Description of the topic:At the outset of their academic careers, many young researchers face challenges in pursuing a further career in academia. Understanding the “rules of the game” of evaluation systems is frequently not easy, and even more so as the evaluation systems are changing at a national and international level; therefore, early career scholars rely on various external and internal sources of information, including but not limited to their PhD supervisor, as well as usual and unusual, institutionalized and less formal types of support in their career paths. Identifying good practices and principal challenges related to information exchanges and resources for young scholars is crucial in order to provide informed guidelines aimed at improving career support measures for early career investigators. Based on the data derived from 55 semi-stuctured interviews conducted with early career investigators from 16 European countries, this STSM will focus on the types of information and support that young scholars receive, and the extent to which they consider them useful, appropriate or stimulating for their academic careers. It will additionally investigate the perceived lack of information, support and resources that early career researchers may experience. The first step of this STSM will be to identify the most suitable methodology for classifying types of information channels and support related to evaluation and careers. The second step will be to analyse the dataset and discuss preliminary results. The third step of the STSM will be to prepare recommendations or guidelines concerning support for young scholars.

Objectives: This STSM will contribute to achieving the GAPG2 (to understand the impact of evaluation practices on ECI careers) and GAPG9 (to keep and intensify participation of researchers from ITC to research activities and conferences) foreseen in GP3. It will also act as a preparatory stage for the ultimate outcome desired from SIG ECI at the end of GP4, which is a set of general guidelines or recommendations for early career investigator support.

Special criteria for this STSM: the applicant should have knowledge of the different evaluation systems and situations as well as have experience of qualitative research methodology.

Results: The proposed STSM will provide guidelines for support for early career researchers, and will lead to the production of co-authored publications.

Practical details:

Working group: Special Interest Group for Early Career Investigators

Duration and timing: Duration and timing: between ten days and two weeks from 1^stof February and the 20^th of February 2019.

Location: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium.

Contact: Marc Vanholsbeeck (Marc.Vanholsbeeck@ulb.ac.be)

Description of the topic:Evaluation of research involves judgement of scholarly works, research proposals or of fellow scholars. Such an endeavour comes with ethical issues. While research on assessment procedures, especially indicators, is abundant, research on ethical issues and ethical guidelines for evaluating research or scholars is scarce. This STSMwill examine ethical aspects of research assessment, starting by analysing the ethical aspects of research. The project of which the STSM will be part consists of four steps: The first step concerns the analysis of the guidelines for the ethics of research that are available. In the second step, the different research evaluation situations are highlighted and analysed with regard to ethical issues: a) review of papers to accept /reject for publication in scientific journals or call for papers; b1) institutional evaluation by the Ministry of Education or by an institution itself, b2) national habilitation procedures; c) ex-ante evaluation in attribution of competitive research funding. The third step consists in examining the fundamental characteristics of subjective judgements, their limits and boundaries, such as what are the borders of the subjective opinion? Or: what are the characteristics of the personal opinion? In the fourth step, a survey of, or interviews with, scholars of some scientific fields are planned. The survey/interviews will focus on scholars’ perception and conceptions of ethical aspects in evaluation procedures. As a final result, we will offer new ethical guidelines for research assessment. The STSM will focus on the first two steps.

Objectives: The STSM aims to further the understanding knowledge production and dissemination in the SSH (Task 1 of WG1) from an ethical perspective; it will analyse assumptions underlying peer review (Task 2 of WG1); it will not only observe (national) regulations (Task 3 of WG1) but also propose new guidelines. It will add to the deliverable “recommendations for better adapted criteria and indicators” due in GP4. It will lead to collaborative publications and to guidelines for ethical behaviour for the evaluation of research.

Special criteria for this STSM: the applicant should have knowledge of the different evaluation situations as well as of the characteristics of peer-review and should have knowledge of the fundamentals of ethical behaviour.

Results: The proposed STSM will provide guidelines for ethical behaviour for the evaluation of research, and will produce co-authored publications.

Practical details:

Working group: WG1 (Conceptual frameworks for SSH research evaluation)

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 1 month from 1^stof February and the 28^thof February 2019.

Location: Sapienza Rome University, Faculty of “Lettere e Filosofia”, piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma – Italy.

