{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T05:21:57Z","timestamp":1775452917045,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]],"date-time":"2021-11-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636416000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Publications"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Reflexive metrics is a branch of science studies that explores how the demand for accountability and performance measurement in science has shaped the research culture in recent decades. Hypercompetition and publication pressure are part of this neoliberal culture. How do scientists respond to these pressures? Studies on research integrity and organisational culture suggest that people who feel treated unfairly by their institution are more likely to engage in deviant behaviour, such as scientific misconduct. By building up on reflexive metrics, combined with studies on the influence of organisational culture on research integrity, this study reflects on the research behaviour of astronomers with the following questions: (1) To what extent is research (mis-)behaviour reflexive, i.e., dependent on perceptions of publication pressure and distributive and organisational justice? (2) What impact does scientific misconduct have on research quality? In order to perform this reflection, we conducted a comprehensive survey of academic and non-academic astronomers worldwide and received 3509 responses. We found that publication pressure explains 19% of the variance in occurrence of misconduct and between 7% and 13% of the variance of the perception of distributive and organisational justice as well as overcommitment to work. Our results on the perceived impact of scientific misconduct on research quality show that the epistemic harm of questionable research practices should not be underestimated. This suggests there is a need for a policy change. In particular, lesser attention to metrics (such as publication rate) in the allocation of grants, telescope time and institutional rewards would foster better scientific conduct and, hence, research quality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/publications9040052","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]],"date-time":"2021-11-09T21:39:07Z","timestamp":1636493947000},"page":"52","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Reflexive Behaviour: How Publication Pressure Affects Research Quality in Astronomy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0158-6771","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julia","family":"Heuritsch","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group \u201cReflexive Metrics\u201d, Institut f\u00fcr Sozialwissenschaften, Humboldt Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.3390\/publications2030061","article-title":"Measuring Scientific Misconduct\u2014Lessons from Criminology","volume":"2","author":"Hesselmann","year":"2014","journal-title":"Publications"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stephan, P. (2012). How Economics Shapes Science, Harvard University Press.","DOI":"10.4159\/harvard.9780674062757"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1204","DOI":"10.1016\/j.respol.2014.02.006","article-title":"Beyond breakthrough research: Epistemic properties of research and their consequences for research funding","volume":"43","author":"Laudel","year":"2014","journal-title":"Res. Policy"},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"21","article-title":"Implicated in the Indicator Game? An Experimental Debate","volume":"3","author":"Fochler","year":"2017","journal-title":"Engag. Sci. Technol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Desrosi\u00e8res, A. (1998). The Politics of Large Numbers\u2014A History of Statistical Reasoning, Harvard University Press."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Porter, T. (1995). Trust in Numbers, Princeton University Press.","DOI":"10.1515\/9781400821617"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"969","DOI":"10.1080\/14719037.2013.770058","article-title":"Constitutive Effects of Performance Indicators: Getting beyond unintended consequences","volume":"16","year":"2014","journal-title":"Public Manag. Rev."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dahler-Larsen, P. (2019). Quality\u2014From Plato to Performance, Palgrave Macmillan.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-10392-7"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"108","article-title":"Bridging the Evaluation Gap","volume":"3","author":"Wouters","year":"2017","journal-title":"Engag. Sci. Technol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Heuritsch, J. (2021). The Evaluation Gap in Astronomy\u2014Explained through a Rational Choice Framework. arXiv."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1086\/664553","article-title":"If You\u2019re So Smart, Why Are You under Surveillance? Universities, Neoliberalism, and New Public Management","volume":"38","author":"Lorenz","year":"2012","journal-title":"Crit. Inq."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1007\/s11948-007-9042-5","article-title":"The Perverse Effects of Competition on Scientists\u2019 Work and Relationships","volume":"13","author":"Anderson","year":"2007","journal-title":"Sci. Eng. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"2055","article-title":"The assessment of publication pressure in medical science; validity and reliability of a Publication Pressure Questionnaire (PPQ)","volume":"23","author":"Tijdink","year":"2014","journal-title":"Qual. Life Res."