Results-driven
research imperative increases publish-or-perish pressure
A push at universities and funding bodies
to produce marketable research may be exacerbating the usual publish-or-perish
pressure felt by researchers. Dan Guitton, a professor at McGill University,
told the Montreal
Gazette that “having industry partners decide what research they
want is very unlikely to generate great discoveries. This is only killing
universities.” Nevertheless, some see close ties with business as a necessity
if scientists want to innovate. “Not all research should be applied, but we should facilitate it when we
can,” said Guy Breton, rector at the Université de Montréal. Breton
notes that the cost of maintaining research is very high for universities, and
that faculty grants often don’t cover indirect costs. But the drive to produce,
as one researcher put it, “a sexy new result” often means researchers are
taking more risks, potentially with careers on the line. This can lead to
mistakes, or even fudging data, in spite of university safeguards against such
dishonesty. Montreal Gazette 
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