Why, you might wonder, do universities prioritise this publication-based measure over others that might have more to do with the quality of research – for example, whether a scientist’s work meet standards like randomisation or blinding, or even replicability? The answer is that they’re subject to financial pressures as well. In many countries, including the UK, universities themselves are ranked by the government on the prestige of the papers their academics produce, with taxpayers’ money divvied up accordingly.11 All of this is what gives rise to the clichéd phrase ‘publish or perish’: keep
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