Assessment of war effects on the publishing activity and scientific interests of Ukrainian scholars

Abstract

This paper highlights war effects on publication activities and scientific interests of Ukrainian researchers. Moreover, it presents the moods and motives of Ukrainian scientists regarding their scientific activity and the publication of their results in academic journals. The research method was a survey (Google Forms) distributed through Facebook professional groups “Ukrainian Scientists Worldwide,” “Ukrainian cuisine of scientific publications,” “Scientific Conferences and Publications,” and “Higher School and Science of Ukraine: Disintegration or Blossoming?” 690 Ukrainian scientists took part in the survey. Only 35.7% of the respondents stated that the war did not affect their research process. Results from respondents demonstrated that 27.7% of the respondents changed their scientific interests because of full-scale Russian aggression. Furthermore, scientists have psychological problems due to the loss of home, relatives, and relocation. The survey showed that motivation for publishing scientific articles varies from informing colleagues of their scientific results, scientific interest to motives distant from scientific values – “fulfillment of the requirements of the institution where I work,” “I do not want to be fired,” etc. 20.0% of the respondents noted that they had not got any motivation for scientific activity and publishing. At the same time, most scientists consider state security, debunking the propaganda of the Russian Federation, economic development, military medicine, ecology, education, social sphere, and agriculture to be the leading research areas. They also see the need to raise public awareness of the role of science and synchronize current multidisciplinary scientific research.

Science in times of crisis: How does the war affect the efficiency of Ukrainian scientists?

“…Of course, this situation fundamentally affects the scientific activity of Ukrainian scientists. Fiialka (2022) showed that "Russian military aggression had a significant impact on the publishing activity and scientific interests of Ukrainian researchers, influenced the attitudes and motives of Ukrainian scientists regarding the conduct of scientific activity and the publication of its results in scientific publications." She emphasizes that it is now imperative to prevent the loss of Ukraine's scientific potential, but these processes are already taking place.…”

Теоретичні Та Прикладні Педагогічні Дослідження В Умовах Війни (Український Досвід)

“…Аналіз останніх досліджень і публікацій. Як показують результати досліджень, 27,7% науковців змінили свої наукові інтереси під час війни 2022 року [6]. Не лише учні та студенти, але і чимало викладачів мають проблеми через наслідки війни, як от втрату дому, рідних, вимушений переїзд на інше місце проживання.…”

“…Ті викладачі, які не переживали надто сильних змін (переїзд, втрати і таке інше), все рівно мали низьку мотивацію до публікаційної діяльності. Незважаючи на це, одним з провідних напрямків досліджень, за результатами опитування автором [6], є освіта. Це цілком виправдано, адже проблеми експериментальної педагогіки змінюються разом з зміною суспільства [13].…”

The long way home: Migration trends of Ukrainian researchers in the modern world (1991‒2023)

“…Furthermore, this process helps reduce the pace of population aging thanks to new immigrants. Fiialka (2022) examines the consequences of the war for Ukrainian researchers and explores the attitudes and motivations of Ukrainian scientists regarding their scientific activities and the publication of their results in scientific journals. Suchikova, Tsybuliak, Lopatina, Shevchenko and Popov (2023) investigate how to prevent the loss of scientific potential due to the full-scale war, identifying the connection between the residence of Ukrainian researchers and their ability to engage in scientific activities, as well as identifying factors that reduce scientific efficiency during times of war.…”