I would tend to agree with the majority of previous commentators that
(a) it is always necessary to state precisely what is and is not
peer-reviewed, whether or not non-peer-reviewed content is allowed in a
particular repository or departmental collection; (b) that negotiations
between repository/library and department will differ in each case, but
that the latter will usually need to have the last say because the
collection's whole purpose is to serve the subject area about which they
are the experts; (c) the repository (in many cases the library) will
need to come to its own policy decision based on internal negotiations
and policy requirements within that particular university. This is based
on my own first-hand experience as a repository manager in the past.
That said, it seems unwise to make generalisations for all institutions
as to whether they should keep non-peer-reviewed materials or not. Their
purposes in having repositories may differ. Different departments will
differ in their views. The policy-making structure of universities is
highly variable. But it is inevitable true that peer-reviewed materials
will continue to hold the prestige they have hitherto enjoyed, purely
because of that status, and in order to preserve it, the peer-review
status (like any other metadata) should be accurately reported, at the
very least. The issue of grey literature is a separate one and we must
be prepared for different repositories to take different decisions about
whether and where it will be made available online. This is part of the
wider OA debate about content other than scholarly works and the locus
of deposit for that content, upon which opinions differ substantially.
The historical examples cited make it apparent that not all valuable
intellectual output has been peer-reviewed. However, the locus for that
content is clearly at issue. Does a particular repository exist to serve
the mainstream OA agenda or not? Some, such as learning materials
repositories, do not. Are we then in a position to legislate for the
others, that may seek to work in the interests of OA in a way that we
might disagree with but in any case cannot control?
Talat Chaudhri
FrederickFriend wrote:
> The JISC Scholarly Communication Group recently commissioned a Report
> from Key Perspectives Ltd on access for SME staff to grey literature.
> One of the conclusions in this Report is that "the visibility of
> university-produced grey literature is very poor" (the full Report
> will be available before long on the JISC web-site). Please do not
> interpret this message as JISC policy, but it strikes me that the
> inclusion in repositories of reports and working papers which have
> received some academic endorsement without being peer-reviewed in the
> conventional sense would help SMEs. This type of content could be of
> value in reviving all of our national economies. What is important is
> that the metadata attached to each repository item should include a
> quality-control indicator, e.g. fully peer-reviewed, external
> validation without peer review, internal validation etc.
>
> Fred Friend
> JISC Scholarly Communication Consultant
> Honorary Director Scholarly Communication UCL
> Land-line +44 1494 563168
> Mobile +44 7747 627738
--
Dr Talat Chaudhri
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