Transformation of Peer Review System as a Cosequence of the Digitization of Scholarly Communication

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23530618
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Hitotsubashi University
• Principal Investigator: SATO Ikuya 一橋大学, 大学院商学研究科, 教授 (00187171)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: ピアレビュー / 学術コミュニケーション / 研究評価 / 電子化 / 選択的資源配分

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research addresses the impact of the increasing electronic publication of scholarly information on the quality of scholarly communication. A special focus is put on the transformation of peer review system. Documentary survey and interview research show that the digitization has certainly facilitated the production, dissemination, and reception of scholarly communication. On the other hand, it has also made it difficult to keep anonymity in peer review process. The expansion of electronic publication has also led to the phenomenal increase in the number of submission to the academic journals. Fieldwork in UK also shows that national research assessment coupled with selective research funding could lead to overconcentration of research outputs to journal articles, and ultimately to the narrowing of research methodologies and themes.

Free Research Field

社会学