Science as Perceived by Russian Classical University Faculty

The article explores the self-reflection of faculty employed at leading Russian universities about the state and trends in the development of scientific research. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of scientific work as perceived by faculty members at universities. This approach facilitates the identification of “pressing points” within the scientific community. The research was conducted via in-depth interviews, in which all questions were open-ended. The informants themselves identified the subjects that, in their opinion, best characterize the state of university science. A total of 60 individuals from four universities participated in the interviews. The subsequent analysis of the results employed the thematic coding method. The study identified three themes that emerged in the majority of the interviews: the bureaucratization of reporting, funding issues (including grants and government assignments), and difficulties in attracting new researchers to science. A review of interviews suggests a correlation between the increasing administrative burden associated with research reporting and the potential for it to impede the fulfillment of teaching obligations. A decline in research funding has been observed due to the impact of inflation. Ensuring the continued influx of young individuals into science has been identified as a pressing concern. The problems of attracting young people to science are related both to financial aspects and to the prestige of the profession. The study yielded several proposals aimed at mitigating the identified problems of research in universities.