Scientists at Major and Minor Universities: A Study of Productivity and Recognition

Abstract

Scientists at major schools are more likely to be productive and to win recognition than scientists at minor universities, which suggests that universities provide different environments for scientific research. Indices of productivity and recognition that differentiate between major and minor publications and major and minor honors were applied to the research careers of 150 scientists located at three universities of varying prestige. The best graduate schools select the best students, the best of whom are trained by top scientists and become the next generation's most productive scientists. Scientists trained and later hired by minor universities had difficulty developing continuity in their research activities and tended to be differently motivated than scientists trained and hired by major universities. In terms of his chances of obtaining recognition, a scientist gained more from affiliation with a major university than from high productivity or from his sponsor's prestige, probably because the major university provided better opportunities for contacts with eminent scientists in the same discipline.