I would be interested in seeing a version of this study that corrects for the amount of time actually spent doing research. As a professor gets older, typically their teaching and administration loads are increased, as well as their family commitments outside the university.
Matthew Fernandezsays:
I don’t have data, but I would expect this pattern to hold beyond academia as well (i.e. productivity measured by individual contributions drops off). Conventional wisdom (or maybe FUD?) says that the senior folk with decreased individual output are contributing in more meta “strategic” ways by guiding others. Personally, my academic experience was significantly shaped by more senior people with highly varying publication track records. One of the people who inspired my best work has a completely undistinguished publication history.
I would be interested in seeing a version of this study that corrects for the amount of time actually spent doing research. As a professor gets older, typically their teaching and administration loads are increased, as well as their family commitments outside the university.
I don’t have data, but I would expect this pattern to hold beyond academia as well (i.e. productivity measured by individual contributions drops off). Conventional wisdom (or maybe FUD?) says that the senior folk with decreased individual output are contributing in more meta “strategic” ways by guiding others. Personally, my academic experience was significantly shaped by more senior people with highly varying publication track records. One of the people who inspired my best work has a completely undistinguished publication history.
I would expect that, irrespective of age, people with greater experience are more likely to act as mentors.