Balancing Quantity and Quality in Research Communication
James Butcher, Kamran Abbasi, Fred Fenter, Antonia Seymour · 2025
The panel discussion focused on the significant increase in research article output in recent years, driven by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of China as a research powerhouse, and the expansion of open access publishing. There is increasingly a tension between maintaining quality and rigor versus increasing quantity. The panel highlighted concerns about shifting incentives potentially undermining scientific integrity, while also noting that growth in open access journals is not limited to commercial publishers but includes society publishers as well. The discussion underscored the complex balance editors face between reducing article volume to improve impact factors and the financial pressures to increase output.