Are China’s scientists more interested in cash than the search for truth?
New study suggests financial rewards for published papers are tarnishing the reputation of Chinese research
A financial reward system for the publication of academic papers has been instrumental in raising China’s profile in the global scientific community. However, a new study has questioned whether it also has resulted in scientists becoming more concerned about lining their pockets than checking the accuracy of their research.
The research, carried out by a team led by Chen Bikun, an associate professor at Nanjing University of Science and Technology’s School of Economics and Management, looked at the different reward policies adopted by 100 Chinese universities over the past 17 years.
Released earlier this month, the study found that between 1999 and 2016, academics were paid between US$30 and US$165,000 for each paper they had published in an internationally recognised journal, with the mean payment rising noticeably over the past decade.
The average reward for an article published in either Nature or Science, for instance, rose from US$26,212 in 2008 to US$43,783 last year, an increase of 67 per cent. The top figure equates to about 20 times a professor’s annual salary, the study said.