Media

Criteria for Assessing Arts Research Drawn Up at HKU

25 Feb 2005

 

A set of criteria has recently been approved by the Senate at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for assessing arts research.

The university's move answers the need for commonly-accepted and ready criteria to distinguish "excellence" in arts research from works of scholarship in other disciplines.

Institutions round the world have acknowledged the challenge of trying to come forward with a set of criteria for assessing arts research which embodies an unusually large range of outputs, some of which are in the non-conventional mode, such as creative work in fine arts, music, literature and translation.

For many branches of humanities research, the main output -- the book -- is not linked to a commonly-accepted bibliographic index that shows its impact, as opposed to journal papers for which impact factors and citation counts operate as almost standard and universal evaluation criteria.

Views gathered from leading international universities, including Oxford, Exeter, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Stanford and Yale, confirmed the need to develop internationally benchmarked criteria applicable to humanistic research and scholarship.

HKU has taken up the challenge and has formalized criteria for assessing arts research. Approved by the University's Senate at its January 2005 meeting, the set of criteria is expected to help university decision-makers to assess research in arts and to help arts scholars plan their research strategies.

HKU believes that it is essential to recognize the particular nature and special features of arts research and creative scholarship, and to benchmark its own activities against the highest standards of arts assessment adopted by leading research universities overseas, rather than by applying yardsticks derived from sciences-based disciplines which are not always applicable to arts.

The University's Senate approved the set of criteria for internal use in relation to research evaluation and personnel events following the Faculty of Arts' completion of the Assessment guidelines in April 2003, and subsequent extensive review by a panel of overseas leading authorities on different humanities subjects and iteration with the University Research Committee. The University Research Committee and Senate also recommended sharing the document with the University Grants Committee (UGC) and other tertiary institutions for reference.

Professor John Malpas, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts at HKU, stressed the importance of the new guidelines on assessing arts research. "In the internal research assessment exercises conducted in the past years in Hong Kong, and in numerous promotion exercises, the application of some yardsticks applied across the board to assess research may have disadvantaged the humanities. We have written this landmark paper with the aim of helping decision-makers in judging arts research, and helping researchers, especially young researchers, in planning and developing their research career."

Professor Paul Tam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at HKU and Chairman of the University Research Committee, applauded the Faculty of Arts for the initiative. "It is indeed a difficult and challenging task. These guidelines should be shared with other faculties to encourage similar discussions and formulation of criteria unique to their research directions and strategies."

"Our support of this initiative reflects the University's ongoing policies and action plans to ensure that the unique nature of arts research is properly recognized, its needs catered for and its achievements appropriately rewarded." Professor Tam added.