Want to be a successful academic? It’s all about getting published

This article paints a pretty gloomy picture of what it takes to make a successful career in science. But it’s just the way the game works, isn’t it? Well, thank goodness there are those who think differently, and are advocating reform in the way that research and researchers are evaluated. For an entirely different and (in the view of this reader) more constructive approach to scholarship see this recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education - http://www.chronicle.com/article/Rethinking-the-Scientific/241361. To create a more vibrant and collaborative scientific enterprise, these four mid-career academics argue that "Established scientists who attain positions of influence have an additional responsibility to expand the criteria that are used to recruit students, award degrees and prizes, and hire and promote faculty.” The contrast with the backward-looking piece in THE is striking.

When I first saw this, I assumed it was supposed to be satirical. Sadly it is not. "Impact factor: this remains the de facto metric of choice for universities and governments.." No!! Please don't perpetuate this kind of thing. Research needs to free itself from this kind of reductive, bean counting approach. Have you never heard of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment? I suggest to take a look http://www.ascb.org/dora/ Best practice is absolutely to eschew overuse of metrics (especially metrics as flawed as the Impact Factor!) and the obsession with glamour journal brands. ResearcherID? Seriously? Does anyone still use that? ORCID superseded it some time ago and now has almost 4m researchers signed up. I'm genuinely surprised that the THE let this article through. It sounds like it was written in the 1990s.

While I'm all for realism, this article lacks balance and sends a depressing message to early career researchers. It describes a faulty rewards system and encourages students to not only comply with it, but also to reinforce and perpetuate it. Students are not just contestants in a tournament for an academic job - they are also the future of the research enterprise. As such, I hope those that care about making research more effective, collaborative, creative, and efficient DO spend some of their time working to change the system for the better - rather than be encouraged to leave the system by regressive advice.