Contact: Maria Teresa Biagetti (mariateresa.biagetti@uniroma1.it)

Description of the topic: This work examines the role of peer review in the improvement and validation of knowledge in the social sciences and humanities (SSH). It explores the conceptual basis of peer review in the STEM and exploresits transferal to the SSH. It argues that peer review of manuscripts, as a formalised (ritualised) process, evolved in a STEM paradigm to meet STEM priorities (during the cold-war expansion of research) and explores the extent to which those priorities are shared within SSH disciplines. We hence conceptualise peer review as an act of boundary-work found necessary to demarcate scientific knowledge, which required the historical formalisation of a reviewer function. Methodologically, we deploy a historical as well as a practice-oriented approach. We argue by way of historical reconstruction that the peer review process is an artefact, which developed on a STEM-model of how to do research and eventually became reified in SSH. Inspired by Knorr Cetina’s (1999) work on “epistemic cultures”, the article next goes on to spell out epistemological and practical differences between SSH and STEM in general terms. To conclude the theoretical part, we spell out conceptual and methodological differences between SSH and STEM to understand what counts as good research in various fields and how this figures into the peer review process. Through this exploration and questioning the nature of SSH in contrast to STEM, we question the suitability of a STEM-size-fits-all approach to scholarly peer review, in particular to the SSH. Re-constructing peer review as a social and historical artefact will thereby highlight ways in which peer review in SSH could and should differ when compared to that in other subjects.

Objectives: The STSM aims to further the understanding peer review practices in the SSH. It contributes directly to the analysis of quality representations and assumptions intervening in peer review processes (Task 2 of WG1) and in observing national (and international) regulations/recommendations/procedures for research evaluation in the SSH (Task 3 of WG1); It is an important and integral part of the deliverable “An overview of peer review practices,” due at the end of GP3.

Special criteria for this STSM: The applicant should have knowledge on peer-review practices and experiences in conducting systematic literature reviews.

Results:The proposed STSM will provide an overview of practices of peer review in the SSH and presents issues and open questions. Through this exploration and questioning the nature of SSH in contrast to STEM, we question the suitability of a STEM-size-fits-all approach to scholarly peer review, in particular to the SSH. Re-constructing peer review as a social and historical artefact will thereby highlight ways in which peer review in SSH could and should differ when compared to that in other subjects.

Practical details:

• Working group: WG1 (Conceptual frameworks for SSH research evaluation)
• Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 1 month from 1st to 28^thof February 2019
• Location: Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
• Contact: Gemma Derrick (derrick@lancaster.ac.uk)

CARES is a newly developed ENRESSH initiative focused on Early Career Investigators ( approx. <8 years from PhD completion) and how they deal with societal impact. The purpose of CARES is to develop fair and improved routes for developing societal impact during the first years of the scientific career of social sciences and humanities’ researchers.  In 2018, there has been a substantive data gathering exercise on how early career researchers respond to the challenges raised by impact in their career development, and the purpose of these STSMs is to advance our knowledge by analysing this data along one of more of the following themes:

• Hierarchies, disciplinary norms and power in academia: impact as emancipation or tension?
• Incentives for impact creation: formal and informal steering by evaluation systems
• The consequences of impact evaluation for ESIs’ motivations or identities
• The diversity of impact evaluation and academic careers: accounting for local context

Description of the topic:

The creation of societal impact from research activities is an increasingly important component of what is considered to be good science, and increasing emphasis is being placed in scientific training upon encouraging early career investigators to be more positively oriented towards impact generation.  But at the same time ECIs are subject to a wide range of pressures that may serve to undermine the value of impact to them as they develop their careers. This may come through a focus on very limited kinds of impacts such as creation of spin-off companies or patents, institutional or systemic progression mechanisms in which impact is invisible with reference to teaching and research, or simply the absence of time to create meaningful impacts. Better equipping ECIs to create impact requires as much addressing these structural pressures as in fine-tuning impact evaluations, and this STSM will participate in a pilot study seeking to identify the top level dimensions of contextual issues for ECIs seeking to create impact generation.

Objectives: This STSM aims to advance the understanding of the contextual conditions of SSH societal impact creation (Task 1 of WG2) as well as to the work of the focus groups within the ENRESSH Special Interest Group for Early Career Investigators (SIG ECI).  WG2 and SIG ECI collectively seek to mobilise a debate on the structural conditions of ECIs in SSH and the creation of societal impact, and this STSM is a first step towards identifying the structural barriers that ECIs face in creating societal impact.  This STSM builds on WG activities in Ljubljana (July 2018) and Vienna (November 2018). In practical terms, the STSM will analyse a pilot questionnaire completed by a sample of ECIs in Autumn 2018 to produce a report focusing on one or more of the analytic dimensions highlighted above.

