid unpredictable situations;
guarantee the legitimacy of publication for years to come;
ensure peace of mind when passing the defense or certification.
At the same time, it is important to choose not just any Scopus journal, but a reliable, stable publication that is not a candidate for exclusion from the database, has sustainable editorial practices and a corresponding reputation.
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Conclusion:
The reform of the requirements for scientific journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KOKSON) was a response to the protracted crisis of the formal approach to scientific publications. The new version of the requirements, which comes into force on June 21, 2025, focuses on quality indicators: international authorship, publications in English, scientific novelty, reliability of peer review, scientometric visibility.
All scientific journals, both new applicants and those already on the list, will be gradually reviewed for compliance with the new standards. It is expected that only a small proportion of existing publications (up to 20%) will be able to successfully pass this reassessment, which will lead to a massive reduction in the number of local platforms available for publication.
In such circumstances, doctoral students, teachers, and candidates for academic degrees should reconsider their publication strategy. A reasonable and safe solution is to focus on publications in peer-reviewed international journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science. This avoids the risk of publication cancellation due to the exclusion of a journal from the list and ensures a stable academic reputation.
Thus, the reform of COXONE — this is not only a limitation, but also an opportunity for scientists to reorient themselves to global quality standards, improve the level of their own publications and make a real contribution to the development of the scientific sphere of Kazakhstan.
