Research disruptiveness is falling, insists author of landmark paper
A debate has emerged in the scientific community regarding a 2023 Nature paper that claimed research is becoming less disruptive over time. Critics argue the original findings were based on data errors, while the original authors maintain that their conclusions remain valid.
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The integrity of scientific metrics is crucial for understanding how innovation and research progress are measured and funded.
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Author of 2023 Nature paper says analysis and conclusions hold despite peers’ critique
The co-author of a landmark paper on slowing rates of disruption in science has told Research Professional News he stands by its conclusions, despite criticism from other researchers. Those researchers, meanwhile, have maintained their criticisms despite the authors' pushback.
The 2023 paper - titled Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time - by Michael Park, Erin Leahey and Russell Funk was published in the journal Nature and has been cited hundreds of times. It reports an analysis of citations of millions of research papers and patents, which found such works have become "increasingly less likely to break with the past in ways that push science and technology in new directions".
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