Resolutely eliminate the "paper-only" orientation and speed up the improvement of the science and technology evaluation system
——Interpretation of the heads of the relevant departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology on "Several Measures to Eliminate the Bad Guidance of" Thesis Only "in Science and Technology Evaluation (Trial)"
Our reporter Liu Yan
Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance issued "Several Measures to Eliminate the Bad Guidance of" Thesis Only "in Scientific and Technological Evaluation (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as "Several Measures"), and proposed relevant measures to eliminate the "only article" in scientific and technological evaluation. How to understand the background and objectives of the document? How are the specific measures implemented? In this connection, the reporter of Science and Technology Daily interviewed the person in charge of the Department of Science and Technology Supervision and Integrity Construction of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Q: What is the background of the "Several Measures" and what are the policy objectives?
Answer: According to statistics, the number of international scientific and technological papers in China has ranked second in the world for many years. However, the large number of papers does not mean that the results are of high quality and strong innovation ability. In particular, individual units use papers as a yardstick for evaluating all scientific and technological activities, which breeds and promotes the bad guidance of "paper-only". This must be resolutely opposed and reversed as soon as possible.
The first is to shift the attention of scientific researchers from publishing papers to actual results. "Only papers" and "SCI first" have seriously distorted the value orientation of scientific research, and to a certain extent have contributed to the bad habits of grandeur, impatience, quick success and even fraud. It is necessary to encourage the majority of scientific and technological personnel to return to their original intentions, study with concentration, pay attention to actual performance, write thesis on the land of the motherland, and apply scientific and technological achievements to the great cause of modernization.
The second is to shift the focus of scientific and technological evaluation from number to quality. In the scientific and technological evaluation activities, problems such as “number and impact factors, disregarding the quality of papers”, “emphasis on foreign journals, and light domestic journals” still exist, and even simplification and a one-size-fits-all approach to directly align the number of papers with assessment rankings, performance assessment, and resource allocation. hook up. It is necessary to promote a representative thesis system for basic research, from quantity to quality, and not to treat papers as the main evaluation basis and assessment index for applied research and technological development-type scientific and technological activities.
The third is to reduce the burden on scientific researchers and get rid of the "paper yoke." During the survey, many researchers reported that "thesis-only" led to "forced" publications, seeking names, and buying thesis. It is necessary to comprehensively establish the orientation of classification and evaluation, to pass the requirement of removing the "paper-only" throughout the entire evaluation process of various scientific and technological activities, and to pay attention to the quality, contribution and impact of iconic results, and effectively create an up-to-date and innovative ecology for scientific researchers .
"Several Measures" put forward evaluation priorities and quantitative indicators according to the characteristics of different science and technology activities, highlighting that they are operable, executable, and landing. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued "Several Measures on Regulating the Use of Related Indexes of SCI Papers in Colleges and Universities to Establish a Correct Evaluation Guide". To get rid of the "dissertation", a series of "combination punches" is required.
Q: What considerations does the "Several Measures" take in terms of practical measures?
Answer: In response to the "paper-only" phenomenon in the evaluation of scientific and technological activities, the "Several Measures" proposed a series of measures to highlight the practical tricks and work hard to guide the majority of scientific and technological personnel to adhere to their original heart, shoulder the mission, Concentrate on research and climb the peak of science.
First, adhere to the problem-oriented approach. The thesis is one of the manifestations and communication carriers of scientific and technological innovation achievements. Opposing "paper-only" does not negate the value of the paper or the publication of the paper. The "Several Measures" is based on encouraging the publication of high-quality papers, returning the papers to academic nature, and avoiding utilitarian papers.
The second is to keep your eyes inward. Focus on scientific and technological activities such as national science and technology plan projects (projects) managed by government departments, national science and technology innovation bases, central scientific research institutions, national science and technology awards, and innovative talent promotion plans, fully respect the laws of scientific and technological innovation and the growth of talents, strengthen classification management, Strengthen peer review, focus on the quality of results, highlight the effectiveness of evaluation, and continuously improve science and technology evaluation activities.
The third is to persist in breaking legislation. Not only should we dare to "break" and break resolutely the bad guidance of "only papers" in the evaluation of scientific and technological activities, but also we must be good at "establishing" and establishing new regulations. Adhere to classified evaluations and avoid "one size fits all" evaluation criteria. Adhere to being pragmatic and feasible, and also cut into multiple dimensions and take multiple measures from the aspects of high-quality sci-tech periodicals construction, management of dissertation publication expenditure, strengthening supervision and inspection, and improvement of sci-tech publicity.
Q: What are the main measures introduced in the document?
Answer: The "Several Measures" proposed a total of 27 specific measures, which are summarized mainly in the following three aspects.
The first is to strengthen the guidance of classification assessment. Implement a masterpiece evaluation system for basic research science and technology activities. Among them, domestic science and technology journal articles are not less than 1/3 in principle. For applied research and technology development activities, the dissertation is not used as the main evaluation basis and assessment index. At the same time, it is necessary to appropriately increase the evaluation and evaluation weight for high-quality results.
The second is to put forward the focus and requirements for the evaluation of scientific and technological activities. For example, national science and technology plan projects (projects) highlight innovation quality and comprehensive performance, national science and technology innovation bases highlight supporting service capabilities, central-level scientific research institutions' performance evaluation highlights mission completion, national science and technology awards review highlights quality and contribution, and innovative talent promotion plans Talent selection highlights scientific spirit, ability and performance. At the same time, there is an upper limit on the number of representative papers to promote the scientific and technological personnel to pay more attention to the quality of the papers, not to "quantitative heroes."
