Six criteria for classifying Vietnamese scientific journals from 15 December

The Ministry of Science and Technology has just promulgated Circular 27/2025/TT-BKHCN, signed by Minister Nguyen Manh Hung on 31 October 2025, providing comprehensive regulations on standards for scientific articles and on the activities of assessing and classifying scientific journals.

The Circular takes effect from 15 December 2025 and applies to all organizations and individuals involved in the selection, publication, and management of scientific journals in Viet Nam.

Encouraging publication in English with Vietnamese appendices

According to the guidance, within 3 months from the date of issue, journals must update bibliographic information and the full text of articles funded by the state budget onto the National Information System on Science, Technology and Innovation. The Ministry also encourages journals that do not use state budget funds to participate in data sharing.

The content of a scientific article must ensure academic integrity, legality, and be checked using plagiarism detection tools.

At the same time, a scientific article must comply with the provisions on scientific integrity and professional ethics under Decree No. 262/2025/ND-CP of 14 October 2025 of the Government, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation concerning information, statistics, evaluation, digital transformation, and general issues; and must comply with the submission rules of the scientific journal.

The basic structure of a scientific article includes the following components: Title (in Vietnamese and English); Author/Author group and contact information; Abstract (in Vietnamese and English); Keywords (in Vietnamese and English); Introduction/Problem statement; Materials and/or research methods; Results and discussion; Conclusion; Appendix (if any); Statement of scientific contribution (if any); Declaration of conflict of interest (if any); Acknowledgements to funding agencies and/or related organizations and individuals (if any); References in one of the international standards APA, IEEE, Chicago, or Vancouver.

Scientific journals shall issue their own regulations on the structure of scientific articles depending on the journal’s discipline and readership. Journals are encouraged to publish scientific articles in English with attached appendices (title, abstract, and keywords in Vietnamese) to serve the international ranking process.

On scientific citations and the scientific citation database

A scientific article is used to calculate scientific citation indexes and usage counts to serve the assessment and classification of scientific journals and other related purposes. Scientific citations in articles are verified through the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The agency performing information, statistics, and scientific and technological evaluation functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology develops and manages the scientific citation database.

The scientific citation database is established to collect, store, analyze, and provide information on the quantity and quality of scientific articles to serve the assessment and classification of scientific journals and other related purposes.

The scientific citation database includes the following information: Information on scientific articles: article title, author name, ORCID identifier (if any), affiliation, keywords, research field, publishing journal, year of publication, volume, page numbers, reference list and cited articles; Information on scientific journals: journal title, press agency, governing body, publisher, time scope, publication frequency, ISSN and e-ISSN numbers, research field, publication language, total number of scientific articles, impact factor, CiteScore index, FWCI, and other indicators.

The scientific citation database is a component of the National Information System on Science, Technology and Innovation.

A citation recorded in the scientific citation database must satisfy the following conditions: It appears in the reference section of the article, has a citation format in accordance with the international standards specified in point n clause 1 Article 5 of this Circular, includes complete bibliographic information, and indicates the origin of the cited material; It can be checked, compared, and verified using academic analysis tools or electronic manuscript management platforms.

The scientific citation database is used as a basis to: Calculate article citation indexes, journal impact factors, CiteScore, FWCI, and other indicators; Support the analysis of research trends, influence levels, and the reach of journals; Provide data for the classification, funding, planning, and development of the system of Vietnamese scientific journals.

Six criteria for evaluating scientific journals 

The evaluation of scientific journals is based on six criteria with a total score of 100 points. The scoring method for determining whether a journal meets scientific standards is based on the criteria prescribed in Article 36 of Decree No. 262/2025/ND-CP. Specifically:

Criterion on academic content (25 points)

More than 75% of published articles are academic research articles, scientific review articles, or academic discussion/peer commentary articles: 15 points. Use of citation systems and reference lists in accordance with international standards APA, IEEE, Chicago, or Vancouver: 5 points. Scientific articles have English titles, abstracts, and keywords: 5 points.

Criterion on the Editorial Board (15 points)

At least 50% of the Editorial Board members are independent experts outside the journal’s governing body: 5 points. The Editorial Board has appropriate professional qualifications and publicly discloses its membership: 7 points. The Editorial Board includes members who are international experts with relevant expertise: 3 points.

Criterion on the peer-review process (20 points)

There is a transparent process for receiving, reviewing, deciding on, and revising manuscripts, which is publicly disclosed on the journal’s website: 8 points. The journal publicly discloses on its website information related to charging or not charging fees for the receipt, processing, editing, and publication of articles: 2 points. Blind peer review is applied, with at least two independent reviewers for each article: 10 points.

Criterion on publishing standards (10 points)

The journal complies with the registered publication frequency, has a valid ISSN, and has regulations on scientific publishing standards in line with international practices: 5 points. The journal has public policies on plagiarism detection, article retraction, conflict-of-interest handling, and publishing copyright; and does not accept articles that violate copyright, commit fraud, contain fabricated data, or have inaccurate citations: 5 points.

Criterion on transparency and accessibility (10 points)

The journal has an electronic information page that provides complete and updated information (mission statement, Editorial Board list, peer-review policy, submission rules, author guidelines): 5 points. Full-text articles are published with abstracts, keywords, and DOI identifiers (if any): 5 points.

Criterion on indexing (20 points)

A scientific journal must be indexed in the National Information System on Science, Technology and Innovation or in one of the international scientific databases Scopus/WoS: 20 points.

The peer-review process is one of the essential criteria, requiring journals to publicly disclose transparent procedures for manuscript receipt, review, and editing; to publish fee or no-fee policies; and to apply blind peer review with at least two independent reviewers for each article. In addition, scientific publishing standards such as publishing on schedule, possessing a valid ISSN, and maintaining policies on plagiarism detection, article retraction, copyright protection, and conflict-of-interest handling are also mandatory requirements.

The Circular also emphasizes transparency and accessibility. The journal’s website must fully update its mission statement, Editorial Board, submission regulations, and author guidelines. Articles must be published in full text together with an abstract, keywords, and a DOI code, if any. Notably, a journal is classified as meeting scientific standards only when it is indexed in the National Information System for Science, Technology and Innovation or in international databases such as Scopus or Web of Science.

A journal is recognized as meeting the standards when it obtains at least 75 points and simultaneously satisfies all three key groups of criteria, namely academic content, peer-review process, and scientific indexing. With the promulgation of Circular 27, the Ministry of Science and Technology expects the Vietnamese scientific journal system to be standardized in line with international practices, contributing to improving research quality, promoting innovation, and enhancing the standing of Vietnamese scientific works on the global knowledge map.

Classification based on impact factor, results announced before 30 April annually

Journal classification is conducted based on the impact factor (Impact Factor – IF), combined with several indicators such as CiteScore or FWCI. Journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science are by default classified as Category 1; the remaining journals are classified from Category 2 to Category 4 under Decree 262/2025/ND-CP.

Each year, before 30 April, the Ministry of Science and Technology will announce the List of Journals Meeting Vietnamese Scientific Standards and the results of journal classification (starting from 2027). The list and the results shall be publicly available on the National Information System for Science, Technology and Innovation.