About the Journal

Zhana Arkhiv is a professional journal for archivists, records managers and document specialists. It publishes the results of comprehensive research and scholarly work on archival science, documentation and records management, and the national history of Kazakhstan, and supports professional dialogue between Kazakhstani and international specialists.

The journal is founded and published by the Republican State Institution «Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan». Zhana Arkhiv is an open access journal intended for archivists, records managers, historians, source studies scholars, researchers, lecturers, graduate and undergraduate students.

The journal publishes the results of research and applied studies by the Archive's staff, as well as articles, reviews and informational, educational and popular science communications by scholars, experts, master's and doctoral students and applicants from research and educational institutions of Kazakhstan and other countries. The journal is published quarterly in Kazakh, Russian and English.

History of the Journal

The scientific and methodological journal Zhana Arkhiv was founded in 2022. On 23 September 2022 it was registered by the Information Committee of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan (No. KZ29VPY00056058). The first issue was presented at the First Congress of Archivists of Kazakhstan «Open Archive for an Open Society». The journal is included in the international ISSN database (ISSN 2958-6593). Since 2023 it has been published quarterly; 16 issues appeared in 2022-2026. The Editor-in-Chief is A.K. Mustafina, Director of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Mission, Aims and Objectives

Mission. The mission of the journal is to contribute to the development of national and international archival science and documentation studies, and to promote scholarly knowledge and methodological approaches in archives, records management and historical documentary research. The journal seeks to broaden access to archival sources and to raise awareness of the national documentary heritage.

Aim. The aim of the journal is to disseminate up-to-date scholarly knowledge and reliable findings of research and practice in archival science, documentation studies, the history and practice of archives, records management, information systems and technologies for archives, biographical studies, source studies, national history, historiography, archaeography and local history, based on modern critical approaches and a wide range of sources and archival data that support a comprehensive understanding of historical and contemporary processes.

Objectives:

• to cover current issues of archival science and documentation studies that advance the theoretical and applied aspects of the discipline;
• to analyse current events and trends in the archival field, including regulatory changes, international cooperation, scholarly conferences and new publications;
• to summarise and share best archival practice, taking into account modern digital technologies, methodological developments and innovative solutions in the acquisition, storage, registration, digitisation and use of archival records;
• to promote archival holdings and the documentary heritage and to improve their accessibility for researchers, lecturers, students and the general public;
• to publish research and methodological materials aimed at raising the professional level of archivists and of lecturers and students of related university programmes;
• to help preserve and promote the national historical and cultural memory and to encourage the study of the source base and documentary evidence of the history of Kazakhstan.

Peer Review Policy

1. All research articles undergo mandatory blind peer review by independent reviewers: scholars or specialists whose field is closest to the subject of the article.
2. Peer review is organised by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Scientific Editor). Members of the Editorial Board evaluate articles and give conclusions and recommendations on acceptance or rejection.
3. The journal uses double-blind peer review: authors and reviewers do not know each other's identities. Single-blind review (the reviewer knows the author) may be used for reviews, methodological materials and book reviews.
4. Each research article is sent to at least two reviewers. A reviewer may not be a co-author or a colleague from the same department as the author.
5. Reviews are completed within 4 weeks. The reviewer fills in the review form on the platform and gives one recommendation: accept; accept after revisions; resubmit for review; decline.
6. Based on the reviews, the article may be returned to the author for revision. The revised article with the author's response is reconsidered.
7. The final decision on publication is made by the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the reviews and the recommendations of the Editorial Board.
8. Reviews are kept on the platform for at least 5 years and provided to the authorised body upon request.

Publication Ethics

Zhana Arkhiv follows the principles of publication ethics accepted by the international scholarly community, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors:

1. Submit original, previously unpublished work and do not submit the same article to several journals at once.
2. Cite all sources used, including archival ones; avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism and data fabrication.
3. List as authors all those, and only those, who made a substantial contribution.
4. Are responsible for the content of the article and the accuracy of the data.
5. Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources.
6. Do not publish information constituting state, official or commercial secrets and comply with the rules on the use of archival records and personal data.
7. Promptly notify the editors of any significant error found in a published article.

Reviewers:

1. Review objectively and on time; decline if they have a conflict of interest or lack expertise.
2. Keep the manuscript confidential and do not use its content before publication.
3. Support their comments with arguments and report any suspected plagiarism to the editors.

Editors:

1. Evaluate manuscripts solely on their scholarly merit, regardless of the author's gender, ethnicity, religion, citizenship or position.
2. Keep information about manuscripts and reviewers confidential.
3. Check manuscripts for plagiarism and handle allegations of misconduct following COPE procedures.
4. Where misconduct is confirmed, publish a correction or retract the article stating the reason; a retracted article remains on the website marked «Retracted».