Research quality is a cornerstone of scientific scholarship, ensuring that research outputs not only are valid but also contribute meaningfully to the body of knowledge.
The rise of predatory journals and the misuse of publication metrics, like citations , impact factor, and h-index, threaten the quality of academic publishing. These issues can incentivize quantity over quality, leading to a proliferation of substandard research. Addressing these challenges requires a commitment to ethical publication practices, robust editorial oversight, and the promotion of models for assessing research quality that preserves virtuous scientific behaviours.
Education and training are foundational to cultivating a culture of excellence and integrity in scientific scholarship.
It is necessary to develop robust educational programs and training initiatives, aimed at equipping researchers—especially early-career scientists and research managers—with the skills and knowledge necessary to uphold the highest standards of research quality. By focusing on education and training in scientific scholarship, the aim is to support the research community so that reliable, impactful, and ethically sound scientific results can be produced.
Research funding and the criteria employed for hiring and promotion play an important role in shaping scientific work, influencing not only what research is conducted but also how it is conducted.
A critical aspect is that the principles affecting the allocation of financial resources and career progression may introduce biases into research, where researchers may face ethical dilemmas in balancing the expectations of funders and employers with their commitment to unbiased scientific inquiry. The current ‘publish or perish’ culture, driven by the pressure to secure funding and produce publishable results, can lead to practices that prioritize quantity over quality, maximizing output at the expense of novelty and rigour.