Publish or perish in an emerging research system: barriers, stress, and ethical risks among PhD candidates in Kazakhstan

Background In many emerging research systems, publication in international indexed journals has become a formal requirement for PhD completion. In Kazakhstan, PhD candidates are increasingly expected to publish in Scopus and Web of Science journals, yet little is known about how these demands are experienced by doctoral researchers and what support structures are available to them. Objective This study explores PhD candidates' and recent PhD graduates' awareness of publication requirements, perceived barriers to publishing, experiences of institutional and supervisory support, emotional burden, and openness to questionable or predatory journals. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with PhD candidates and recent graduates in Kazakhstan ( N = 53), recruited primarily via social media. The instrument included sections on awareness, publication experience, perceived barriers, perceived support, emotional and ethical dimensions, and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics, composite scales, exploratory group comparisons, and regression analyses were used. A separate Instagram story poll ( N = 421 self-identified PhD candidates) provided an indicative contextual snapshot. Results Respondents reported high perceived barriers to publishing (linguistic, methodological, organizational, financial, and psychological) and relatively low, uneven institutional and supervisory support. Publication requirements were a salient source of stress. Perceived barriers were strongly and positively associated with stress, whereas perceived support did not show a significant buffering effect in the regression model. A subset of participants indicated openness to considering questionable journals under pressure, although exploratory models had limited power. Conclusion The findings highlight a misalignment between ambitious publication requirements and available support in an emerging research context. To avoid reinforcing stress, inequity, and ethical vulnerability, universities and policy-makers must complement indexed publication criteria with robust, context-sensitive capacity-building and integrity-focused support for doctoral researchers.