How can institutional policies on tenure and promotion contribute to reproducibility problems?

Institutional policies on tenure and promotion can significantly influence research practices within an academic environment. When such policies prioritize the quantity of publications over the quality of research, they can create an environment where researchers are pressured to produce a high number of articles, often leading to low-quality outputs. This focus on quantity can have detrimental effects on reproducibility; researchers may cut corners to complete studies more quickly or choose less rigorous methodologies to meet publication targets. Consequently, the findings from these studies may not be robust or reliable, resulting in difficulties when other scientists attempt to reproduce the results. Thus, the institutional emphasis on quantity directly contributes to problems with reproducibility in research.