Scientific output scales with resources. A comparison of US and European universities

Abstract

By using a comprehensive dataset of US and European universities, we demonstrate super-linear scaling between university revenues and their volume of publications and (field-normalized) citations. We show that this relationship holds both in the US and in Europe. In terms of resources, our data show that three characteristics differentiate the US system: (1) a significantly higher level of resources for the entire system, (2) a clearer distinction between education-oriented institutions and doctoral universities and (3) a higher concentration of resources among doctoral universities. Accordingly, a group of US universities receive a much larger amount of resources and have a far higher number of publications and citations when compared to their European counterparts. These results demonstrate empirically that international rankings are by and large richness measures and, therefore, can be interpreted only by introducing a measure of resources. Implications for public policies and institutional evaluation are finally discussed.

Spatial organisation of French research from the scholarly publication standpoint (1999-2017): Long-standing dynamics and policy-induced disorder

“…However, despite these limitations, this analysis of the French case is consistent with the main results already observed worldwide: geographical deconcentration and lack of agglomeration effect on the number of publications [24,25,43,44] .…”

Viewpoint: Information systems research strategy

“…ERA in Australia and REF in the UK), funding models that encourage researchers to partner with industry and to achieve commercial outcomes (e.g., co-operative research centres and centres of excellence) and that emphasise research aimed at defined regional and national objectives ( Turpin & Garrett-Jones, 2000 ). While this shift has been less pronounced and less orchestrated in the U.S. and places where universities are comparatively more autonomous and less reliant on government funding ( Lepori et al, 2019 ), it is happening, and has the potential to mushroom as the world transitions to a new state post-COVID-19 5 .…”

Conducting High Impact Research With Limited Financial Resources (While Working From Home)

“…Thus, being aware of alternative ways to conduct research can help researchers in this situation, to get to a point in which they can compete with researchers who have access to more resources (cf. Lepori et al, 2019). Ultimately, it might make science more egalitarian, because it also allows researchers from financially less well-situated institutions to publish in prestigious journals.…”