Pressure to Publish in the Finnish Research Community

The effects of performance-based research funding systems (PRFS) are much debated (Aagaard & Schneider 2017). It is often assumed that PRFS create an increasing pressure to publish among academics (Fanelli & Larivière 2016). In Finland publications have been a criterion in the government’s block grant funding for universities since 2007, and the share of funding allocated on the basis of publications has multiplied after that.

To study if there is a pressure to publish and resulting inflation of scientific publications in the Finnish research community, we analysed personnel, publication and citation data on Finnish universities, and found that the average publication productivity among Finnish university staff has not increased from 1998 to 2016 (Pölönen & Auranen 2017). We also looked at the Web of Science publications in 1998-2014, and found that publication productivity of academics is not exceptionally high in Finland, compared to Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Citation impact has not remarkably decreased in Finland compared to the other Nordic countries since the introduction of the publication indicator in 2007.

PFRS may increase the pressure to publish (or experience of it) by raising the standards with regard to peer-review and publication channels. But also other factors contribute to pressure to demonstrate research prowess. Researchers face harsher competition for positions partaken by an increasing number of domestic and foreign researchers. A large share of universities’ research funding in Finland is competitive project funding, and often funding proposals are evaluated by international experts who appreciate publishing in leading international outlets.