Context and Background of ERIH

Context

Humanities research in Europe is multifaceted and addresses a wide range of topics. Some researchers address topics for which the publication of research  findings in journals of important local / regional significance in Europe is most appropriate.  Others address research topics of worldwide significance and publish their findings in international journals.

Anecdotally, it is widely assumed that much of Europe’s Humanities research is first class. However, it is not possible to easily gather or access empirical data to support this claim. Nor is it possible to compare Humanities excellence with other sciences.  This is due to a number of reasons. For example, research output in minor national languages, a cornerstone of humanities research, tends to suffer from poor visibility. Also, Humanities scholarship boasts a unique multiplicity of research publication media (including, inter alia, monographs; edited books and conference proceedings; refereed journal articles; web-based content, data and tools; critical, diplomatic, and variorum text editions; encyclopaedia entries; substantial book reviews; translation; outreach). This is but one of the factors that prevents bibliometric frameworks that have been developed for other sciences being applied accurately to the Humanities. Nevertheless, in the view of funding bodies such as the ERC, it is becoming increasingly important to identify and compare Humanities excellence at a supra-national European level.

ERIH intends to contribute to the creation of appropriate tools to achieve this and operates as a process led by academics for academics.  At present, it is a reference index of the top journals in 15 areas of the Humanities, across the continent and beyond.  It is intended that ERIH will be extended to include book-form publications and non-traditional formats, and will also form the backbone of a fully-fledged research information system for the Humanities. This would be the first step towards the development of a framework that will enable Humanities excellence to be assessed and verified.

Background 

In Budapest, in 2001, ESF Member Organisations and researchers convened to debate the evaluation of scientific production in the Humanities. The conclusions of this workshop were to be of key importance to both the establishment ERIH and the shape it would take. The twentynine participants, drawn from seventeen Member organisations, determined that:           

• AHCI (ISI-Thomson) is not an appropriate bibliometric for (European) Humanities          

• There is an urgent need for a European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) as an additional tool for research assessment          

• ESF-SCH is to be asked to compile lists of reference journals as a first step towards this

In order to facilitate the creation of such lists, a Steering Committee was set up to chart the initial scope, content and parameters of ERIH. It was also decided that the lists would initially cover refereed journals only, and that once a sound base had been established work would begin to extend the methodology to include other formats of research output.