Peer review and over-competitive research funding fostering mainstream opinion to monopoly

Hui Fang ()
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Hui Fang: Nanjing University

Scientometrics, 2011, vol. 87, issue 2, No 6, 293-301

Abstract: Abstract The aim of peer review is to separate the wheat from the chaff for publication and research funding. In the excessive competition, this mechanism would only select the wheat of mainstream. Up to now, almost all discussions on the consequence of the short-comings of peer review are limited to qualitatively description. I propose a model of “peer-group-assessed-grant-based-funding-system” combined with tenure system and over-competitive research funding review process. It is the first on the quantitatively investigation which dramatizes the current short-comings of the process. My simulation shows that it takes about two or three generations of researchers for the mainstream of a complicated research topic obtaining monopoly supremacy, with only the aid of the mechanism the model described. Based on the computation results, suggestions are proposed to avoid loss of self-correction capability on popularity determined single research direction which could be wrong on very complicated research topics.

Keywords: Peer review; Research funding; Excessive competition; Mainstream; Mathematical model; Simulation; 60H99 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C15 C32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-010-0323-4

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