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moosa, I.A. (2018). Publish or Perish\u2014Perceived Benefits Versus Unintended Consequences, Edward Elgar Publishing.","DOI":"10.4337\/9781786434937"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1007\/s11024-015-9274-5","article-title":"Accounting for Impact? The Journal Impact Factor and the Making of Biomedical Research in the Netherlands","volume":"53","author":"Rushforth","year":"2015","journal-title":"Minerva"},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President (2021, September 10). OSTP, Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, Available online: http:\/\/www.Ostp.Gov\/html\/001207_3.Html."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1038\/435737a","article-title":"Scientists behaving badly","volume":"435","author":"Martinson","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"1","article-title":"Explanations of Research Misconduct, and How They Hang Together","volume":"19","author":"Haven","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Gen. Philos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1525\/jer.2006.1.1.51","article-title":"Scientists\u2019 perceptions of organizational justice and self-reported misbehaviors","volume":"1","author":"Martinson","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Empir. Res. Hum. Res. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Heuritsch, J. (2019, January 6\u20137). Effects of metrics in research evaluation on knowledge production in astronomy a case study on Evaluation Gap and Constitutive Effects. Proceedings of the STS Conference Graz 2019, Graz, Austria."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"835","DOI":"10.1007\/s11948-012-9409-0","article-title":"Relationships between the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC) and self-reported research practices","volume":"19","author":"Crain","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sci. Eng. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"813","DOI":"10.1007\/s11948-012-9410-7","article-title":"Development and validation of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC)","volume":"19","author":"Martinson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sci. Eng. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1177\/1556264614552798","article-title":"Survey of organizational research climates in three research intensive, doctoral granting universities","volume":"9","author":"Wells","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Empir. Res. Hum. Res. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Martinson, B.C., Nelson, D., Hagel-Campbell, E., Mohr, D., Charns, M.P., and Bangerter, A. (2016). Initial results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe) in the U.S. department of veterans affairs healthcare system. PLoS ONE, 11.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0151571"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1491","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0b013e3181bb2ca6","article-title":"Institutions \u2018Expectations for Researchers\u2019 Self-Funding, Federal Grant Holding, and Private Industry Involvement: Manifold Drivers of Self-Interest and Researcher Behavior","volume":"84","author":"Martinson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Acad. Med."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1525\/jer.2010.5.3.67","article-title":"The importance of organizational justice in ensuring research integrity","volume":"5","author":"Martinson","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Empir. Res. Hum. Res. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Haven, T.L., Bouter, L.M., Smulders, Y.M., and Tijdink, J.K. (2019). Perceived publication pressure in Amsterdam\u2014Survey of all disciplinary fields and academic ranks. PLoS ONE, 14.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0217931"},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"228","article-title":"Sharing and re-using open data: A case study of motivations in astrophysics","volume":"49","author":"Zuiderwijk","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"715","article-title":"Management science on the credibility bubble: Cardinal sins and various misdemeanors","volume":"9","author":"Bedeian","year":"2010","journal-title":"Acad. Manag. Learn Educ."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1080\/08989621.2014.950253","article-title":"Commentary: Perverse incentives or rotten apples?","volume":"22","author":"Bouter","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acc. Res."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1177\/1556264614552421","article-title":"Publication pressure and scientific misconduct in medical scientists","volume":"9","author":"Tijdink","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Empir. Res. Hum. Res. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tijdink, J.K., Vergouwen, A.C.M., and Smulders, Y.M. (2013). Publication pressure and burn out among Dutch medical professors: A nationwide survey. PLoS ONE, 3.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0073381"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e008681","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2015-008681","article-title":"How do scientists perceive the current publication culture? A qualitative focus group interview study among Dutch biomedical researchers","volume":"6","author":"Tijdink","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1108\/13620431111167751","article-title":"Publish or perish: Academic life as management faculty live it","volume":"16","author":"Miller","year":"2011","journal-title":"Career Dev. Int."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1282","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.22636","article-title":"Intended and unintended consequences of a publish-or-perish culture: A worldwide survey","volume":"63","author":"Henkens","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1186\/s41073-021-00110-w","article-title":"Explaining variance in perceived research misbehaviour","volume":"6","author":"Haven","year":"2021","journal-title":"Res. Integr. Peer Rev."