Status positions and scientific Capital in Russian Science

Abstract

The paper addresses scientific capital distribution and describes status positions of scientists in the field of modern Russian science. Inequalities in science are associated with a variety of factors including gender, wealth, symbolic and moral authority etc. However, technological development has emphasized the significance of new inequality forms based on digital and networking skills. An important question is how these new inequality factors change the field of science. The theoretical and methodological framework of the paper is based on the ideas of R. Merton on the differentiated allocation of rewards, as well as the provisions of P. Bourdieu on dominance in the field of science and on the types of scientific capital. The authors present the result of an online survey of Russian scientists (N=551), the aim of which was to identify the gaps and contradictions within the field of Russian science. To differentiate between the status positions of scientists the authors constructed an integral index of scientific status, according to which all the scientists were divided into three categories with low, medium and high status positions. Empirical data show that there is a contradiction between the scientific dominance based on formal status, and the one based on the production of advanced scientific knowledge. Formal characteristics of the scientific status do not fully reflect subjective perception of the return on the accumulated scientific capital. It is suggested that the elimination of contradictions by means of science policies may contribute to the development of Russian science.