It should be emphasised that this is about too many publications, not too much research. You can never have enough research, but you can certainly have too many papers. Which is somewhat ironic given that the award the Prague group just received was based on the number of publications...
Then there's the problem, which is only alluded to in the article, of not publishing negative results.
I think my half-serious idea of a maximum number of publications per year is not without merit. :)
(and massive flaws too, but that's another matter)
Originally shared by Joerg Fliege
Research overflow
To nobodys surprise, there is so much research going on that the standard peer review routine cannot cope anymore. This seems to have the following effects:
1) Scientific fraud: some fraudster is weaseling his/her way into a journal and is not getting caught by referees because referees are overworked. While this is always headline grabbing, it doesn't seem to happen to often. Also, the nature of science makes sure that fraudsters are usually caught.
2) Good research is being ignored and (costly) experiments are duplicated, because nobody can even pretend to keep up with the literature anymore.
3) To combat effect no. 2, many scholars specialise in smaller and smaller areas. That can't be good.
4) To get into a top journal, researchers focus more and more on "selling" their research, and concentrate on studies that are presently deemed "sexy".
5) To get into a top journal, corners are cut. You have to beat the competition. That is not the same as item 1, but it adds to a general feeling of sloppiness, which is adverse to good science. Trust among researchers erodes.
6) Referees and readers rely on journal prestige and institutional reputation as a proxy for quality of a paper. Don't have enough time to read the paper? Where are the authors from? Not a "good" university, so just ignore the paper.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/overflow-of-new-research-erodes-trust-between-scientists
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