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Article History

Accepted: 2 August 2025

First Online: 11 November 2025

Declarations

:

: Not applicable.

: Ensar Acem: As an early-career researcher, my ability to advance in academia and secure future funding is partly dependent on the number and visibility of my publications.Balazs AczeI: I publish regularly to make thoughts and results visible but I acknowledge that both my institutional evaluation and grant opportunities partly depend on the number of my publications.Nihan Albayrak: To be competitive in academia, I must publish in recognized journals and cite mainstream work even though it reinforces the very structures I critique. This tension shapes how I frame my arguments and select references. I acknowledge this as a structural conflict of interest embedded in my academic life.Nicholas J. L. Brown: I have no conflict of interests to declare. Sue me.Leonie A. Dudda: My opportunities to pursue a scientific career partially depend on the number and the quality of the articles that I publish.Biljana Gjoneska: As a tenure-track researcher from a non-WEIRD setting, my ability to remain competitive on the global research market is partly dependent on the number of articles I publish. For clarification purposes, increased competitiveness comes with increased mobility and freedom to choose between research settings (in case of sudden change in the living prospects at the home institution and country).Marta Kowal: As a post‑doctoral researcher in Poland, I must publish papers to advance my academic career. In Poland, we earn “points” for publishing in journals included on the government’s official list. The more—and especially the higher point papers—we publish, the more points we accumulate in our evaluations. These points affect our financial benefits, promotions, and success in securing research funding. Therefore, the more papers I publish, especially in high‑point journals, the better my prospects for both scientific advancement and financial security.Anand Krishna: I have no conflicts of interest to declare. Lucky me.Szymon Miłkoś: My interests in studying and improving scientific inquiry synergize with this paper's content rather than conflict with it. My contribution is part of my work to reform scientific practice, which has a systematic orientation (whether biased or heuristic). I have never tried to publish before, and this is my first paper — a fitting irony that reinforces my prior motivation for truthful, useful, and elegant scientific practice.Mahmoud Medhat Elsherif: Their evaluation, opportunities for promotion, and ability to secure research funding are partly contingent upon the quantity of their published articles. This creates a potential incentive to prioritize the number of publications over other important factors, such as the quality, rigor, or impact of the research. In addition, as they are neurodivergent, nonbinary, from the Global South but grew up in the Global North throughout the majority of their lives, their conflict of interests and positionalities may conflict but are driven by a complexity of nuances that occurred in their lives. If they have forgotten any conflict of interest, please do not assume malicious intent; it might be because they are like all scientists, highly human.Mariola Paruzel-Czachura: The university’s annual evaluation, academic promotion, and receipt of research funding depend partially on the quality and number of articles I publish.Jay Patel: I do not seek a typical career as a research professor after completing my doctoral degree. However, I consider the publication of any research paper to be a mild Conflict of Interest because I may pursue research occupations that require publications in relevant venues.Katarzyna Pypno-Blajda: As a doctoral student, I am required to publish a specific number of articles as part of my degree requirements. Additionally, the quantity and visibility of these publications directly influence my prospects for securing postdoctoral positions or academic research employment after completing my PhD.Ingrid Scharlau: My ability to obtain research funding and my evaluation is partly dependent on the number of articles I publish. I also want to add that I might not be aware of all conflicts of interest.Steven Verheyen: My evaluation, opportunities for promotion, and ability to obtain research funding are partly dependent on the number of articles I publish.Benjamin Zubaly: As a young researcher, my ability to continue in academia partly depends on the number of papers I publish. My opinions are surely biased by my hope that in the future my career will be assessed by a more valid measure of scientific contribution.