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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Via baalmail.<BR>
<BR>
-------- Original Message --------<BR>
Subject: Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social<BR>
sciences<BR>
Date: Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:27:23 +0100<BR>
From: British Academy <britishacademy@email.britac.ac.uk><BR>
Reply-To: British Academy <britishacademy@email.britac.ac.uk><BR>
To: admin@baal.org.uk <BR>
<BR>
**<BR>
<BR>
/Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social sciences/ - a<BR>
British Academy report<BR>
<BR>
On 5 September, the latest British Academy report/, Peer Review: the<BR>
challenges for the humanities and social sciences<BR>
<<A HREF="http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365071">http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365071</A>>/<BR>
will be launched at an event attended by leading representatives from<BR>
national institutions and the research community.<BR>
<BR>
Those who judge research into humanities and social sciences are under<BR>
increasing pressure to assess its quality whilst receiving little, if<BR>
any, incentive to do so, says the Academy report which calls for a<BR>
series of changes by those responsible for research policy.<BR>
<BR>
The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social<BR>
sciences, produced the report in response to concerns about the peer<BR>
review process. Peer review is a means of Â'quality controlÂ' whereby<BR>
scholarly manuscripts and applications for funding are independently<BR>
scrutinised by experts in that field. The process has been showing signs<BR>
of strain in recent years. It is hard for experts to keep pace with<BR>
changes in academia due to the expansion of print and electronic<BR>
journals and a growth in research specialisation. The practice and role<BR>
of peer review is poorly understood in some fields, exacerbated by the<BR>
diversity that humanities and social sciences cover, ranging from<BR>
archaeology to music to psychology. Training, therefore, is imperative,<BR>
says the Academy.<BR>
<BR>
Professor Albert Weale who chaired the Working Group that produced the<BR>
report said, Â"It is hard to believe that although peer review is always<BR>
spoken of as being the very foundation to academic quality that there is<BR>
virtually no training available.Â"<BR>
<BR>
Research is conducted in many different ways, according to the topic and<BR>
may result, for example, in a monograph in a learned journal following<BR>
several yearsÂ' study or a book offering an alternative world view. One<BR>
size peer review, therefore, cannot fit all.<BR>
<BR>
Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy Director of the Nuffield Foundation welcomes<BR>
the publication of this Â"thoughtful reportÂ" by the British Academy. Â"It<BR>
reaffirms the importance of peer review in the social sciences and<BR>
humanities while recognising that it may operate somewhat differently in<BR>
these disciplines than in the natural and physical sciences. It<BR>
challenges funding organisations to improve the rigour and<BR>
tough-mindedness of the research we fund,Â" she said.<BR>
<BR>
To address the main concerns, the Academy is recommending that<BR>
postgraduates and junior postdoctoral researchers receive formal<BR>
training in how to become a competent reviewer and the expectations of<BR>
that role in academic life. The importance of peer review, although<BR>
time-consuming and costly, should be encouraged by institutions,<BR>
supported by them in resource allocation and recognised as an integral<BR>
part of the academic profession. It advances humanities and social<BR>
sciences by facilitating high quality research and publication.<BR>
<BR>
The Academy also recommends that care should be taken to ensure that<BR>
metrics, that is, measures of academic performance, reflect the<BR>
distinctive nature of humanities and social sciences research and are<BR>
not based on existing forms of citation measures.<BR>
<BR>
Â"We have an enormous resource of talent and intellect in the UK and we<BR>
should be taking advantage of it through the peer review process,Â" said<BR>
Professor Weale. Â"Universities benefit by the recruitment of expertise<BR>
from overseas adding to the rich diversity of humanities and social<BR>
sciences. All the more reason why people should be trained to recognise<BR>
good research and rewarded accordingly,Â" he concluded.<BR>
<BR>
*Notes *<BR>
<BR>
1. /Peer Review: the challenges for the humanities and social sciences/<BR>
, is available from the Academy's website<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports/peer-review/index.html">http://www.britac.ac.uk/reports/peer-review/index.html</A><BR>
<<A HREF="http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365072">http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365072</A>>.<BR>
Printed copies are available from Jo Blore: j.blore@britac.ac.uk<BR>
<<A HREF="mailto:j.blore@britac.ac.uk">mailto:j.blore@britac.ac.uk</A>> 020 7969 5225. If you have any comments or<BR>
queries regarding the report please contact Vivienne Hurley:<BR>
v.hurley@britac.ac.uk <<A HREF="mailto:v.hurley@britac.ac.uk">mailto:v.hurley@britac.ac.uk</A>> 020 7969 5268.<BR>
<BR>
2. Members of the Working Group that produced the report are:<BR>
<BR>
* Chair: Professor Albert Weale, FBA, University of Essex<BR>
* Professor Robert Bennett, FBA, University of Cambridge<BR>
* Professor Kenneth Binmore, FBA, University College London<BR>
* Professor Marianne Elliot, FBA, University of Liverpool<BR>
* Professor Howard Glennerster, FBA, London School of Economics<BR>
* Professor Marian Hobson, FBA, Queen Mary University of London<BR>
* Professor Nicholas Jardine, FBA, University of Cambridge<BR>
<BR>
3. The speakers at the launch event will be: Baroness OÂ'Neill,President<BR>
of the British Academy; Professor Albert Weale, Chair of the Review<BR>
Working Group; Professor Philip Esler, Chief Executive, Arts and<BR>
Humanities Research Council (AHRC); Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy Director,<BR>
Nuffield Foundation; and Professor Fiona Devine, University of Manchester.<BR>
<BR>
4. The British Academy is the National Academy for the Humanities and<BR>
Social Sciences.<BR>
<BR>
5. Established by Royal Charter in 1902, the British Academy is an<BR>
independent learned society promoting the humanities and social<BR>
sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition of their<BR>
distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences. Further<BR>
details about the British Academy may be found at:<BR>
<A HREF="http://www.britac.ac.uk">http://www.britac.ac.uk</A><BR>
<<A HREF="http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365073">http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365073</A>><BR>
<BR>
*The British Academy<BR>
10 Carlton House<BR>
London SW1Y 5AH *<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
*Tel: 020 7969 5200<BR>
Fax: 020 7969 5300<BR>
Web: www.britac.ac.uk<BR>
<<A HREF="http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365074">http://email.britac.ac.uk/_act/link.php?mId=A828288668612685141686&tId=1365074</A>>*<BR>
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