Written by: Dr. Hamoud Al-Abdeli (Editorial Board Member of Akapress Journal for Scientific Publishing)
in Archive report For the year 2024, it is noted:
1- Despite the presence of a large number of journals, 15 Yemeni journals were included in the classification, three of which had an impact factor of zero.
2- The fact that no journal from Sana'a University has been included in the classification, despite it being the mother university, and despite the huge number of its colleges, departments, and centers, and the army of researchers within it that is unparalleled in other universities, raises questions about the university's policies that hinder the development of scientific research and its care, scientific journals, and the improvement of their classification.
3- Despite the concentration of the largest number of universities in the capital, Sana'a, which exceeds 30 universities, only one journal, the Andalusian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, was included. This may indicate that universities in areas with a lower density of educational institutions and researchers enjoy a greater focus on research quality compared to crowded Sana'a.
4- Dhamar University stands out as the only positive exception with a journal with a higher impact (1.0755) than the rest of the journals, which may indicate a greater focus on research quality, or the presence of active researchers in this institution.
5- The classification found one journal with a high impact factor, which is the Journal of Arts for Psychological and Educational Studies - Dhamar University, one journal with a medium impact, which is the Arab Journal for Quality Assurance in University Education, and the rest had a weak impact.
6- Four journals from the University of Science and Technology-Aden, three journals from Dhamar University, and two journals from Hadhramout University.
7- Most of the classified journals focus on the humanities and social sciences, with the only exception being the Aden University Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, which belongs to the applied and natural sciences.
8- The limited publication of professional researchers in local journals, despite the presence of a large number of regional publishers in these journals, most of whom are from Saudi Arabia. It is noted that most of them are novice researchers, which weakens the quality of scientific production and its academic impact.
9 - The University of Science and Technology and Dhamar University controlled nearly half of the number of journals.
10- There is only one scientific and technical journal, the Journal of Science and Technology (University of Science and Technology - Aden), but it has not recorded any citations, which indicates the fragility of scientific research in technical fields in Yemen and the lack of its academic impact.
11- Some scientific journals, such as the Journal of Research - Hodeidah University, are waging a tireless battle to overcome obstacles such as scarce resources, declining citation rates, and logistical difficulties, which embodies their dedication to enriching the scientific arena despite the great challenges.
12- Despite the large number of researchers in Islamic sciences, and despite the importance of this field in Yemen, only one journal appeared in the classification and without an impact factor, which is the Journal of the University of the Holy Quran and Islamic Sciences (Sana’a). Although it is newly established, it seems that as a result of the support it receives, it has achieved this timid progress.
By reviewing international standards, we find that they generally focus on three areas:
1- The quality of scientific research, the most important criteria of which are originality, innovation, and research methodology. Analyses of these journals, which are considered the highest in Yemen, indicate that they are around average. The question that arises here is: What is the status of the rest of the journals, whose publications - some of which, unfortunately, are not suitable for publication in preprint journals, and cannot be called research - lead to the promotion of faculty members in the country who are entrusted with building the research system and directing its course?
2- Impact (academic, social, and economic). While the academic impact is very modest, the economic impact and social benefit are almost zero. The question that arises here is: Why was all this money spent preparing useless researchers? The other question is: Why did this type of researcher emerge?
3- Research ethics, characterized by clear and noticeable adherence to its standards in these journals.
This leads us to reconsider the country's scientific research policy and link it to development and innovation as a global trend that societies are following and strongly focusing on.
The condition is that the leadership believes in its pivotal role in the renaissance and progress of nations, and relies on competent, professional cadres who are keen on the country's interests, not those cadres who beg in universities with scientific and national names and terms, and in the end, they have no share in them other than satisfying their desires and whims and building their wealth, at the expense of the wounded nation whose wounds are deepened by their deviant behavior.
