Abstract
The paper analyses the merit and reward system in contemporary academia and its influence on current knowledge production. This is done via a secondary analysis of 36 focus group interviews across seven European countries in which 172 researchers took part. Across countries, disciplines, gender, and seniority the interviewees paint a strikingly similar picture of the current reward and merit system in academia, which is perceived to reward speed and quantityat the expense of quality and integrity, and thereby potentially harming the robustness of the knowledge produced. The interviewees likewise express a longing for a more qualitative assessment system (in line with the ideas of the ‘research assessment reform movement’, cf. DORA, CoARA etc.). The theoretical frame for the analysis consists of theories of acceleration-related change in academia (Rosa, 2010, 2013, Ylijoki and Mäntylä, 2003; Ylijoki, 2015; Vostal, 2015, Vostal et al., 2019; Müller, 2014; Felt, 2017). The study uses this theoretical lens to give a unique insight into the effects of accelerated research processes on contemporary knowledge production, including a deeper understanding of the widespread use of questionable research practices (QRPs).