Editorial Policy

of the scientific-methodological journal “Zhaña Archive”

1. General Provisions

1.1. The founder and publisher of the scientific-methodological journal “Zhaña Archive” (hereinafter referred to as the Journal) is the Republican State Institution “Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan” (hereinafter referred to as the Archive).

1.2. The Journal is registered with the Information Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Certificate of Registration of a Periodical Print Publication No. KZ29VPY00056058 dated September 23, 2022).

1.3. The Journal has an ISSN for its print edition and is included in the international unified database of serial publications (ISSN 2958-6593), ensuring that information about it is available in relevant international abstracting publications.

1.4. The Journal publishes the results of scientific and applied research conducted by the Archive’s staff, as well as articles, reviews, and informative, educational, and informational reports by scholars, experts, master’s and doctoral students, and applicants affiliated with scientific and educational institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan and other countries.

1.5. The Journal is published four times a year.

2. Aims and Objectives of the Journal

2.1. “Zhaña Arkhiv” is an open-access professional publication. It is intended for archivists, records management specialists, historians, source studies researchers, researchers, teachers, master’s students, and undergraduate students. The Journal facilitates professional interaction among specialists from Kazakhstan and abroad.

The Journal publishes the results of scientific research in the form of articles, analytical reviews, reports, and methodological materials in the publication’s subject areas.

2.2. The Journal’s mission is to promote the development of national and international archival studies and records management, and to advance scientific knowledge and methodological approaches in archival work, records management support, and historical-documentary research. The Journal seeks to expand access to archival sources and promote the national documentary heritage.

2.3. The Journal aims to disseminate current scientific knowledge and reliable information on the results of applied research in archival studies, records management, the history and practice of archival work, office administration, information systems and technologies in the archival field, personalia studies, source studies, national history, historiography, archaeography, and local history. These fields are approached through contemporary critical methods and the use of diverse sources and archival data that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of historical and contemporary processes.

2.4. The objectives of the Journal are:

to highlight current issues in archival studies and records management, contributing to the development of theoretical and applied aspects of archival science;

to analyse current events and trends in the archival sector, including regulatory changes, international cooperation, academic conferences, and new publications;

to synthesize and disseminate best practices in archival work, taking into account modern digital technologies, methodological developments, and innovative solutions for the acquisition, preservation, accounting, digitization, and use of archival documents;

to promote archival holdings and documentary heritage and facilitate their accessibility to researchers, teachers, students, and the general public;

to publish scientific and scientific-methodological materials aimed at improving the professional competence of archival-sector employees, teachers, and students in relevant university programmes;

to support the preservation and promotion of national historical and cultural memory and foster interest in the study of source materials and documentary evidence of Kazakhstan’s history.

3. Governing and Coordinating Bodies of the Publication and Their Functions

3.1. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal is the Director of the Archive of the President.

3.2. The Editor-in-Chief:

provides overall management of the Journal;

defines the publication’s strategic directions;

approves the Journal’s Editorial Policy;

proposes the membership of the Journal’s Editorial Board, which is approved by the authorized body, and chairs the Board;

makes decisions on the publication of scientific articles in the Journal.

3.3. The Deputy Editor-in-Chief – Scientific Editor:

provides organizational support for the preparation and publication of each issue;

determines the procedure for submitting materials for publication;

is responsible for the scientific content of the publication and monitors submitted articles for compliance with the Journal’s stated subject areas and the requirements for scientific articles;

helps attract leading scholars and highly qualified specialists to contribute to the Journal;

organizes the peer review of submitted manuscripts by specialists in the relevant fields.

3.4. The Technical Editor:

receives, registers, and stores submitted articles;

organizes checks of articles for compliance with the publication’s requirements and formatting rules;

prepares each Journal issue for publication in accordance with applicable requirements and regulatory documents;

organizes the publication of the Journal;

posts the electronic version of the Journal on the Archive’s website;

maintains the editorial office’s documentation.

3.5. The Editorial Board is a standing advisory body whose purpose is to ensure the quality of the scientific information published in the Journal. It consists of highly qualified researchers from the Archive and other scientific and educational institutions who hold doctoral or candidate degrees, as well as leading Kazakhstani and international scholars whose publications in the Journal’s subject areas are indexed in the international databases Web of Science or Scopus.

3.6. The Editorial Board:

participates in developing and approving the publication’s subject areas and plans, and makes proposals regarding the composition of issues;

conducts expert evaluation of scientific articles submitted to the Journal in terms of their scientific value and public significance;

conducts peer review and provides conclusions and recommendations on whether articles should be published or rejected.

4. Structure and Content

4.1. The structure of each issue is proposed by the Archive’s relevant structural unit or by the Editorial Board and approved by the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account thematic and practical relevance and the materials available to the editorial office.

4.2. Scientific articles by authors affiliated with the publisher must account for no more than 70% of the publications in each issue of the Journal.

4.3. Article texts are not edited, except for adjustments to the length of the submitted material and language editing.

4.4. Authors are responsible for the content of published materials. The Journal’s editorial office does not necessarily share the authors’ views and is not responsible for the accuracy of the data, statistics, sources, or facts presented in the articles.

5. Submission of Materials for Publication

5.1. Only original articles that have not previously been published elsewhere are eligible for publication in the Journal.

5.2. Each article must be accompanied by a report on text originality, which must be at least 75%.

5.3. All scientific articles are subject to mandatory blind peer review by independent reviewers—scholars or specialists whose research expertise is closely related to the article’s topic. Following peer review, an article may be returned to the author for revision.

5.4. Scientific articles are published free of charge.

5.5. Materials submitted for publication must not contain information classified as state, official, or commercial secrets.

5.6. Articles are published in Kazakh, Russian, or English.

5.7. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject materials that do not fit the publication’s scope, are poorly written, or fail to meet the requirements for article publication (see Appendix).

5.8. Rejected articles are not returned to the authors, and no written notification of acceptance or rejection is provided.

6. Financing of Publishing Activities

6.1. The publication of the Journal is financed from budgetary funds.

7. Procedure for Amending the Editorial Policy

and Discontinuing the Journal

7.1. Amendments and additions to the Editorial Policy are proposed by the Archive’s relevant structural unit, its head, or members of the Editorial Board, and are coordinated and approved by the Editor-in-Chief, who is the Director of the Archive.

7.2. The Journal may cease operations by decision of the founder in accordance with the procedure established by law.