The article analyzes the principal shortcomings of the approaches that the modern political science community is guided by in the examination and determination of the scientific quality of theoretical and applied research on political issues. Author examines contradictions in the content of the main criteria, on the basis of which the political science study is recognized by experts as scientific and corresponding to qualification requirements. Difficulties of usage of these criteria by the expert community, as criteria objectively characterizing the progress of humanitarian knowledge, are substantiated.