Claire M

I would assume that value is determined by a number of factors including the prestige of the author(s), prestige of the university/institution associated with the author(s), amount of money it cost to produce, the prestige of the journal/publisher as well as the content of the work itself. If the work is some kind of breakthrough it is going to be more valuable than work that merely reinforces what the field already knows. This suggests that mediocre work by prestigious authors may be considered more valuable than brilliant work by less prestigious authors.