Improve the quality of research papers

Chinese media recently reported that although China is now one of the world's largest producers of research papers, many are of low quality and published in academic journals affiliated with domestic institutions of higher learning. Academic journals in China are rarely seen off campus, and without market evaluation, these journals are simply reduced to a reference point for assessing academic ranks and titles of researchers, says an article in the Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Academic journals exist in a large number in China. In fact, as early as in 2006, critics already pointed out that among the 2,700 journals in the country categorized as related to social sciences, some 500 had never been cited in the last seven years.

The establishment of an institution of higher education in China is often accompanied by the launch of an academic journal, designated to be the publishing front for its own researchers. These academic journals have a small circulation. Some do not even circulate, and only a few copies are reserved for the authors and are later referred to in the assessment process.

The publication of many journals is funded by the institutions, and some pages are even open for bidding so that researchers can pay and then publish their articles. In this sense, such journals are actually reduced to being a tool of bureaucratic management on campus and are often manipulated to promote academic rankings.

Many journals of overseas institutions of higher learning, however, are published relying on the research advantages of the institutions while meeting market demand. For example, the Oxford University Press launched a new journal named Gastroenterology Report in April, which aims to publish high-quality research articles originating in China, given that although gastroenterology research has developed quickly in China over the past decade, there is a gap between the current status of clinical journals in the field and the increased demands of international communication in the field.

Publishers of academic journals in the country will realize that although the academic journals are not tailored to the general public, their publication should not be restricted to campuses only and disregard market demand and evaluation. Ignoring the problem will only result in the low quality of these journals despite their large output of research articles.