Academic incentives and the obligation to revise research

Commercial academic journals can charge high prices while relying on unpaid authors and reviewers, although the practices of individual publishers vary. The criticism is that making publication central to career advancement can weaken the independence that tenure is meant to protect. That independence includes the ability to reach unpopular conclusions without treating those conclusions as infallible. A doctorate establishes a level of research training rather than a guarantee of being right. When new information overturns an answer, the researcher is expected to acknowledge it and publish revised work.