As a practicing software engineer, I work on using the fruits of research labs, albeit sometimes it’s a long stretch from that lab to me, chronologically speaking. But because I don’t actually work in a research lab, I find descriptions of how things go in those labs & institutions to be interesting – even fascinating. Consider this description, originating from Duke University, in the facet of professional ethics of researchers:
Significant discussion focused on system-level factors such as faculty tenure and promotion criteria, the pressure to obtain grants and publish, and the climate of hyper competition in academic research, which participants cited as potential contributing factors for DRPs [detrimental research practices] and misconduct. Participants also expressed frustration at the unrealistic expectation that researchers can maintain an unwavering commitment to ethical coda when the pressures of academic research and job retention may demand moral compromises. For example, one research staff member commented in the context of a discussion on the ethics of research, “Integrity is good and fine, but it doesn’t pay the bills.”
I hope that was sarcasm, but they don’t denote it as such. Integrity and ethics should not be considered hindrances to accomplishing goals, but rather aids in accomplishing those goals with superior confidence in their validity. The researcher’s remark, taken as a serious remark, suggests that the ideal goal of research is being tainted by the pressure to publish.
Naturally, administrators feel a pinch as well: they need a way to measure the performance of the researchers / professors they manage, to the extent that management isn’t a laughing matter; that is what they are trying to avoid.
It seems to me that just counting publications isn’t enough; the quality of such pieces, as measured by significance as judged by the field, as well as negatively by corrections and retractions, must also take place. I wonder if a formalized process embodying those principles is already a major part of most research centres. This Duke University report suggests they’re working towards it but may not be there yet.
