Informaatiotutkimus (Apr 2018)
Miksi suomalaisen tutkimuksen tuottavuus kasvoi, mutta laatu heikentyi?
Abstract
Performance-based research funding systems are often assumed to create an increasing pressure to publish among academics. Presumption is that national level incentives put pressure on researchers to increase quantity of publishing at the expense of quality (publishing pressure hypothesis). Janne Pölönen and Otto Auranen argued in their article in Information Studies 2 (36) that the hypothesis does not apply to Finland. The purpose of this article is to continue the discussion on the hypothesis. I repeat the empirical study by Pölönen and Auranen, and I will end up with somewhat opposite results. Secondly, I discuss the factors affecting the productivity and quality of research. Changes in productivity and quality of research are not just related to the introduction of publications as a criterion for research funding, but the range of explanatory factors is much wider. I will highlight the make-up of researchers, the amount of funding and competitive funding, and look at their explanatory power in respect to the changes of the productivity and the impact of Finnish scientific research.
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