Incentivizing, excluding, and enduring: On the complexities of quantitative research assessment in Lithuania

Lithuanian research assessment prioritises Web of Science publications, aiming for international impact. This paper examines the policy, introduced in 2012, of excluding articles from journals with low impact factor or suspected artificial citation inflation. We analyse how this suspension policy affected domestic journals and researchers’ behaviour. The results show that Lithuanian researchers’ publications in foreign outlets increased, but concerns remain about the chosen outlets’ quality and potential continuing manipulation of Web of Science metrics. These are initial findings of a broader study exploring policy dynamics and unexpected consequences.