Reposted by Coordinadora Marea Roja de Investigación
Coordinadora Marea Roja de Investigación
@marearojainvest.bsky.social
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Coordinadora de colectivos, organizaciones y sindicatos para la promoción y la defensa del valor social de la investigación y la ciencia. Correo: coordinadoramarearoja @gmail.com www.marearojainvestigacion.org
![Should PhD programmes require candidates to have at least one paper published in order to graduate?
Many PhD programmes require PhD candidates to have one (or more) papers accepted or published in a scientific journal in order to be able to graduate and complete their doctorate. This is of course a well-intentioned idea and may sound good at first, as PhD candidates would gain experience and start learning how to navigate the publication process in scientific journals. Having a publication out the PhD may also help them secure their next position. The publication requirement would also encourage that research results are published and not lost forever, particularly if the new PhD moves on after completing their doctorate. Finally, having a paper accepted at a scientific journal usually means that at least three people (editors and reviewers) have evaluated the research and the editor(s) have considered it good enough for publication, so it could be interpreted as an external validation and signal of quality.
Undesired consequences of requiring publication in PhD programmes
So far so good. But on second thoughts one can foresee how this publication requirement can create perverse incentives, bring many problems for early career researchers and science in general, and basically do more harm than good. Particularly considering that many PhD programmes last 3-4 years (at least in Europe) and the publication process can take well more than a year from submission to acceptance (more on this below). Thus, a few counter-arguments that come to mind:
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