We asked young scientists to answer this question: Do publications (number and impact) convey the true value of an early-career scientist?
Some may suggest that the quantity of publications in high-impact journals instead of a publication’s quality opens a gateway to opportunity—research funding, tenure, and science expert status. This view is grounded in faulty thinking because politics, the competitive culture of science, and limited resources can hinder a scientist’s ability to publish. A scientist’s true value and spirit lie in the sophistication and creativity of how he or she probes a question scientifically, the effective communication of his or her science, and the level of influence his or her research has in advancing our betterment and understanding of life.
Joyonna Carrie Gamble-George
Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
Full Response: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2016/03/30/352.6281.28.DC1
Source: Science. 01 Apr 2016: Vol. 352, Issue 6281, pp. 28-30. DOI: 10.1126/science.352.6281.28.
Publisher: The American Association for the Advancement of Science.
