Understanding the support of metrics: the role of orientation to Global Science in sociologists' perceptions of performance measurement

What can explain variation within the disciplinary communities in expressing the support of metrics in the evaluation of research productivity? The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the attitude to the metrics varies between researchers depending on their academic cultural preferences. We conducted a survey of 1,850 Russian sociologists with the range of questions regarding the main divisions of sociology and perceived legitimacy of metrics for evaluating academic work. We found that although the majority of sociologists do not support giving more value to the publications that appeared in international databases, 30% of respondent expressed the positive attitude to this policy. Researchers with orientation to the global science measured by declarations and behavior publication pattern generally have a more positive attitude regarding using metrics in the research evaluation while academics with commitment to the local path generally have a more negative attitude.