CFP: Symposium "Counteracting erroneous interpretations of bibliometrics: tensions between science and politics" (7th ICESHS)
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to organize a symposium “Counteracting erroneous interpretations of bibliometrics: tensions between science and politics” during the 7th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science (Prague, Czech Republic, 22–24 September, 2016).
Please find the idea of the symposium below. If you are interested in participating in this meeting, please send a short abstract (maximum 300 words not including title and authors) and a CV to Michal Kokowski (michal.kokowski@gmail.com) before December 4th, 2015.
For more info on the ESHS conference visit its website at: http://www.7eshs2016.cz/.
Kind regards,
Michal Kokowski
Counteracting erroneous interpretations of bibliometrics: tensions between science and politics. Symposium at the 7th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science
Venue: Prague, Czech Republic
Date: 22–24 September, 2016
Organizers: Michal Kokowski (Kraków-Warsaw, Poland), …
Bibliometrics is currently very often mistakenly identified with scientometrics by science administrators around the world. However, this identification was criticized severely by many scholars – cf. for example Cool et al. 2009; San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) 2012; Hicks et al. 2015; Werner 2015.
Taking into account the achievements of the Science of Science and the Science Studies and the standards of research of these branches of knowledge, it is reasonable to support and deepen this criticism. The keynote of the symposium is the view of the 74 editors representing 56 leading journals in the history of science, technology and medicine:
“Great research may
be published anywhere and in any language. Truly groundbreaking work may be
more likely to appear from marginal, dissident or unexpected sources, rather
than from a well-established and entrenched mainstream” (Cool et al. 2009, p.
2).
Therefore, the symposium is open to the
reliable analyzes of the bibliometric methods in the light of the Science of
Science and the Science Studies, in particular the history of science and the
history of the exact sciences.The papers submitted to the symposium will be published in the peer-reviewed, open access journal “Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science” / “Studia Historiae Scientiarum” (if they are positively rated – see: Peer Review procedure).
COOK Hal et al. [total of 74 editors representing 56 leading journals in the history of science, technology and medicine]
2009: Journals under Threat: A Joint Response from History of Science, Technology and Medicine Editors, Medical History 53(1), pp. 1–4. Available online:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629173/ (29.11.2014);
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629173/pdf/medhis5301-00a-01.pdf (29.11.2014).
HICKS Diana, WOUTERS Paul, WALTMAN Ludo, de RIJCKE Sarah, RAFOLS Ismael
2015: Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. Nature 520(7548), pp. 429–431 (23 April 2015).
Available online: http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/1.17351!/menu/main/topColumns/topLeftColumn/pdf/520429a.pdf;
http://www.nature.com/news/bibliometrics-the-leiden-manifesto-for-research-metrics-1.17351.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY (ASCB) (together with a group of editors and publishers of scholarly journals)
2012: SAN FRANCISCO DORA DECLARATION ON RESEARCH ASSESSMENT. Available online:
http://am.ascb.org/dora/; http://www.ascb.org/dora-old/files/SFDeclarationFINAL.pdf.
WERNER Reinhard
2015: The focus on bibliometrics makes papers less useful. Nature 517 (7534), p. 245 (15 JANUARY 2015).
Available online: http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/517245a;
http://www.nature.com/news/the-focus-on-bibliometrics-makes-papers-less-useful-1.16706.
Ludwik and Aleksander Birkenmajer Institute for the History of Science, Polish Academy of Sciences
“Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science” / “Studia Historiae Scientiarum” (Editor-in-Chief)
E-mail: michal.kokowski@gmail.com
Website: http://www.cyfronet.krakow.pl/~n1kokows/home.html
Website of the “Proceedings of the PAU Commission on the History of Science” / “Studia Historiae Scientiarum”: http://pau.krakow.pl/index.php/en/publications/scientific-journals/proceedings-of-the-pau-commission-on-the-history-of-science/