A Study on Research Performance Evaluation: A Systematic Literature Review

Under the background of globalization and the knowledge economy, scientific and technological innovation is of vital importance for enhancing a country's scientific and technological innovation capacity, strengthening its comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness. This article aims to comprehensively summarize the existing research on scientific research performance evaluation and explore the methods and influencing factors. For this purpose, this article adopts the PRISMA method to systematically review 76 articles on scientific research performance evaluation published from January 2014 to December 2024. The research finds that, first of all, the quantitative research method is the most often used approach, followed by the qualitative research method, while the mixed research method is the least frequently utilized. Second, research performance evaluation indicators are diversifying, with researchers no longer relying just on publications as a criterion. Instead, they are placing more emphasis on factors such as collaboration between research teams, international cooperation, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Third, the research performance is influenced by researcher’s academic proficiency, research interests, academic standing, work ethic, and career stage. Fourth, current academic circles tend to be result-oriented in research performance evaluation while neglecting the importance of process management and dynamic evaluation. This article comprehensively summarizes the research methods and their influencing factors in this field and provides insights for future research. Furthermore, this study also provides a reference for the scientific research achievements of research institutions to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.