Special criteria for this STSM: the applicant has knowledge of the theories, practices and policies for the stimulation of societal impact from SSH research activities. The applicant must also have knowledge of academic careers and science systems or be willing to learn that skill

Results:  The proposed STSM will provide an empirical analysis to deepen the initial findings on impacts and career development emerging the focus groups within SIG ECI.  This will result in co-authored publications between the host, STSM candidate and other members of the CARES initiative working on that analytic dimension.

Practical details:

Working group: WG2 (Societal Impact of SSH Research)

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 1 months,

Location: School of Criminology, University of Porto, Portugal.

Contact: Rita Faria Rfaria@direito.up.pt

CARES is a newly developed ENRESSH initiative focused on Early Career Investigators ( approx. <8 years from PhD completion) and how they deal with societal impact. The purpose of CARES is to develop fair and improved routes for developing societal impact during the first years of the scientific career of social sciences and humanities’ researchers.  In 2018, there has been a substantive data gathering exercise on how early career researchers respond to the challenges raised by impact in their career development, and the purpose of these STSMs is to advance our knowledge by analysing this data along one of more of the following themes:

• Hierarchies, disciplinary norms and power in academia: impact as emancipation or tension?
• Incentives for impact creation: formal and informal steering by evaluation systems
• The consequences of impact evaluation for ESIs’ motivations or identities
• The diversity of impact evaluation and academic careers: accounting for local context

Description of the topic: The creation of societal impact from research activities is an increasingly important component of what is considered to be good science, and increasing emphasis is being placed in scientific training upon encouraging early career investigators to be more positively oriented towards impact generation. But at the same time ECIs are subject to a wide range of pressures that may serve to undermine the value of impact to them as they develop their careers. This may come through a focus on very limited kinds of impacts such as creation of spin-off companies or patents, institutional or systemic progression mechanisms in which impact is invisible with reference to teaching and research, or simply the absence of time to create meaningful impacts.  Better equipping ECIs to create impact requires as much addressing these structural pressures as in fine-tuning impact evaluations, and this STSM will participate in a pilot study seeking to identify the top level dimensions of contextual issues for ECIs seeking to create impact generation.

Objectives: This STSM aims to advance the understanding of the contextual conditions of SSH societal impact creation (Task 1 of WG2) as well as to the work of the focus groups within the ENRESSH Special Interest Group for Early Career Investigators (SIG ECI).  WG2 and SIG ECI collectively seek to mobilise a debate on the structural conditions of ECIs in SSH and the creation of societal impact, and this STSM is a first step towards identifying the structural barriers that ECIs face in creating societal impact.  This STSM builds on WG activities in Ljubljana (July 2018) and Vienna (November 2018). In practical terms, the STSM will analyse a pilot questionnaire completed by a sample of ECIs in Autumn 2018 to produce a report focusing on one or more of the analytic dimensions highlighted above.

Special criteria for this STSM: the applicant has knowledge of the theories, practices and policies for the stimulation of societal impact from SSH research activities. The applicant must also have knowledge of academic careers and science systems or be willing to learn that skill

Results:  The proposed STSM will provide an empirical analysis to deepen the initial findings on impacts and career development emerging the focus groups within SIG ECI.  This will result in co-authored publications between the host, STSM candidate and other members of the CARES initiative working on that analytic dimension.

Practical details:

Working group: WG2 (Societal Impact of SSH Research)

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 2 months, Jan-Feb 2019

Location: Central European University, Budapest

Contact: Andrea Peto petoa@ceu.hu

CARES is a newly developed ENRESSH initiative focused on Early Career Investigators ( approx. <8 years from PhD completion) and how they deal with societal impact. The purpose of CARES is to develop fair and improved routes for developing societal impact during the first years of the scientific career of social sciences and humanities’ researchers.  In 2018, there has been a substantive data gathering exercise on how early career researchers respond to the challenges raised by impact in their career development, and the purpose of these STSMs is to advance our knowledge by analysing this data along one of more of the following themes:

• Hierarchies, disciplinary norms and power in academia: impact as emancipation or tension?
• Incentives for impact creation: formal and informal steering by evaluation systems
• The consequences of impact evaluation for ESIs’ motivations or identities
• The diversity of impact evaluation and academic careers: accounting for local context

Description of the topic:

The creation of societal impact from research activities is an increasingly important component of what is considered to be good science, and increasing emphasis is being placed in scientific training upon encouraging early career investigators to be more positively oriented towards impact generation.  But at the same time ECIs are subject to a wide range of pressures that may serve to undermine the value of impact to them as they develop their careers. This may come through a focus on very limited kinds of impacts such as creation of spin-off companies or patents, institutional or systemic progression mechanisms in which impact is invisible with reference to teaching and research, or simply the absence of time to create meaningful impacts.  Better equipping ECIs to create impact requires as much addressing these structural pressures as in fine-tuning impact evaluations, and this STSM will participate in a pilot study seeking to identify the top level dimensions of contextual issues for ECIs seeking to create impact generation.

