Recognising Digital Scholarly Outputs in the Humanities (ALLEA Report)

 In an era marked by rapid advancements in technology and an increasing emphasis on Open Science and digital outputs, the humanities have seen a significant transformation in their scholarly practices. To address, evaluate and recognise these changes, ALLEA’s new report ‘Recognising Digital Scholarly Outputs in the Humanities’ sheds light on the evolving landscape of digital humanities scholarship.

Berlin, 30 November. ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, has recently released a new report on ​the evolution of digital practices in the humanities. Drafted by the ALLEA Working Group E-Humanities, the report ‘Recognising Digital Scholarly Outputs in the Humanities’ stresses that the expansion of digital practices and open outputs in humanities scholarship should be regarded as a natural progression of scholarly endeavours leveraging digital technologies.

The publication calls for the adaptation of assessment systems, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary work, novel research methodologies, and innovative scholarly outputs that go beyond traditional academic formats such as books or journal articles.

The report also underscores the significance of ​linking studies with FAIR research data,​ ​acknowledging continuations and ​open-ended outputs, ​recognising multiple scholarly roles in the ​authorship attribution, ​providing interdisciplinary ​competence-building, and improving evaluation processes.

The document’s second section provides practical recommendations for evaluating specific types of digital scholarly outputs, such as digital ​scholarly ​editions, extended publications, databases and datasets, visual representations (infographics and maps), code, blogs, and podcasts. Each case study includes examples and suggested reading materials.

Maciej Maryl, chair of the ALLEA Working Group E-Humanities says: “Although the digital age offers a plethora of formats that seem better equipped to communicate diverse scholarly findings, our research assessment systems still heavily favour traditional outputs like journal articles and books. In our report, we provide examples of good practices for emerging, and innovative digital outputs, as well as a framework for researchers and institutions of how to evaluate them. Ultimately, this should contribute to increasing the diversity of scholarly outputs, and ensuring that researchers receive the appropriate recognition and reward for developing and using them.”

​​​Read the full report here:  https://allea.org/portfolio-item/recognising-digital-scholarly-outputs-in-the-humanities/

About ALLEA

ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing more than 50 academies from across Europe. Since its foundation in 1994, ALLEA speaks out on behalf of its members on the European and international stages, promotes science as a global public good, and facilitates scientific collaboration across borders and disciplines. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA works towards improving the conditions for research, providing the best independent and interdisciplinary science advice, and strengthening the role of science in society. In doing so, it channels the intellectual excellence and experience of European academies for the benefit of the research community, decision-makers and the public. ALLEA is constituted as a non-for-profit association and remains fully independent from political, religious, commercial or ideological interests. Learn more at www.allea.org.