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For anyone who was interested in our 'Politics of Publishing' issue
of Anthropology Matters Journal...
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: British Academy [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 05 September 2007 14:26
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social
> sciences
>
>
>
> Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social sciences
> - a British Academy report
>
> On 5 September, the latest British Academy report, Peer Review: the
> challenges for the humanities and social sciences will be launched
> at an event attended by leading representatives from national
> institutions and the research community.
>
> Those who judge research into humanities and social sciences are
> under increasing pressure to assess its quality whilst receiving
> little, if any, incentive to do so, says the Academy report which
> calls for a series of changes by those responsible for research
> policy.
>
> The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and
> social sciences, produced the report in response to concerns about
> the peer review process. Peer review is a means of ‘quality
> control’ whereby scholarly manuscripts and applications for funding
> are independently scrutinised by experts in that field. The process
> has been showing signs of strain in recent years. It is hard for
> experts to keep pace with changes in academia due to the expansion
> of print and electronic journals and a growth in research
> specialisation. The practice and role of peer review is poorly
> understood in some fields, exacerbated by the diversity that
> humanities and social sciences cover, ranging from archaeology to
> music to psychology. Training, therefore, is imperative, says the
> Academy.
>
> Professor Albert Weale who chaired the Working Group that produced
> the report said, “It is hard to believe that although peer review
> is always spoken of as being the very foundation to academic
> quality that there is virtually no training available.”
>
> Research is conducted in many different ways, according to the
> topic and may result, for example, in a monograph in a learned
> journal following several years’ study or a book
> offering an alternative world view. One size peer review,
> therefore, cannot fit all.
>
> Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy Director of the Nuffield Foundation
> welcomes the publication of this “thoughtful report” by the British
> Academy. “It reaffirms the importance of peer
> review in the social sciences and humanities while recognising that
> it may operate somewhat differently in these disciplines than in
> the natural and physical sciences. It challenges funding
> organisations to improve the rigour and tough-mindedness of the
> research we fund,” she said.
> To address the main concerns, the Academy is recommending that
> postgraduates and junior postdoctoral researchers receive formal
> training in how to become a competent reviewer and the expectations
> of that role in academic life. The importance of peer review,
> although time-consuming and costly, should be encouraged by
> institutions, supported by them in resource allocation and
> recognised as an integral part of the academic profession. It
> advances humanities and social sciences by facilitating high
> quality research and publication.
>
> The Academy also recommends that care should be taken to ensure
> that metrics, that is, measures of academic performance, reflect
> the distinctive nature of humanities and social sciences research
> and are not based on existing forms of citatio! n measures.
>
> “We have an enormous resource of talent and intellect in the UK and
> we should be taking advantage of it through the peer review
> process,” said Professor Weale. “Universities benefit by the
> recruitment of expertise from overseas adding to the rich diversity
> of humanities and social sciences. All the more reason why people
> should be trained to recognise good research and rewarded
> accordingly,” he concluded.
>
> Notes
>
> 1. Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social
> sciences , is available from the Academy's website http://
> www.britac.ac.uk/reports/peer-review/index.html. Printed copies are
> available from Jo Blore: [log in to unmask] 020 7969 5225. If you
> have any comments or queries regarding the report please contact
> Vivienne Hurley: [log in to unmask] 020 7969 5268.
>
> 2. Members of the Working Group that produced the report are:
>
> Chair: Professor Albert Weale, FBA, University of Essex
> Professor Robert Bennett, FBA, University of Cambridge
> Professor Kenneth Binmore, FBA, University College London
> Professor Marianne Elliot, FBA, University of Liverpool
> Professor Howard Glennerster, FBA, London School of Economics
> Professor Marian Hobson, FBA, Queen Mary University of London
> Professor Nicholas Jardine, FBA, University of Cambridge
> 3. The speakers at the launch event will be: Baroness
> O’Neill,President of the British Academy; Professor Albert Weale,
> Chair of the Review Working Group; Professor
> Philip Esler, Chief Executive, Arts and
> Humanities Research Council (AHRC); Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy
> Director, Nuffield Foundation; and Professor Fiona Devine,
> University of Manchester.
>
> 4. The British Academy is the National Academy for the Humanities
> and Social Sciences.
>
> 5. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, the British Academy is an
> independent learned society promoting the humanities and social
> sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition of their
> distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
> Further details about the British Academy may be found at: http://
> www.britac.ac.uk
>
>
>
> The British Academy
> 10 Carlton House
> London SW1Y 5AH
>
> Tel: 020 7969 5200
> Fax: 020 7969 5300
> Web: www.britac.ac.uk
>
>
>
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