How scientific research changes the Vietnamese higher education landscape: Evidence from social sciences and humanities between 2008 and 2019

Introduction

In order to provide high-quality output, universities need to maintain their available inputs, including physical resources such as buildings, laboratories, and non-physical resources such as the research capacity of researchers. The performance of an organization can be assessed based on how it maintains and combines these resources (Wright & Snell, 1998). Although there have been many studies on research productivity at the national and institutional level, the question of individual faculty's research capacity internationally still needs to be investigated. In addition, the relationship between the research capacity of university lecturers and students’ achievement has been questioned. Currently, the task of improving research capacity for lecturers is still not an attractive investment option for universities, especially in developing countries where universities often put more importance on the teaching function of faculty members (Pham & Hayden, 2019; Salmi & Pham, 2019; Tran & Nghia, 2020). Around the world, organizations, and scientific circles in Asia, Africa, and even Europe still face obstacles in their scientific publication process (Flowerdew, 1999). The difficulties for researchers in Asia and Africa could be boiled down to technical issues such as language barriers, budget, and access to scientific journals; but also a lack of research skills in certain cases (Pho & Tran, 2016), while researchers in Western countries face problems in the thorough understanding and preparation of scientific publishing, ineffective criticism and the need for additional scientific research (Lyytinen et al., 2007). Lyytinen et al. (2007) have listed the most prominent barriers to research institutions in Europe as the following: language and writing skills; preparation of PhD-level human resources; organizational orientation on research; and financial resources. The competence of an organization depends largely on the sum of its individual members’ capacity for research; therefore, even the most prestigious organizations must devote themselves to the development and maintenance of personal research productivity, or at least remove barriers for their researchers.

In STEM fields, most barriers concern deficiencies in the infrastructure, e.g., laboratories and facilities (Manjunath & Shashidahra, 2011; Peppas & Harland, 1989), while social science researchers are more concerned with access to data, and research materials (Alzahrani, 2011; Mdemu et al., 2017). Considering the whole process of scientific research, university lecturers face many problems regardless of their disciplines. In particular, the lack of access to scientific resources is the most common obstacle (Canagarajah, 2002; Flowerdew, 1999), and has been described as the root of the difficulty of research problems (Duszak & Lewkowicz, 2008). During the research period, the most common difficulty is budget, language skills, and research skills (Brooks et al., 2005). Language skills, especially English proficiency, can also be considered as one of the common challenges for non-English-speaking researchers (Flowerdew, 1999). However, this obstacle is not only in the implementation stage but also extends to the publishing stage, when the researcher must work with the editorial board and reviewers to defend their arguments. The issue of ‘linguistic inequality’ must be addressed due to the high rate of rejection when submitting published articles and the dominance of English in science publishing (Clavero, 2010).

In Vietnam, there have been many programs to promote research and international publication in recent years, which are encouraged and supported at various levels, from nationwide government-initiated policies to directives within schools and institutes. Scientific publication count has become a significant criterion to assess the research capacity of university lecturers. However, most research is commonly conducted in separate specialized research institutes in Vietnam (Pham & Hayden, 2019). In Asia, according to the QS Asia University Rankings 2019, there are only two higher education institutions (in top 250): Vietnam National University in Hanoi (ranking, 124), and Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City (ranking, 144). From rankings 250–500, there are five more universities: Hanoi University of Science and Technology (ranking, 261–270), Ton Duc Thang University (ranking, 291–300), Can Tho University (ranking, 351–400) and Hue University, University of Da Nang (ranking, 451–500). For research papers per faculty indicator, only Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City are included in the ranking, respectively, 5.1 and 2.3 research papers per faculty.

Regarding the international research network indicator, excluding Hue University and the University of Da Nang, the remaining universities are ranked as follows: Vietnam National University in Hanoi (104), reaching 74.2, with the lowest being Can Tho University (270), which reached 34. In particular, Ton Duc Thang University is the only university in Vietnam rated by the 4-star/5-star QS Stars University Rating, demonstrating the high level of international appeal, the quality of teaching, the level of research, and the learning environment. According to QS World University Rankings 2019, Vietnamese universities were rather modest in terms of rankings: the two national universities in Ho Chi Minh City were in the 701-750 group, whereas those in Hanoi were in the 801-1000 group.

