Fame is Fortune in Sino-science
You may have heard that Chinese researchers are not very well compensated, compared to their Western counterparts. What you might not know is that they can increase their income by a factor of 10 with a single publication. The better the journal they publish in, as judged by the average number of times that its papers are cited, the more money they make. According to an anonymous source specializing in science evaluation in China, some research institutions follow a simple formula for determining cash rewards: 10,000 yuan, multiplied by one plus the journal impact factor (the impact factor reflects average citation levels). For example, publication in The Lancet, whose impact factor was 39.06 in 2012, would fetch 400,600 yuan (about $65,000). By comparison, the average yearly income of Chinese scientific researchers was 39,850 yuan in 2007, according to a survey by the China Association for Science and Technology.1
The role of famous journals is firmly ensconced into the life of Chinese academia. This reporter carried out an informal survey of 17 scientists working in China, and found that 15 scientists agreed that publication in high-impact factor journals is decisive for promotion. In addition, 65 percent agreed that it has a remarkable influence on their income, and 76 percent said it was very common to see research institutions granting cash rewards to researchers for publication. These results are consistent with a 2004 survey which found that 43 percent of scientific researchers said this kind of performance-linked pay accounted for more than 50 percent of their income.2
But the requirement claiming that “chemistry research in China has turned into a Vanity Fair” because of the obsession with impact factors. Entrenched yet unpopular, the impact factor is a window onto the history of Chinese science, and seemingly inextricable from its near-term future.
