Evaluation Summary and Metrics: "Adaptability and the Pivot Penalty in Science and Technology"

We organized one evaluation of the paper: "Adaptability and the Pivot Penalty in Science and Technology". From the evaluation: "This paper introduces a measurement framework to quantify how far researchers move from their existing research when producing new works. [It] applies this framework to scientific publications and patents and documents a phenomenon called the 'pivot penalty' ... the impact of new research steeply declining the further a researcher moves from their prior work. This finding holds across different researchers, fields, and measurements of research impact."According to this evaluator, the paper's strengths include "its broad applicability, strong data, and policy implications ... Should the government and universities encourage researchers to address important but remote questions? Should scientists pursue the hotspots of the scientific landscape and adapt to demands driven by funding or other reasons?" The evaluator's concerns include "under-explored benefits of pivoting, alternative explanation[s] such as timing of rewards, evolving journal preferences, and the choice of journals over fields for analysis." To read this evaluation, please see the link below.