Objectives: This STSM aims to advance the understanding of the contextual conditions of SSH societal impact creation (Task 1 of WG2) as well as to the work of the focus groups within the ENRESSH Special Interest Group for Early Career Investigators (SIG ECI).  WG2 and SIG ECI collectively seek to mobilise a debate on the structural conditions of ECIs in SSH and the creation of societal impact, and this STSM is a first step towards identifying the structural barriers that ECIs face in creating societal impact.  This STSM builds on WG activities in Ljubljana (July 2018) and Vienna (November 2018). In practical terms, the STSM will analyse a pilot questionnaire completed by a sample of ECIs in Autumn 2018 to produce a report focusing on one or more of the analytic dimensions highlighted above.

Special criteria for this STSM: the applicant has knowledge of the theories, practices and policies for the stimulation of societal impact from SSH research activities. The applicant must also have knowledge of academic careers and science systems or be willing to learn that skill

Results:  The proposed STSM will provide an empirical analysis to deepen the initial findings on impacts and career development emerging the focus groups within SIG ECI.  This will result in co-authored publications between the host, STSM candidate and other members of the CARES initiative working on that analytic dimension.

Practical details:

Working group: WG2 (Societal Impact of SSH Research)

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 2 months, Jan-Feb 2019

Location: CWTS, University of Leiden, the Netherlands.

Contact: Thed van Leeuwen s.de.rijcke@cwts.leidenuniv.nl.

Description of the topic:The focus of the STSM will lie in a cross-country comparison of the SSH journal article patterns, especially in terms of publication languages and cooperation patterns.

In this comparative analysis of SSH output, among others, data from the national database of the grantee’s country and the Polish Scholarly Bibliography will be used. Thus, preferably the grantee has access to and is familiar with the data infrastructure in their own country or region.

The STSM is intended to result in one or more joint publications and form the basis of a prolonged collaboration between the Adam Mickiewicz University and the grantee’s institution.

Task 1. Confront productivity and structure of outputs in various SSH disciplines, using data from existing national information systems or other databases and repositories (identify dissemination profiles, clusters and hybrids).

Task 2. Analyse characteristics of divers dissemination channels used in the SSH.

Special criteria for this STSM: preferably the applicant has access to and is familiar with the data infrastructure in their own country or region.

Working group: WG3

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 1 month from 1^stof February and the 28^thof February 2019.

Location: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Scholarly Communication Research Group – Faculty of Social Sciences, Szamarzewskiego 89c, Poznań, Poland

Contact: Emanuel Kulczycki emek@amu.edu.pl

Description of the topic:This STSM will confront the aim of HIRMEOS (High Integration of Research Monographs in the European Open Science Infrastructure) project to prototype innovative services for open access scholarly monographs by providing additional data, links and interactions to the documents, at the same time paving the way to new potential tools for research assessment.

The focus of the STSM will lie on a qualitative analysis of the designing of the HIRMEOS metrics service (governance, technical and graphic design) for open access scholarly monographs developed by Ubiquity Press and Open Book Publishers.

One of the goals of the STSM is to stimulate further research concerning scholarly monographs, which for decades have had a peripheral role in evaluation studies and procedures.

The STSM is intended to form the basis for the establishment of collaboration between ENRESSH and OPERAS (Open Access in the European Research Area through Scholarly Communication), European research infrastructure for the development of open scholarly communication, particularly in SSH. It will also result with the presentation in the next ENRESSH meeting and hopefully with a joint publication.

Task 2. Analyse characteristics of divers dissemination channels used in the SSH.

Task 5. Develop alternative metrics for the SSH

Special criteria for this STSM: preferably the applicant has access to and is familiar with the data infrastructure.

Working group: WG3

Duration and timing: between 2 weeks and 1 month from 1^stof February and the 28^thof February 2019.

Location: Open Book Publishers; Ubiquity Press, Social enterprise and Community Interest Company, Gibbs’ Building, King’s College, Cambridge CB2 1ST, United Kingdom; Unit 2N, 6 Osborn St, London E1 6TD; United Kingdom

Contact: Rupert Gatti rupert.gatti@openbookpublishers.com