Predicting publishing success in scientists.
[caption id="attachment_5514" align="alignleft" width="500"]
Men with printing press circa 1930s
Image - Flickr/ Seattle Municipal Archives.[/caption]
A provocative new study suggests it is straightforward to predict which academics will succeed as publishing scientists.
Those who publish earlier and more often while young are typically the long-term winners.
âWe were really surprised,â said Professor William Laurance of James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, who led the study.
âIt doesnât matter if you go to Harvard or a low-ranked university. If you begin publishing scientific articles when youâre still a graduate student, you are far more likely to succeed in the long run.â
Lauranceâs team scrutinized more than 1400 biologists on four continents, and then selected 182 to study intensively.
They found the researchers varied greatly - by almost a hundred-fold - in the number of scientific articles they published during their careers.
âFor reasons that are not totally clear, some people just âgetâ the publishing game early in their careers, and itâs these scientists who are most likely to keep on publishing strong research,â said Professor Corey Bradshaw of 91×ÔĹÄâs Environment Institute in South Australia.
Another finding was that women faced some disadvantages in publishing research, even those who overcame the well-documented attrition of senior female academics.
âWomen have to jump a lot of hurdles in science,â said Carolina Useche of the Humboldt Institute in Colombia. âFamily responsibilities weigh heavily on them, and they donât seem to promote themselves as aggressively as some men do.â
Language also plays a role, according to Ms Useche. âThose who grow up speaking and writing English have an advantage, because most scientific journals are in English,â she said.
The research team reached two key conclusions.
First, far too few women make it to the top in science, in large part because they do not, on average, publish as often as men.
âFor women scientists, itâs just not a level playing field, and we need to find ways to help them advance professionally,â Professor Bradshaw said.
Second, those who publish early and often are most likely to become scientific superstars, regardless of the international standing of the universities where they obtained their PhD.
âWe need to pay a lot of attention to the early training of scientists,â Professor Laurance said. âIf we do a good job, we can give them a head start that will last their whole lives. This research gives us a good evidence base for our efforts."
Predicting publication success for biologists by William F. Laurance, D. Carolina Useche, Susan G. Laurance, and Corey J. A. Bradshaw was just published online in BioScience:
Men with printing press circa 1930sImage - Flickr/ Seattle Municipal Archives.[/caption]
A provocative new study suggests it is straightforward to predict which academics will succeed as publishing scientists.
Those who publish earlier and more often while young are typically the long-term winners.
âWe were really surprised,â said Professor William Laurance of James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, who led the study.
âIt doesnât matter if you go to Harvard or a low-ranked university. If you begin publishing scientific articles when youâre still a graduate student, you are far more likely to succeed in the long run.â
Lauranceâs team scrutinized more than 1400 biologists on four continents, and then selected 182 to study intensively.
They found the researchers varied greatly - by almost a hundred-fold - in the number of scientific articles they published during their careers.
âFor reasons that are not totally clear, some people just âgetâ the publishing game early in their careers, and itâs these scientists who are most likely to keep on publishing strong research,â said Professor Corey Bradshaw of 91×ÔĹÄâs Environment Institute in South Australia.
Another finding was that women faced some disadvantages in publishing research, even those who overcame the well-documented attrition of senior female academics.
âWomen have to jump a lot of hurdles in science,â said Carolina Useche of the Humboldt Institute in Colombia. âFamily responsibilities weigh heavily on them, and they donât seem to promote themselves as aggressively as some men do.â
Language also plays a role, according to Ms Useche. âThose who grow up speaking and writing English have an advantage, because most scientific journals are in English,â she said.
The research team reached two key conclusions.
First, far too few women make it to the top in science, in large part because they do not, on average, publish as often as men.
âFor women scientists, itâs just not a level playing field, and we need to find ways to help them advance professionally,â Professor Bradshaw said.
Second, those who publish early and often are most likely to become scientific superstars, regardless of the international standing of the universities where they obtained their PhD.
âWe need to pay a lot of attention to the early training of scientists,â Professor Laurance said. âIf we do a good job, we can give them a head start that will last their whole lives. This research gives us a good evidence base for our efforts."
Predicting publication success for biologists by William F. Laurance, D. Carolina Useche, Susan G. Laurance, and Corey J. A. Bradshaw was just published online in BioScience:
Newsletter & social media
Join us for a sensational mix of news, events and research at the Environment Institute. Find out aboutĚýnew initiatives andĚýshare with your friends what's happening.
ĚýĚýĚý