Making visible the invisible through the analysis of acknowledgements in the humanities

Published date18 September 2017
Pages576-590
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-01-2017-0008
Date18 September 2017
AuthorAdrian A. Díaz-Faes,María Bordons
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management
Making visible the invisible through
the analysis of acknowledgements
in the humanities
Adrian A. Díaz-Faes
INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain, and
María Bordons
Institute of Philosophy (IFS),
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain and
Center for Human and Social Sciences (CCHS),
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Purpose Science is subject to a normative structure that includes how the contributions and interactions
between scientists are rewarded. Authorship and citations have been the key elements within the reward
system of science, whereas acknowledgements, despite being a well-established element in scholarly
communication, have not received the same attention. The purpose ofthis paper is to put forward the bearing
of acknowledgements in the humanities to bring to the foreground contributions and interactions that,
otherwise, would remain invisible through traditional indicators of research performance.
Design/methodology/approach The study provides a comprehensive framework to understanding
acknowledgements as part of the reward system with a special focus on their value in the humanities as a
reflection of intellectual indebtedness. The distinctive features of research in the humanities are outlined and
the role of acknowledgements as a source of contributorship information is reviewed to support
these assumptions.
Findings –“Peer interactive communicationis the prevailing support thanked in the acknowledgements of
humanities, so the notion of acknowledgements as super-citationscan make special sense in this area.
Since single-authored papers still predominate as publishing pattern in this domain, the study of
acknowledgements might help to understand social interactions and intellectual influences that lie behind a
piece of research and are not visible through authorship.
Originality/value Previous works have proposed and explored the prevailing acknowledgement types by
domain. This paper focusses on the humanities to show the role of acknowledgements within the reward
system and highlight publication patterns and inherent research features which make acknowledgements
particularly interesting in the area as a reflection of the socio-cognitive structure of research.
Keywords Humanities, Reward system of science, Acknowledgements, Reward triangle,
Sociology of science, Super-citations, Contributorship
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Science can be described as a compound of interconnected elements which include: methods
through which knowledge can be verified, a cumulative knowledge that emerges from the
application of these methods and a set of cultural values and norms that govern scientific
activity (Merton, 1973). These norms and values, which have been described as making up
the ethosof science, are internalised by scientists worldwide. Although the organisational
dynamics of research activity may be influenced in each country by local factors, science
shows a supra-national character and the norms that govern scientific activity are widely
accepted all over the world. Notwithstanding, the behaviour of scientists is not only
governed by the normative structure of science, but also by its social structure and the
Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 69 No. 5, 2017
pp. 576-590
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-01-2017-0008
Received 5 January 2017
Revised 10 April 2017
19 May 2017
25 May 2017
26 May 2017
Accepted 7 June 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
(Grant No. CSO2014 -57826P).
576
AJIM
69,5

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