Managing competition & publication pressure

Research institutions can help foster research integrity and responsible research practices by providing researchers with healthy environments in which to work. Ensuring that researchers work in an environment that is collaborative, positive, inclusive, and enriching is a starting point to enable responsible research practices and research integrity. Publication pressure and competition can create an unhealthy research environment in which researchers can feel tempted to deviate from research integrity. This guideline offers recommendations that can help research institutions manage the competition between researchers and the publication pressure they face. The recommendations target several areas such as research freedom, collaboration, careers, assessments, and workloads. The guideline provides information relevant for research officers, trainers, managers, and coordinators, as well as deans, rectors and other institutional leaders. Given the broad diversity that exists among research institutions, it is possible that some recommendations are not applicable in all research settings. For this reason, the guideline should not be seen as a ‘one-size-fits-all’, but rather as a tool that can be used flexibly and adapted to meet institutions’ specific needs.