Dear all,
There is a European attempt to produces 'lists of good research
journals' too. It's called ERIH (European Reference Index for the
Humanities). http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i07/07a01001.htm points to
some of the current discussion points.
There are some design journals in the initial ERIH humanities list:
http://www.esf.org/research-areas/humanities/research-infrastructures-including-erih/erih-initial-lists.html
in the group 'Art, Architectural and design history', but many
journals seem to be not mentioned.
On the 'ERIH timeline' page, they state:
"Some fields of Humanities research have not yet been covered (such
as media studies and ethics). Consideration will be given to this
issue."
It would be very useful if the Australian ERA-efforts will be made
available to the European Science foundation (ESF). Double work?
The ESF mentions on the same timeline page:
"However, as they stand, the lists are not a bibliometric tool.
Therefore ERIH does not encourage using the lists as the only basis
for assessment of individual candidates for positions or promotions
or of applicants for research grants."
The words 'as they stand' and 'only' worry me. I guess that in
academic practice, these will be considered. [The good thing of so
many different lists and rankings of academic journals is that there
is always one that suits a particular situation ...]
The last sentence of the ERIH timeline page makes me laugh:
"In the long run, the lists will be a useful reference tool for
scholars when considering where to submit research articles, as they
give some insight into likely audiences."
This statement implies that 'scholars' need 'a useful reference' when
they 'consider to submit research articles'. I don't want to be
pedantic, but I find this paternalistic and arrogant. I thought that
scholars are aware of the journals in their field? [Is it possible to
give the name of a single scholar who needs this useful list because
he/she does not know where to submit an article?]
It's easy to criticize, but what would a 'useful reference' really look like?
I would like to be able to submit the keywords of an article to a
website which is based on database that contains scholarly journals.
If this website/database works properly, it would return the journals
that are most suitable for this article (preferably with the contact
details/weblink to the journal/editor). It would also indicate which
ranks these journals have in which ranking system ...
An incomplete pdf-file with a dodgy ranking does not really help me,
but please prove me wrong and tell me how I could see this as a
'useful reference'?
Kind regards,
Karel.
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