Measuring by Numbers: Bibliometric Evaluation of Faculty’s Research Outputs and Impact on Academic Life in China

Quantification and audit have become management tools worldwide. Since the 1990s, along with Projects 211 and 985 and the professional transformation of university teachers, bibliometric evaluation has become an important means to assess the research performance of university teachers in China. On the basis of analyzing key policy documents in different periods and bibliometric data from a Project 985 university, this study illustrates the historical construction of bibliometric evaluation as a legitimate evaluation method. The impact of quantitative assessment on the academic life of university teachers, such as decisions on where and how to publish, professionalization of academic work, ritualism in the production of knowledge, and increase in the workload of faculty members, are also analyzed on the basis of interviews with more than 36 teachers and administrators in eight universities.