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Title:: Development of Quantitative Evaluation of Scientific Research andIts Influence on the Academic Work of University Teachers

Keywords:: university teachers; quantitative evaluation; peer review; academic work

Abstract:: Since the 1990s, along with the development of different projects aiming to build key universities(e.g. 211 project and 985 project) and the professional transformation of university teachers, quantitativeevaluation with the aid of bibliometric techniques has become an important means to evaluate universityteachers’ research performance in China. Based on an analysis of the key policy texts of different periods,this paper will show how bibliometric evaluation has historically been constructed as a legitimate evaluationmethod. At the same time, based on interviews with more than 20 teachers and administrators from threeuniversities in China, we will analyze the impact of quantitative assessment on the academic life of universityteachers. In a positive sense, the quantitative assessment has introduced meritocracy into the field of evaluatingthe performance of university teachers, which has promoted the professionalism in academic work and madethe academic promotion avoid the influence of Guanxi culture. However, this assessment technique has alsobrought about some unexpected negative effects such as the blind pursuit of quantity rather than quality,ritualism in knowledge production, violation of the academic autonomy of the faculty, and discouragement ofapplication-oriented disciplines.