Butlletí

A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

47

March 2010

EDITORIAL

The assessment of social humanistic research, an example of reflexion and discussion

This edition of AQU's Butlletí e-journal, which is devoted entirely to the Workshop on Research Assessment in the Humanities and Social Sciences, brings to a close what has been, at least for AQU Catalunya, one of the most significant examples of reflexion and discussion in the scientific and academic community in Catalonia, on an issue that has aroused great interest. The Workshop had a twofold objective: on the one hand, to reflect on the assessment of research in the Humanities and Social Sciences and, on the other, to identify proposals for promoting greater consensus on the assessment and evaluation of such research.

AQU NEWS

• Launch of the AQU Digital library16.02.2010
• Study of the profile of candidates for non-civil servant tenured teaching positions in the Humanities and Social Sciences12.02.2010
• AQU Catalunya, member of the European Consortium for Accreditation in Higher Education10.02.2010
• Workshop on research assessment in the Humanities and Social Sciences in Catalan universities 27.01.2010
• Applications for the 2010 call for the AUDIT programme now being accepted25.01.2010
• Results of the 2009 call for the assessment of research work by public service university teaching and research staff 08.01.2010

ARTICLES

• The assessment of humanistic social knowledge
  The aim of this paper is to provide a framework and context for the process of reflexion during the AQU Workshops on research assessment procedures in the field of humanistic social knowledge. As to putting forward a catalogue of plausible evaluation criteria or sets of standards whereby consensus can be reached over the assessment of humanistic social research, the function of this framework should in any case derive from or be a conclusion of the series of papers being presented, together with the discussions that will take place in the workshops.
  Joan Manuel del Pozo Álvarez - Prodessor, Department of Filosophy, University of Girona
• Research assessment in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  The more than three hundred participants in the Workshop were organised into workgroups (Group 1: Philosophy, History, Art, Anthropology and Geography, Group 2: Philology, Translation and Interpreting; Group 3: Education; Group 4: Economics and Business Studies, Political Science and Sociology; Group 5: Psychology; Group 6: Law; and Group 7: Library Science, Documentation and Communication), each one of which reached conclusions on how to enhance the assessment of research within their respective fields of knowledge. These conclusions can be consulted on the AQU Catalunya website. The most significant generic contributions, which were shared by the majority of the workgroups, are set out in this final document, the intention of which is to be the basis of reasoning for proposing the necessary changes regarding approaches to assessment, the assessment model and its implementation.
  AQU Catalunya

OPINION

• Assessment and the Humanities
  

  Joan Solà Cortassa
  Professor, Department of Catalan Studies, University of Barcelona

  Those of us who spend our lives with lecturers and researchers know how difficult it is to assess each other's work, especially when there is more than one person after just one post. Aside from the decision not always being clearly established, it also involves a lot of time. A large number of people involved in this work are needed, in addition to well established criteria to avoid any arbitrariness.

• Send us your opinion!
  

  Would you like to share your opinions with the readers of elButlletí regarding issues associated with quality in the sphere of the universities and institutions of higher education?

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