According to the THE World University Rankings in 2020, for the first time, Vietnam has three universities that made this prestigious world ranking, including Hanoi University of Science and Technology (801–1000), Vietnam National University in Hanoi (801–1000) and Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City (1001+). Among these, it can be seen that the highest research rate (volume, income, and reputation) belongs to Vietnam National University in Hanoi (9.1), and the highest citations rate (research influence) belongs to Hanoi University of Science and Technology (42.3). These recent statistics suggest a great effort from Vietnamese universities to expand their influence internationally. The effectiveness of scientific investment is a central theme in the implementation of science-education projects for all policy, governance, and funding organizations (Vuong, 2018). However, in terms of research index, Vietnamese universities lagged behind other universities in the world, which is entirely not surprising as the criteria used in rankings – such as facilities, staff capacity, and research quality – remained weaknesses in Vietnamese universities (Hayden & Thiep, 2010). While Vietnam's research output has grown by about 17-20% a year (Manh, 2015; Nguyen, et al., 2017) in recent years, the country is not yet on par with leading research countries in the ASEAN region, such as Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia (Tuan & Ly, 2011). Moreover, the above figures cover all scientific fields in Vietnam, which are dominated by the natural sciences, which has published internationally earlier than social sciences and humanities (SSH).

This study aims to take a look at the SSH in Vietnam, a young field of research in terms of international scientific publications. By analyzing the overall trend in scientific practice in Vietnamese universities, the study discusses solutions to improve the efficiency of publications in SSH of Vietnamese universities in the context of the industrial revolution 4.0.

Methods

Results

As of January 10, 2020, only 3138 scientific publications by 2002 Vietnamese authors were recorded in the SSHPA database. This means that the total scientific productivity of Vietnamese authors in SSH over the last 11 years is rather low compared to overall domestic research, which is around 26000 articles (Adams, et al., 2019).

The total annual output of SSH research by publications between 2008 and 2019 is shown in Figure 1. Initially, the growth rate is quite steady; then, from 2016, there is a marked boost in annual published output; from 2014 to 2018, the total output was nearly double compared to the previous six years. In 2019, the number jumped to 598, surpassing 2018 by 136 articles.

Figure 1. Total publication output of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities researchers between 2008 and 2019.

Data as of January 10, 2020, according to sshpa.com.

Based on the 2018 JIF, a large proportion of Vietnam's international publications appear in journals with JIF < 2.5 (Figure 2). However, journals with JIF 3-5 also show a high number of publications from Vietnam. When the JIF is >5, the number of Vietnamese publications significantly decreases.

Figure 2. The overall distribution of Vietnam's scientific publications in ISI journals with a journal impact factor in 2018.

Data from Clarivate Analytics, Journal Citation Reports.

Table 1 below lists the institutions in Vietnam that have published in journals with JIF ≥5 in 2018. In general, most national universities and institutions with strong research capacity have been able to produce publications in high JIF journals. However, high JIF publications are rare in Vietnam, with only 13 out of the total 462 articles in 2018 that are in journals with a JIF of above 5. Notably, Vietnam National University Hanoi and Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh, which are among the most prestigious universities in the country, have publications in high impact journals. Similarly, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences also has articles in high impact journals.

In this era of globalization, Vietnamese universities are at the forefront of educational reforms through their research and scientific contribution. Currently, several universities, such as Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Duy Tan University, Ton Duc Thang University, and Phenikaa University, have an accelerating research output (See Table 1; Lich, 2019).

Even though productivity is showing signs of progress in terms of publication count, the ratio of Vietnamese authors to published articles remains low (all under 1) (see Figure 3). The year 2019 is currently the highest, with almost 0.8 Vietnamese authors per article.

Figure 3. The ratio of a Vietnamese author in a social sciences and humanities research article from Vietnam from 2008 to 2018.

During the entire ten years, from 2008 to 2018, the number of female authors in total participating in research and publication in the field remains smaller than the number of male authors (Figure 4).

Figure 4. The total number of Vietnamese authors with international scientific publications stratified by gender for the period 2008–2019.

Data as of December 14, 2019, according to sshpa.com.

However, different developments could be observed when considering only new authors – defined as those who had their article published for the first time in the concerned year. In this case, the number of new female authors has increased steadily from 2008 to 2019, surpassing that of male authors from 2018 (Figure 5).

Figure 5. The number of new Vietnamese authors with international scientific publications stratified by gender for the period 2008–2019.

Data as of December 14, 2019, according to sshpa.com.

Discussion

The process of international cooperation in scientific research via co-authoring has seen a significant change over the last ten years (2008 to 2018) in Vietnam. In the context of integration and development, collaboration with fellow researchers abroad offers Vietnamese researchers an opportunity to experience international standards. Furthermore, given that universities and institutes in Vietnam are reorienting themselves towards research activities, it is inevitable that international publishing standards would soon take on an important role in evaluating academic results and scientific productivity. As such, international criteria for granting tenure tracks or appointing individuals into managerial positions should be implemented in Vietnamese universities. National policies have started to consider international standards when outlining the recruitment and appointment of university positions. Recent regulations on standards of scientific publication for doctoral candidates, doctoral instructors and professorship candidates may be referenced. Using international publishing as a criterion and guideline for standards of quality, domestic universities should also not neglect to develop internal strength, to ensure and promote productivity and efficiency requirements of scientific investment (Vuong, 2018).

