IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v128y2023i12d10.1007_s11192-023-04854-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Publish and flourish: investigating publication requirements for PhD students in China

Author

Listed:
  • Wei Quan

    (Educational Science Research Institute, Hunan University)

  • Fei Shu

    (Hangzhou Dianzi University
    Université de Montréal)

  • Meijia Yang

    (Educational Science Research Institute, Hunan University
    Western Pipeline Co. Ltd of Pipe China)

  • Vincent Larivière

    (Université de Montréal
    Université du Québec À Montréal)

Abstract

This study analyzes the publication requirements of PhD programs in China. It is based on a representative sample of PhD programs from 164 Chinese universities from all fields of science. Our results show that Chinese PhD student significant pressures to publish in order to obtain their degree, with papers indexed in the Science Citation Index often a mandatory requirement for students to obtain their degree. Moreover, it is found that first authorship is also mandatory: only as first authors count towards the degree, which may affect PhD students’ collaborative behavior. These findings highlight the role of publications indexed in the Science Citation Index for China’s PhD programs and contributes to our understanding of the landscape of research evaluation in China’s higher education system.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Quan & Fei Shu & Meijia Yang & Vincent Larivière, 2023. "Publish and flourish: investigating publication requirements for PhD students in China," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(12), pages 6675-6693, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:128:y:2023:i:12:d:10.1007_s11192-023-04854-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-023-04854-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-023-04854-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-023-04854-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fei Shu & Wei Quan & Bikun Chen & Junping Qiu & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Vincent Larivière, 2020. "The role of Web of Science publications in China’s tenure system," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(3), pages 1683-1695, March.
    2. Liu, Weishu & Hu, Guangyuan & Tang, Li & Wang, Yuandi, 2015. "China's global growth in social science research: Uncovering evidence from bibliometric analyses of SSCI publications (1978–2013)," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 555-569.
    3. Sharif Moradi, 2019. "Publication should not be a prerequisite to obtaining a PhD," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(10), pages 1025-1025, October.
    4. Caroline S. Wagner, 2005. "Six case studies of international collaboration in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 62(1), pages 3-26, January.
    5. Amjad, Tehmina & Ding, Ying & Xu, Jian & Zhang, Chenwei & Daud, Ali & Tang, Jie & Song, Min, 2017. "Standing on the shoulders of giants," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 307-323.
    6. Liming Liang & Junwan Liu & Ronald Rousseau, 2004. "Name order patterns of graduate candidates and supervisors in Chinese publications: A case study of three major Chinese universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, September.
    7. Jeremy P. Birnholtz, 2006. "What does it mean to be an author? The intersection of credit, contribution, and collaboration in science," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 57(13), pages 1758-1770, November.
    8. Chris Woolston, 2019. "PhDs: the tortuous truth," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7782), pages 403-406, November.
    9. Diana Hicks & Paul Wouters & Ludo Waltman & Sarah de Rijcke & Ismael Rafols, 2015. "Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics," Nature, Nature, vol. 520(7548), pages 429-431, April.
    10. Xiaopeng Li, 2019. "The academic society in a catalytic chamber," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(10), pages 1022-1023, October.
    11. Li Tang, 2019. "Five ways China must cultivate research integrity," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7784), pages 589-591, November.
    12. Henry Small, 2004. "On the shoulders of Robert Merton: Towards a normative theory of citation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 60(1), pages 71-79, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wu, Dengsheng & Wang, Shuwen & Xu, Weixuan & Li, Jianping, 2024. "Do conference-journal articles receive more citations? A case study in physics," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rodrigo Costas & María Bordons, 2011. "Do age and professional rank influence the order of authorship in scientific publications? Some evidence from a micro-level perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 88(1), pages 145-161, July.
    2. Sánchez-Gil, Susana & Gorraiz, Juan & Melero-Fuentes, David, 2018. "Reference density trends in the major disciplines," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 42-58.
    3. Kun Chen & Xia-xia Gao & Yi-di Huang & Wen-tao Xu & Guo-liang Yang, 2024. "The dual dimension of scientific research experience acquisition and its development: a 40-year analysis of Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(5), pages 2827-2853, May.
    4. Xuan Zhen Liu & Hui Fang, 2014. "The impact of publications from mainland China on the trends in alphabetical authorship," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(3), pages 865-879, June.
    5. Kulczycki, Emanuel & Korzeń, Marcin & Korytkowski, Przemysław, 2017. "Toward an excellence-based research funding system: Evidence from Poland," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 282-298.
    6. Xie, Qing & Zhang, Xinyuan & Kim, Giyeong & Song, Min, 2022. "Exploring the influence of coauthorship with top scientists on researchers’ affiliation, research topic, productivity, and impact," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    7. Andersen, Jens Peter, 2017. "An empirical and theoretical critique of the Euclidean index," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 455-465.
    8. Siler, Kyle & Larivière, Vincent, 2022. "Who games metrics and rankings? Institutional niches and journal impact factor inflation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    9. Katchanov, Yurij L. & Markova, Yulia V. & Shmatko, Natalia A., 2023. "Uncited papers in the structure of scientific communication," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    10. Ying Huang & Donghua Zhu & Qi Lv & Alan L. Porter & Douglas K. R. Robinson & Xuefeng Wang, 2017. "Early insights on the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI): an overlay map-based bibliometric study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 2041-2057, June.
    11. Frandsen, Tove Faber & Nicolaisen, Jeppe, 2010. "What is in a name? Credit assignment practices in different disciplines," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 608-617.
    12. Bryce, Cormac & Dowling, Michael & Lucey, Brian, 2020. "The journal quality perception gap," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(5).
    13. Domingo Docampo & Lawrence Cram, 2019. "Highly cited researchers: a moving target," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 118(3), pages 1011-1025, March.
    14. Michaela Strinzel & Josh Brown & Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner & Sarah Rijcke & Michael Hill, 2021. "Ten ways to improve academic CVs for fairer research assessment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-4, December.
    15. repec:plo:pone00:0235265 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Dima Jamali & Georges Samara & Lokman I. Meho, 2024. "Determinants of research productivity and efficiency among the Arab world’s accredited business schools," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 2511-2543, December.
    17. Zhang, Xi & Fang, Di & Nayga, Jr., Rodolfo M., . "Mental Health of PhD Students in US Agricultural Economics Departments," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 50(2).
    18. Ponomariov, Branco & Toivanen, Hannes, 2014. "Knowledge flows and bases in emerging economy innovation systems: Brazilian research 2005–2009," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 588-596.
    19. Junwan Liu & Xiaoyun Gong & Shuo Xu & Chenchen Huang, 2024. "Understanding the relationship between team diversity and the innovative performance in research teams using decision tree algorithms: evidence from artificial intelligence," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(12), pages 7805-7831, December.
    20. Waltman, Ludo, 2012. "An empirical analysis of the use of alphabetical authorship in scientific publishing," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 700-711.
    21. Charlie Karlsson & Björn Hammarfelt, 2025. "Correction: The growth and development of Nordic regional science research 1982–2022: bibliometric evidence from thirteen regional science journals," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(2), pages 1-1, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:128:y:2023:i:12:d:10.1007_s11192-023-04854-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.