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1186\/s41073-019-0066-6","article-title":"Personally perceived publication pressure\u2014Revising the Publication Pressure Questionnaire (PPQ) by using work stress models","volume":"4","author":"Haven","year":"2019","journal-title":"Res. Integr. Peer. Rev."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1007\/s11673-008-9113-6","article-title":"Exploring scientific misconduct: Isolated individuals, impure institutions, or an inevitable idiom of modern science?","volume":"5","author":"Sovacool","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Bioethical Inq."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"242","DOI":"10.1080\/00221546.1994.11778499","article-title":"A Social Control Perspective on Scientific Misconduct","volume":"65","author":"Hackett","year":"1994","journal-title":"J. High. Educ."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01093.x","article-title":"Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency","volume":"30","author":"Agnew","year":"1992","journal-title":"Criminology"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"672","DOI":"10.2307\/2084686","article-title":"Social structure and anomie","volume":"3","author":"Merton","year":"1938","journal-title":"Am. Sociol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.lawsocsci.2.081805.105908","article-title":"Accountability, Quantification, and Law","volume":"3","author":"Espeland","year":"2008","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Law Soc. Sci."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1007\/s11024-015-9270-9","article-title":"The Academic Manifesto: From an Occupied to a Public University","volume":"53","author":"Halffman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Minerva"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1140","DOI":"10.1111\/padm.12282","article-title":"Targets for honesty: How performance indicators shape integrity in Dutch higher education","volume":"94","author":"Overman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Public Adm."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1007\/s11024-009-9121-7","article-title":"Moral Economies in Science: From Ideal to Pragmatic","volume":"47","author":"Fairley","year":"2009","journal-title":"Minerva"},{"key":"ref_46","first-page":"773","article-title":"Soziologie. Spezielle Grundlagen. Band 1: Situationslogik und Handeln","volume":"53","author":"Esser","year":"1999","journal-title":"KZfSS K\u00f6lner Z. Soziologie Soz."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Coleman, J.S. (1990). Foundations of Social Theory, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press."},{"key":"ref_48","first-page":"11","article-title":"The Evolving Sociology of Ground-Based Optical and Infrared astronomy at the Start of the 21st Century","volume":"Volume 6","author":"Heck","year":"2006","journal-title":"Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2489","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.23592","article-title":"The effects of research resources on international collaboration in the astronomy community","volume":"67","author":"Chang","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"461","DOI":"10.1007\/s11024-011-9184-0","article-title":"Cognitive and Social Structure of the Elite Collaboration Network of Astrophysics: A Case Study on Shifting Network Structures","volume":"49","author":"Heidler","year":"2011","journal-title":"Minerva"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1186\/s41073-016-0024-5","article-title":"Ranking major and minor research misbehaviors: Results from a survey among participants of four World Conferences on Research Integrity","volume":"1","author":"Bouter","year":"2016","journal-title":"Res. Integr. Peer Rev."},{"key":"ref_52","unstructured":"Siegrist, J., Li, J., and Montano, D. (2014). Psychometric Properties of the Effort-Reward Lmbalance Questionnaire, Department of Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Duesseldorf University."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v048.i02","article-title":"lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling","volume":"48","author":"Rosseel","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Stat. Softw."},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"Haven, T.L. (2021, September 10). Towards a Responsible Research Climate: Findings from Academic Research in Amsterdam. Available online: https:\/\/research.vu.nl\/en\/publications\/towards-a-responsible-research-climate-findings-from-academic-res."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"695","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.23689","article-title":"Measuring Metrics\u2014A 40-Year Longitudinal Cross-Validation of Citations, Downloads, and Peer Review in Astrophysics","volume":"68","author":"Kurtz","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol."}],"updated-by":[{"DOI":"10.3390\/publications11040052","type":"correction","label":"Correction","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]],"date-time":"2021-11-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636416000000}}],"container-title":["Publications"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-6775\/9\/4\/52\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,3]],"date-time":"2025-08-03T22:54:04Z","timestamp":1754261644000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-6775\/9\/4\/52"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]]},"references-count":55,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["publications9040052"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/publications9040052","relation":{"correction":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.3390\/publications11040052","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2304-6775"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2304-6775","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,9]]}}}