Another change in the Vietnamese academic landscape, more specifically in the field of SSH, relates to gender equality. Recently, the subject of gender equality has gained much attention in Vietnam, especially as women continued to confirm their role in the workforce with the development of information and communication. Despite this, Vietnamese society still has certain conceptions about gender related to the division of labor, leading to career prejudices against women: namely, preventing women from entering jobs considered “strenuous,” and encouraging them to take up more people-centered jobs, such as those in healthcare or education (UNESCO & KWDI, 2013). Due to this stereotype and the crowd effect, young women often face more hesitation in choosing to follow the research path. The fact that men outweighed women in sheer accumulated numbers – in researchers as well as in publication point – is a manifestation of this phenomenon. A shortage of female scientists is a shortage of scientists in general; hence, creating a supportive environment to encourage women lecturers and scientists to have more opportunities in research would have the effect of improving the general scientific output in the country. As it has already been shown, the number of new female scientists had started to surpass that of new male scientists since 2018, suggesting Vietnamese women were ready to integrate into the academic environment and the publishing worlds. Overall, policies on wage transparency and on ensuring fairness in the voting and reviewing process for appointing titles and managerial roles will play an important role in achieving gender equality. It is also highly important to encourage female authors to participate in the editing process, comment on textbooks and curriculum, as well as raising teacher awareness about STEM and gender sensitization. The presentation of gender roles in the content of textbooks and learning materials must be done carefully, avoiding the over-focus on women's preferences and perspectives as it will increase gender prejudice that already exists (Fousyia & Musthafa, 2016). At the same time, while showing off the image of female students studying at STEM majors is essential to inspire students, designing these contents should also be prudent to avoid impression confusing and overwhelming STEM subjects with students (Rosenzweig & Wigfield, 2016). The UNESCO report also points out the impact of testing on students' STEM performance by gender. While boys are more likely to do well on standardized and multiple-choice tests (which may be due to a higher risk of inclusion), girls are more likely to favor essay and project writing because of language inclination and collaborative connectivity (Eurydice, 2010). In particular, the attitude of teachers might be gender-based and could affect female students, making the test results of this group lower while the male students hardly suffer the same effects (Beilock, et al., 2010).

Conclusion

Encouraging scientific research and improving productivity in terms of publication count, more specifically international publications, are urgent requirements to improve the performance of Vietnamese universities, especially in SSH. Additionally, promoting international integration through cross-border scientific collaboration could greatly improve the nation’s technology, as well as fostering a solid foundation for the development of Vietnam's education system. In terms of economic development, while the facilities of Vietnamese universities have been improved in the past years, the quality of human resources and research capacity remained in the development stage. Overall, scientific investment in Vietnam is often seen as wasteful in the public eyes because there is a lack of quality control, and lengthy transition from theory to practical application. The situation of scientific publication in Vietnam is particularly modest when it comes to SSH: not only is the number of SSH faculties actively doing research still limited, contributions are also concentrated on a small number of researchers. In the context of globalization and development, enhancing international cooperation is a specific direction that Vietnamese researchers would greatly benefit from, in order to adapt to international standards. However, domestic universities should not neglect internal improvement to ensure and promote quality and efficiency (Vuong, 2019b). Likewise, improving the quality of not only research practice but also editing and publishing is crucial to the development of Vietnamese science (Vuong, 2019b).

On the other hand, the issues of economic development, application of scientific findings, and improvement of life quality are still being questioned. Research in SSH are meant to first and foremost contribute to the fundamental understanding of one’s society – in this case, the knowledge of Vietnamese individuals about Vietnam. The process of knowledge creation, of research, also improves the professional competence of each teacher, contributing to the sustainable development of future generations. Finally, scientific research contributes directly to fostering trust in academia as well as in the education system. Research activities thus create a reasonable ecosystem to support teaching, where teachers are regularly updated with new research results, and new methods that are produced daily. The new knowledge will help teachers tailor the curriculum so students have constant access to important sources of knowledge. Besides, postgraduate education, especially programs geared towards doctoral training, also requires a student to have an in-depth understanding of scientific activities, as well as also a willingness to work hard and to emerge, themselves, in the world of academics (Vuong, 2019a). Those requirements are substantiated by publications, which in turn play an important role in creating a reputation for a university, thereby attracting students and investment. For instance, if considered separately in the context of American universities, the top 115 universities have the highest research productivity (Labaree, 2018). The quality of research is a reliable factor with the strict standards of peer review, editorial and indexing of ISI Web of Science or Scopus journals. Hence, the reputation of science-based universities is a prerequisite for forming long-term relationships with scientific investment funds. To add to it, scientific publishing entails an arduous process, even after the manuscript has been drafted, as peer-reviewing, editing and printing could take up to a year – all of which required patience and perseverance. From a perhaps more philosophical perspective, academic productivity could be considered a measure of how researchers are pushing their limits as well as the boundary of knowledge of humanity.

Data availability