Are universities echo chambers wedded to H-indices over scholarly engagement?
published on 30.11.21
TBS Accounting, Control & Performance Management Lab is regularly hosting seminars with experts coming from around the world. Charles H. Cho, professor of accounting at Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada was the keynote speaker at this seminar for TBS Education researchers on November 26, 2021.
Accounting Research: Interdisciplinarity, Engagement and Impact
During this seminar, Charles H. Cho raised disrupting questions denouncing a tendency in many universities to prioritise H-indices over scholarly engagement. The H-index is quantifying the scientific productivity and impact of a scientist according to the level of citation of his/her publications. It can be used to mesure the scientific productivity of universities, department, researchers and even countries in a specific field.
For Charles H. Cho, there is a need to ensure that scholarly engagement remains the primary focus of researchers. He indicates that “because of the (dysfunctional) journal ranking system (created by academics), researchers tend to choose their topics without consultation from those “on the ground” and instead focus on topics that are most likely to be published in so-called “top” journals.”
Many academics avoid engagement with practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders, which undermines the relevance of scholarly research altogether.
Charles H. CHo
Charles H. Cho, a recognized researcher
Professor Cho holds a PhD in Business Administration (Accounting Track) from the University of Central Florida.
He has published his work in leading academic journals such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, the European Accounting Review, and the Journal of Business Ethics.
He was recently selected as one of the “Top 50 Academic and Research Support Project” from the Republic of Korea’s Prime Minister and Minister of Education. He received the Honorable Knight Award from the University of Central Florida’s Hall of Fame. He was recognized as the 34th most cited scolar in the world in the Accounting field for 2019.
The professor’s research interests include Social and Environmental Accounting; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); and Accounting and the Public Interest. On top of is role as professor of accounting, he is the Erivan K. Haub Chair in Business & Sustainability at the Schulich School of Business.