What is it about?
This article explains how today’s universities and academic publishers have become increasingly dependent on numerical indicators such as publication counts, citation numbers and journal rankings. It shows that when these numbers become targets, they lose their meaning and begin to shape academic behavior in unhealthy ways. As a result, original and meaningful research becomes overshadowed by quick, surface-level publications that aim only to increase metrics. The article describes how global publishing companies dominate the academic system, how researchers feel pressured to publish rapidly and how trending topics such as Covid-19 and artificial intelligence have triggered a wave of shallow studies. It also identifies several anomalies, including hyper-productive researchers who quickly accumulate citations without producing deep scientific contributions. Using a critical perspective, the article explains how this metric-driven culture creates academic erosion and threatens the long-term quality of science.
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Why is it important?
Understanding the effects of metric culture is crucial because it shapes how science is produced, evaluated and rewarded. When universities and journals prioritize numbers over substance, research quality declines and genuine scientific progress slows down. This also impacts young researchers who may feel forced to follow metric-oriented strategies rather than focusing on meaningful, long-term studies. The article highlights why current evaluation systems must be reconsidered and why more responsible, ethical and context-sensitive assessment approaches are needed. It also points to global and national alternatives that can help protect academic integrity and improve research quality.
Perspectives
From the author’s point of view, the growing dependence on metrics has created a distorted academic environment where visibility is mistaken for quality. The article argues that true scientific contribution requires depth, time and critical thinking, none of which can be captured by numerical indicators alone. The author emphasizes the importance of slowing down, prioritizing originality and supporting national platforms and ethical evaluation models that value real scientific impact over metric performance.
Prof.Dr. Mehmet Fırat
Anadolu Universitesi
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Akademide Metrik Kültür Erozyonu ve Yükselen Anomaliler, Üniversite Araştırmaları Dergisi, September 2025, Universite Arastirmalari Dergisi,
DOI: 10.32329/uad.1670503.
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