Investigating shifts in publication patterns after launching scientometric evaluation at Egyptian universities: an analysis of submitted research for promotion

Scientometric research has proven that citation-based research evaluation systems influence researchers' practices, providing the starting point for the present study. The objective of this study is to monitor the changes in the publication patterns of promotion candidates in Egyptian universities following the implementation of new promotion regulations by the Supreme Council of Universities. These regulations rely mainly on scientometric evaluation, which encourages international publication in the journals indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus. The requisite data were extracted from 23,153 scientometric reports issued for the promotion applicants (2017–2022), encompassing 160,840 papers submitted to 131 scientific committees in all subject areas. The study adopted a linear regression model with an interaction term between the examined patterns and years. The findings revealed a positive response to the incentives of the regulations. There were substantial increases in international publications vs. local ones, publications in the Q1 and Q2 journals vs. other rankings, English publications vs. other languages, and articles vs. other document types. These preliminary results could benefit policy-makers and higher education leaders as they design research evaluation systems and enhance the culture of metrics in Egypt and other Arab and developing countries.