Hammarfelt - Research Assessment and Evolving Ideas of Output and Impact in the Humanities.pptx (7.16 MB)
Research Assessment and Evolving Ideas of Output and Impact in the Humanities
presentation
posted on 2017-06-13, 16:06 authored by Symposium on Information and technology in the arts and humanitiesSymposium on Information and technology in the arts and humanities, Hammarfelt, BjörnThe humanities have often been
portrayed as the ‘other’ which does not fit into the ‘bibliometric universe’.
Diverse publication patterns, the dependence on local languages and contexts,
as well as specific referencing practices are distinctive features, which have
rendered traditional citation analysis less applicable in these fields. The
difficulty of using bibliometric measures to evaluate research has resulted in
attempts of creating alternative systems of evaluation, which try to take the
characteristics and the heterogeneity of research into account. Still, many
scholars in the humanities and the social sciences remain sceptical towards
bibliometric indicators. Recently a new set of methods for the measurement of
research impact has emerged using alternative indicators such as social media
mentions or usage statistics. In this talk I will discuss the potential that
these measures have for capturing research performance in the humanities. The
consequences of further quantification, both for knowledge production and
academic culture, will also be emphasized.