Accountability in context: effects of research evaluation systems on publication practices, disciplinary norms, and individual working routines in the faculty of Arts at Uppsala University

Given the increased role of bibliometric measures in research evaluation, it is striking that studiesof actual changes in research practice are rare. Most studies and comments on ‘a metric culture’in academia focus on the ideological and political level, and there is a clear shortage of empiricalstu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inResearch evaluation Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 63 - 77
Main Authors Hammarfelt, B., de Rijcke, S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.01.2015
Subjects
Bibliometrics
Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
Humanities
Library and Information Science
Mixed-methods
Publication Patterns
Research Evaluation
Research Practices
Sweden
research evaluation
bibliometrics
humanities
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Given the increased role of bibliometric measures in research evaluation, it is striking that studiesof actual changes in research practice are rare. Most studies and comments on ‘a metric culture’in academia focus on the ideological and political level, and there is a clear shortage of empiricalstudies that analyze how researchers handle demands for accountability in context. In adopting amixed-methods approach involving both bibliometric data and answers form questionnaires, weprovide an in-depth study of how researchers at the faculty of Arts at Uppsala University (Sweden)respond to the implementation of performance-based research evaluation systems. Publicationpatterns from 2006 to 2013 show that journal publications, especially English-language ones, areincreasing, and the proportion of peer-reviewed publications has doubled. These changes are inline with the incentives of the evaluation systems under study. Answers to the survey confirm thatscholars are conscious about this development, and several respondents articulate a disagreementbetween disciplinary norms and external demands. However, disciplinary background aswell as career stage or academic age appears to have a significant influence on how individualresearchers react to the instigation of evaluation systems. Finally, responses to national andlocal evaluation regimes are complex, localized, and dependent on many factors. In-depthcontextualized studies of research practices are needed in order to understand how
ISSN:0958-2029
1471-5449
1471-5449
DOI:10.1093/reseval/rvu029