Publication Fetishism at Higher Education: Academicians' Views

The main objective of this qualitative research is to determine how academicians perceive publication fetishism at universities in Turkey. The data were collected with interview technique, and analyzed with content analysis technique. The study group consisted of 16 academicians from 5 different universities in Turkey. Research results revealed that most academicians of this sample try to make more publications in order to get promoted without looking at the quality of their publications. A further result shows that quantity-based evaluations and promotion process affects the quality of publications negatively. As a result of fast publication thought, academicians publish their articles in predatory journals which are below international standards. Also as a result of this competitive atmosphere process, academicians experience anxiety and inner disturbances in their professional and personal lives. It is recommended that quantity-based evaluations at universities should be replaced with quality-based ones.