The third is to propose related supporting measures. The key to breaking the "paper-only" orientation is to avoid the simple link between the paper and resource allocation and benefits. "Several Measures" proposed to strengthen the management of dissemination of dissertation publications. It is not allowed to use the special funds of the National Science and Technology Plan Projects to reward dissertation publications, and it is not allowed to link the number of dissertation publications, impact factors, etc. with reward bonuses. At the same time, it is necessary to create high-quality scientific journals in China, improve the early-warning mechanism for academic journals, and strengthen supervision and inspection.
Question: "Several Measures" proposes "three types of high-quality papers". What are the specific considerations, and how can I correctly grasp them?
A: In order to encourage scientific researchers to pay more attention to publishing high-quality papers, to produce high-quality results, and combining scientific and technological work practices with the needs of scientific and technological personnel, the "Several Measures" proposed "three types of high-quality papers." As for the research results of the "three types of high-quality papers", assessments can be made according to high-quality results, and the role of peer review in the evaluation of high-quality results should be brought into play.
Regarding the determination of the specific scope of the "three types of high-quality papers", one is to take into account the differences between universities, scientific research institutes, and discipline construction, and clearly stipulate that the specific scope of the "three types of high-quality papers" should be determined by the academic committee of the unit. And the principle of fine is determined.
The second is domestic sci-tech periodicals with international influence, which can be determined by referring to the list of selected periodicals of the Chinese Sci-tech Periodicals Excellence Action Plan.
Third, the industry recognized international top or important scientific journals and domestic and foreign top academic conferences, which were selected by the academic committee of the unit in combination with the subject or technical field. At present, the China Science and Technology Association's leading action plan for the implementation of Chinese science and technology journals has announced the first batch of selected journals, and a new list of selected journals will be introduced in an orderly manner.
Question: "Several Measures" proposes the implementation of a representative work system for thesis evaluation of basic scientific and technological activities. Who should select the representative work and how?
A: It is worth noting that the masterpiece system of the dissertation is not the first time that "Several Measures" have been proposed. In order to implement the requirements of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council on the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Project Evaluation, Talent Evaluation, and Institutional Evaluation, the Ministry of Science and Technology has implemented a thesis in national science and technology awards and evaluation of scientific and technological personnel in deepening the reform of the scientific and technological evaluation system. The masterpiece system has achieved positive results. Several Measures further institutionalize these proven measures.
Specifically, the masterpieces of theses are selected by scientific research institutions and researchers according to the requirements of specific scientific and technological evaluation activities and combined with the research work or research results that have been carried out. For the national science and technology plan projects (projects), the masterpieces of the thesis should display the corresponding projects (topics) ) 'S supporting role and relevance; for national laboratories and key laboratories, the masterpiece of the thesis should show the original innovation ability, the international scientific frontier competitiveness, and the ability to meet the major national needs in the evaluation cycle; for the central scientific research institutions, the masterpiece of the thesis To show the level of achievements in the evaluation cycle, international academic impact, contribution to economic and social development and major national needs, etc. For the National Natural Science Award, the masterpiece of the dissertation should show the originality, recognition and scientific value of the results; etc. Leading talents' masterpieces of thesis should demonstrate the innovation and academic impact of core results ...
Q: What new measures are in place to strengthen the management of publication expenses?
A: In terms of funding scope, it is clear that except for the representative works of the national science and technology plan projects and "three types of high-quality papers", the publication of other papers is not allowed to be listed; for publication on "blacklist" and early-warning academic journals No disbursement of dissertations is allowed; expenditures for publication of reward dissertations are disallowed. In violation of the regulations, reward funds and related project balance funds shall be recovered. It is not allowed to link the number of published papers, impact factors, etc. with rewards.
In strengthening the corporate entity's main responsibility, it is required that relevant universities, research institutes, etc. should review the necessity of publication of the paper and the relevance of the project research; for papers that may involve national security and secrets, they must be rigorously reviewed, Strengthen management; the academic committee of the unit shall review the necessity of publishing a paper with a single publication costing more than 20,000 yuan.
In strengthening the verification of expenditures, it is explicitly required that in the process of comprehensive performance evaluation of a project, the project management institution should strengthen the verification of the publication of papers listed in the special funds of the national science and technology plan project.
Q: Next, how will the Ministry of Science and Technology grasp the implementation of the "Several Measures"?
Answer: One is to strengthen responsibilities. Relevant institutions of higher learning, scientific research institutes, and various units of scientific and technological evaluation activities are the primary responsibility bodies for the implementation of the measures. They must be combined with the actual situation of the unit to improve the system, refine the measures, and strengthen management. Scientific and technological personnel must proactively implement the requirements of the "Several Measures" and contribute to building a strong country with science and technology with high-quality results and practical results.
The second is to strengthen supervision. The Ministry of Science and Technology will conduct supervision and inspection on the implementation of corporate legal responsibility and various measures with relevant departments, strengthen the training and guidance of consulting and review experts, and increase positive publicity.
The third is to strengthen synergy. Work with relevant departments to speed up the construction of Chinese sci-tech periodicals, improve the early-warning mechanism for academic journals, and provide better services and create a better environment for scientific and technological personnel.
Fourth, strive for promotion. The Ministry of Science and Technology will carry out monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the "Several Measures" and improve and optimize various measures accordingly. For effective measures, relevant business departments will be replicated and promoted on a larger scale to form a joint force that will eliminate the "paper-only" bad guidance. (Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, March 4th)