A qualitative approach to scientific publications in the Humanities: the researchers' point of view

Abstract

Research in the Humanities is a field that has been gaining relevance in recent years. However, their production and impact levels are still low. In this sense, this article aims to analyze three categories that correspond to the motivations and competencies of the researcher in Humanities, the strategies for promoting research and publication in the Humanities, and the impact of publications in this area of knowledge. The qualitative approach was used through content analysis. A non-probabilistic sampling of international Humanities expert researchers was carried out. In this study participated seventeen professors from 13 institutions of higher-level education. The webQDA software was used for data analysis. The main results concerning the motivations show that the most relevant for the respondents are disseminating their research (20,59%). Regarding the competencies of the researcher, 33,33% indicated that they do possess these competencies and have a genuine interest in their object of study. Concerning the promotion of research, 30% highlighted that the university offers monetary incentives for publication and different seedbeds to encourage its academics' research. About the impact of the publications, 24% of the researchers pointed out that the natural sciences impose the criteria; and, finally, 76,47% indicated that the H index or the number of citations of a scientific article is not appropriate to assess the impact in the area of the Humanities. In conclusion, these results suggest that Humanities researchers need their scientific and academic production to be evaluated using criteria different from those generally used in science and technology according to the characteristics and nature of their field of study.

Striving for High-Quality Publications: Motivational Profiles of Management Within a Bulgarian University Cluster

“…Two main conclusions emerge from this literature review. First, the review results support the view that the topic of motivation, including managerial, for quality research is still underdeveloped in the scholarly literature [13], [14]. Second, we found only Lambovska and Todorova's theoretical model of motivational factors on this topic [19].…”

“…Regardless of the importance of motivation for quality research, a review of the scientific literature shows that this topic is still not well addressed [13], [14]. Here we try to contribute to filling this gap.…”