Perceived publication pressure in Amsterdam: Survey of all disciplinary fields and academic ranks.

Tamarinde L Haven,Joeri K Tijdink,Yvo M Smulders,Lex M Bouter,Zubin Master

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217931

Tamarinde L Haven, Joeri K Tijdink + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217931

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Abstract

Publications determine to a large extent the possibility to stay in academia (“publish or perish”). While some pressure to publish may incentivise high quality research, too much publication pressure is likely to have detrimental effects on both the scientific enterprise and on individual researchers. Our research question was: What is the level of perceived publication pressure in the four academic institutions in Amsterdam and does the pressure to publish differ between academic ranks and disciplinary fields? Investigating researchers in Amsterdam with the revised Publication Pressure Questionnaire, we find that a negative attitude towards the current publication climate is present across academic ranks and disciplinary fields. Postdocs and assistant professors (M = 3.42) perceive the greatest publication stress and PhD-students (M = 2.44) perceive a significant lack of resources to relieve publication stress. Results indicate the need for a healthier publication climate where the quality and integrity of research is rewarded.

Highlights

Data Availability Statement: Data cannot be shared publicly because of participants’ privacy
The current study aims to assess whether researchers from all academic ranks and all disciplinary fields perceive publication pressure
Our research question was: What is the level of perceived publication pressure in the four academic institutions in Amsterdam and does the pressure to publish differ between academic ranks and disciplinary fields?

Summary

Introduction

Data Availability Statement: Data cannot be shared publicly because of participants’ privacy. The current state of academia is sometimes referred to as a system affected by hyper-competition [1,2,3] This goes hand in hand with strong emphasis on quantitative assessment of scientific output through journal impact factors, citation analyses and the H-index [4,5,6]. The number of publications, citations and grants determine to a large extent the status and recognition of academic researchers [7,8,9,10]. These indicators influence the recruitment, promotion and tenured appointments of researchers [11,12]. This may in turn induce a high level of perceived publication pressure

Results

Discussion

Conclusion