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Updated: Apr 26, 2026

Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA
Published on: August 28, 2021
Ranking games
Margit Osterloh1, Bruno S Frey2
1Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany CREMA-Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background:
Research rankings based on bibliometrics today dominate governance in academia and determine careers in universities.
Method:
Analytical approach to capture the incentives by users of rankings and by suppliers of rankings, both on an individual and an aggregate level.
Result:
Rankings may produce unintended negative side effects. In particular, rankings substitute the "taste for science" by a "taste for publication." We show that the usefulness of rankings rests on several important assumptions challenged by recent research.
Conclusion:
We suggest as alternatives careful socialization and selection of scholars, supplemented by periodic self-evaluations and awards. The aim is to encourage controversial discourses in order to contribute meaningful to the advancement of science.
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