Against the perversion of the science analysis system | Science | EUROtoday

It is well-known that analysis is the principle engine of financial and social progress; however it should work accurately to permit us to really enhance our lives. Unfortunately, there may be clear proof that signifies the necessity to restore some substantial features of it, akin to the dearth of sufficient financing, the low significance given in our nation to interdisciplinary analysis, the necessity for a state pact on analysis, the analysis of researchers and the attraction and retention of expertise. In this text we’ll deal with these final two features: analysis and expertise.

In Spain, the analysis of researchers, college professors, and those that aspire to be such, is evaluated nearly solely primarily based on bibliometric standards. That is, with an accounting of the quantity of publications, citations and different measures of a numerical nature. But, with some exceptions, peer analysis is excluded. That is, specialists on the topic problem well-argued judgments about probably the most related contributions of researchers to the development of data.

Proponents of utilizing bibliometric analysis standards argue that they’re extra “objective” and less expensive than peer analysis. The key measure right here is the so-called impression issue of the journals the place researchers publish our outcomes. This issue is calculated for every journal within the following manner: annually, the impression issue of a journal is the results of dividing the full variety of citations that the articles of that journal have acquired within the two earlier years, by the variety of articles printed in stated journal throughout these two years.

The actuality is that these oblique measures are usually not sufficient to judge the scientific contributions of researchers. A examine by Philip Campbell, then editor of Nature (ver “Escape from the impact factor”, Nature Vol. 8, 2008) revealed that three quarters of the articles printed on this prestigious journal don’t contribute to the calculation of the journal's impression issue. In reality, 80% of the articles printed in Nature in a given 12 months they obtain fewer than 20 appointments over the subsequent two years.

On the opposite hand, it’s identified that there are journal editors who, throughout the assessment course of, ask the authors of an article to quote different articles lately printed in the identical journal. In this fashion they handle to artificially enhance the impression of the journal.

In brief, it may be acknowledged that the very fact of publishing an article in a high-impact journal doesn’t imply in any respect that stated article is a high-quality scientific contribution. It can be obligatory to investigate intimately the relevance of the citations acquired by the article in query and the explanation for these citations, since an article can obtain many citations because of the truth that it comprises inaccurate outcomes. The best-known instance is a paper that apparently demonstrated that nuclear fusion was doable at room temperature.

Malas praxis

Measure tutorial manufacturing by weight has introduced with it a great variety of tips traits of the picaresque so widespread in our nation. Some examples of malpractice often is the following.

A researcher can enhance his numbers making a publication settlement with others, who will seem as co-authors on their articles, in trade for showing as co-authors on the others' articles. This settlement additionally extends to reciprocal relationship.

The identified clickbait, that’s, articles with titles able to attracting the eye of different researchers as a result of they take care of a modern matter, though these articles are uninteresting contributions. Another technique is to jot down articles that summarize the state-of-the-art in a discipline (articles from survey), since they’re extra prone to obtain extra citations than articles containing unique contributions.

Other occasions it’s determined to divide a scientific consequence into items that don’t exceed the minimal publishable unit. This trick is often known as publishing salami. This artificially will increase the variety of citations and publications.

In EL PAÍS, in addition to in different media, varied information gadgets have lately been printed that give an account of a few of these unhealthy practices that pervert the analysis system and that attain excessive circumstances akin to publications of articles, of 1 or two pages and null scientific relevance, containing a whole bunch of self-citations unrelated to the content material of stated articles. Our colleague José Luis Verdegay additionally lately printed a powerful article on this side (“Productivity and scientific quality: two sides of the same coin?” Universidad 02/04/2024)

What needs to be carried out?

An inexpensive concept to method a extra devoted measurement of the standard of scientific manufacturing is to make use of standards that work internationally in probably the most scientifically superior international locations. For instance, the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA, San Francisco, 2013), the Joint Statement of Informatics Research Evaluation (Informatics Europe, 2020) o la Malaga Declaration of the Scientific Computer Society of Spain (SCIE, 2020). In all these circumstances it’s insisted that the analysis should embody peer analysis of the scientific contributions, analyzing intimately the contributions past the so-called “state of the art”. That is, past the present information in regards to the topic underneath investigation, in addition to the probabilities that such contributions will likely be helpful for different researchers to acquire extra and higher outcomes, in accordance with Isaac Newton's well-known phrase: “If I have managed to see “The further it has been because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

But, above all, these analysis strategies should be complemented by one thing that appears apparent: the accountability of the one that makes use of the analysis to make selections.

The penalties of this fashion of evaluating

We wish to spotlight the detrimental penalties of the present system to set the objective that researchers should pursue to progress of their skilled careers. We search to offer causes to vary issues.

In too many circumstances, efforts are centered on producing articles with the objective of accumulating citations; not essentially that they’re essential in any manner. We have verified that this nonsense is a actuality. As a results of setting this objective, many younger folks beginning their scientific careers are tempted to hitch this relationship sport. Unfortunately, more often than not they aren’t known as to take part in attention-grabbing analysis that represents an mental problem with which to develop as researchers. The result’s that probably the most proficient younger guarantees are fugan to different locations removed from the Spanish tutorial analysis system. This is particularly critical and customary in our discipline, Artificial Intelligence, since there are lots of claims from different international locations or personal corporations providing higher assets and wage circumstances.

The flight of expertise frustrates our progress choices. In a sure sense, the phantasm that we had positioned in a future that the brand new generations ought to star in is destroyed. Our graduates want prospects for progress of their skilled careers that encourage their curiosity in being an important a part of our R&D&I system. It is important to supply secure contracts and first rate working circumstances, together with aggressive salaries that acknowledge the worth of their work. Simply publishing probably citable materials shouldn’t be a component to be taken into consideration when attracting expertise. In brief, the attraction and retention of analysis expertise in Spain requires a paradigm shift within the administration of the information generated.

We don’t wish to finish these traces with out declaring some resolution to attracting and retaining expertise. Unoriginal maybe. We counsel trying on the methods that international locations round us observe and which were profitable. For instance, the British mannequin. There, the financing of analysis facilities and college departments will depend on exterior peer evaluations and the outcomes of the evaluations have an effect on the salaries of researchers, together with younger doctoral college students. Therefore, the accountability of managers to make establishments develop contains measures not solely to retain expertise, but additionally to draw it. Apart from the wage circumstances, the important thing piece can be the power to excite younger folks with the standard of educating and analysis initiatives.

We left many essential questions unanswered. For instance, is it fascinating that there be universities the place analysis isn’t a precedence goal? Should analysis in massive personal sector corporations be funded with public funds? These and different features needs to be the topic of debate if we would like an R&D&I system of comparable high quality to that of probably the most scientifically superior international locations.

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