I'm also a grad student. We do know what good research looks like, that's not the problem, at least not directly. We're both told "go do good research" and the

I'm also a grad student. We do know what good research looks like, that's not the problem, at least not directly. We're both told "go do good research" and then we go and each write one paper. The government then says "okay this is fine, but next year, I can only fund one of you, so, now whoever brings me the most papers next year will keep their job, and the other will hit the bricks." This is where the problem starts.