Summary

Researchers in the USA have made an attempt to evaluate the quality of investigations. They have found that the state has a decisive role in financing scientific investigations. However, it was difficult for them to make an evaluation of the quality of scientific investigations. Its quality does not result unequivocally from the number of Nobel prizes, the principles of laissez-faire or the quotation index.
The US researchers have noticed the phenomenon of ageing of academic investigators and that research efficiency is not connected with the age of investigators. The quality of research is not only determined by the amount of financial sponsoring.