Disadvantages of Library Research
Disadvantages of research assessment
One of the criticisms levelled at the assessment system in the Netherlands by research administrators is that the administrative burden is overwhelming; support staff are continually working on fulfilling the requirements of the research assessment process, not least because of the need to individually assess each research group or programme. These criticisms have led to the new SEP which attempts to reduce the administrative overheads mainly by limiting the size of selfevaluation reports and making the mid-term review relatively light in nature. Despite this, some research administrators continue to think the process is suboptimal and that the process of selfassessment represents a very high workload. There is also a minority view that the outcomes of the assessment process should be linked to funding to encourage a concentration of excellence rather than the current situation which tends towards uniformity of standards and can make it difficult to attract top international research talent to the Netherlands.
Notwithstanding the administrative effort involved in organising and conducting assessments, the form of assessment that currently prevails in the Netherlands is generally well-accepted by researchers -though sometimes the authority of the assessing committee is not recognised by some researchers mainly because of the specialised nature of research, and the fact that not all specialisms can be represented on one committee.
Research library involvement in research assessment support
In the view of research administrators libraries do not currently have a direct involvement in the assessment process because research assessment is coordinated primarily by faculties. The absence of a uniform framework for the type of information required by the expert committees that conduct the external assessments makes it difficult for the library to serve the process efficiently. In universities where
One of the criticisms levelled at the assessment system in the Netherlands by research administrators is that the administrative burden is overwhelming; support staff are continually working on fulfilling the requirements of the research assessment process, not least because of the need to individually assess each research group or programme. These criticisms have led to the new SEP which attempts to reduce the administrative overheads mainly by limiting the size of selfevaluation reports and making the mid-term review relatively light in nature. Despite this, some research administrators continue to think the process is suboptimal and that the process of selfassessment represents a very high workload. There is also a minority view that the outcomes of the assessment process should be linked to funding to encourage a concentration of excellence rather than the current situation which tends towards uniformity of standards and can make it difficult to attract top international research talent to the Netherlands.
Notwithstanding the administrative effort involved in organising and conducting assessments, the form of assessment that currently prevails in the Netherlands is generally well-accepted by researchers -though sometimes the authority of the assessing committee is not recognised by some researchers mainly because of the specialised nature of research, and the fact that not all specialisms can be represented on one committee.
Research library involvement in research assessment support
In the view of research administrators libraries do not currently have a direct involvement in the assessment process because research assessment is coordinated primarily by faculties. The absence of a uniform framework for the type of information required by the expert committees that conduct the external assessments makes it difficult for the library to serve the process efficiently. In universities where