Experts are pained by the academic bubble and the fact that rubbish theses are becoming a widespread phenomenon. According to a survey, 53.1% agree that the rigid rules regarding publishing master theses should be abolished.

Normally, thesis papers should be an important criterion to measure the quality of graduate students. Nowadays however, a strange phenomenon has begun to surface in which graduate students write theses just to get a number of papers published; some even paying journals to publish their papers so as to win scholarships or to graduate successfully.

Last Week, the China Youth Daily Social Survey Centre conducted a public opinion survey with 2147 participants. According to the survey, 68.3% of the respondents agreed that when comparing master thesis papers with those of the past, the present papers have a lower academic level. 16.4% of people answered that they do not agree with the statement, while 15.3% said they "can not say". Of the surveyed, 13.1% are currently graduate students, while 23.6% of the participants have already graduated.  　

Are Most Current Graduate Students Pseudo-Academics?
In this survey, the respondents decided that "the major problems with master theses" are as follows: 74.5% of those surveyed said that "Master theses have no utility; they're only important if they are published". "Ghostwriting, plagiarism and other serious fraud" is the biggest problem according to 72%. While 65.6% believe that "the phenomenon of paying money for thesis papers is a serious problem." 63.3% believe that the problem lies in "the decreasing value of thesis papers." 33.7% feel that the "lack of standardization in thesis papers" is the biggest issue. Finally, 0.1% answered that there was "no serious problem" with current thesis papers. 

Zhang Meng is a Shanghai Master Law student. According to him, his school requires that all Masters of Law students must publish a thesis paper during their time at school. Due to the overwhelming majority of thesis papers falling short of academic journal standards, many students are forced to use a "journal agent"; that is to say, paying money for the paper to be published in some of the less formal journals, which still meet school requirements. "These ‘journal agents' are basically part time students who often put up advertisements near the campus telephones, ATMs, or post them on the community bulletin boards. The usually ask for about 800 RMB for half a column."

In the survey, with regard to master students paying for their thesis papers to be published, 50.9% said they had "heard of that happening before." 37.7% answered they had "often heard of this happening or have personally encountered it." While 11.1% said "they have very seldom heard" of that happening. 0.3% said they had "never heard of it."

"In addition to the papers that require publishing, academic papers, term papers and other papers are required. Many people hold the attitude, "copy if you can, just muddle through." Zhang Meng places master students into three categories: first, there are the so-called "academic types" who choose "academia as a career"; the second groups' papers contain not only their ideas but other content as well, and are hence the so-called "pseudo academic type"; the third use a patchwork of many different papers to make one, and hence are called "mixed academic type." "Most graduate students fall into the second category," says Zhang.

Why the declining overall quality of master theses? Respondents to the survey replied with these reasons: 77.3% stated that "academic journals have become tools for profit, and have relaxed publishing standards." 68.3% of respondents answered that "Schools put more emphasis on volume of work than quality, resulting in students republishing low quality papers". 58.8% of those questioned said the "limited academic level of students" was the cause. Moreover, 44.1% answered that "a lack of guidance from teachers" was responsible. 32.6% felt that "the burden on students is too heavy; they can only cope with more simple papers."

The Root Cause Lies in the Current Academic Evaluation System
"The root cause of the declining quality in master theses is that the current academic evaluation system has serious shortcomings," 21st Century Education Research Institute Vice-President, Shanghai Jiaotong University Professor Xiong Bingqi pointed out. Assessment criteria for graduate students should be based on academic ability and academic accomplishments. Currently, however, it is based on the number of papers students have published and the number of papers published in quality journals. As a result, students do not have to submit their original papers for school review, and some instructors will not even look at the content of student papers. "Because of the lack of good quality theses evaluation and monitoring systems, many graduate students are now writing papers for the sake of publishing; plagiarism and buying thesis publications doesn't come as a surprise."

"In this twisted system of academic evaluation, this academic bubble and rubbish theses have become a common phenomenon," Xiong said. 　

In the survey, 65.3% of respondents believe that the quality of graduate students and academic level of scholarship should not only rely on theses. 53.1% of the respondents pointed out that since the system caused malpractice, the rigid rules regarding master students' mandatory paper publishing should be abolished.

Source: China Youth Daily

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