Classification of scientific journals according to 6 groups of criteria

The Ministry of Science and Technology has just issued Circular 27/2025/TT-BKHCN signed by Minister Nguyen Manh Hung on October 31, 2025, providing comprehensive regulations on scientific article standards and evaluation and classification of scientific journals. The Circular takes effect from December 15, 2025 and applies to all organizations and individuals involved in the selection, publication and management of scientific journals in Vietnam.

Standardize article structure and require data updates within 3 months

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

Scientific articles are required to ensure academic integrity, comply with research integrity according to Decree 262/2025/ND-CP and be checked for plagiarism. The article structure is standardized with mandatory components such as title, abstract, bilingual keywords; methods; results - discussion; references according to APA, IEEE, Chicago or Vancouver standards. The Ministry also encourages publishing in English with Vietnamese appendices to increase the ability to integrate internationally.

From December 15, Vietnamese scientific journals will be classified based on 6 criteria.

Establish a national citation database and a 100-point evaluation criteria set

Scientific citations are authenticated via DOI and stored in the citation database managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology . The database integrates information on articles, authors (including ORCID), journals, impact factors, CiteScore, FWCI, etc. and is used to calculate citation indexes, analyze research trends, and serve the planning and funding of the scientific journal system.

The Circular stipulates 6 groups of criteria for evaluating magazines with a total of 100 points:

•Academic content (25 points)

•Editorial Board (15 points)

•Peer review process (20 points)

•Publishing standards (10 points)

•Transparency, accessibility (10 points)

•Index in national system or Scopus/WoS (20 points)

A qualified journal must score above 75 points and meet the required criteria.

Ranking based on impact factor, results announced before April 30 every year

Journal classification is done according to the Impact Factor (IF), combining several indicators such as CiteScore or FWCI. Journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science are automatically classified as Type 1; the remaining journals are classified from Type 2 to Type 4 according to Decree 262/2025/ND-CP.

Every year, before April 30, the Ministry of Science and Technology will announce the List of Vietnamese scientific standard journals and the results of scientific journal classification (starting from 2027). The list and results will be made public on the National Information System on Science, Technology and Innovation.

According to the electronic newspaper Journalist and Public Opinion

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/xep-loai-tap-chi-khoa-hoc-theo-6-nhom-tieu-chi-197251119092610574.htm