Evaluation is an essential part of science. It plays a key gatekeeping role in how scientific quality is understood and recognised. Decisions about what kind of research is conducted and by whom are also based on assessment. Given the significance of assessment for individual researchers, organisations, and the development of science, it is important that the evaluations are carried out fairly and transparently. However, this is not always the case which has led the scientific community to call for more responsible research assessment practices.
The international movement advocating for more responsible research assessment began in the early 2010s. Himanen’s dissertation reviews the key principles and declarations published on the topic and examines how they propose to address the widely recognised challenges in research assessment. Rather than merely describing these challenges, the discussion around responsible research assessment focuses on developing and implementing solutions. In this dissertation, this approach is referred to as the promise of responsible research assessment. More specifically, it refers to the ambition to achieve a holistic change in the evaluation culture rather than addressing problems from the perspective of individual methods, disciplines, or practices.
The research shows that reforming research assessment is not easy. Although the principles of more responsible research assessment correspond well to the challenges experienced by researchers in various evaluation contexts, adhering to these principles does not guarantee satisfaction among all the parties.
"Evaluation always produces winners and losers. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that no set of principles or declarations can completely overcome the inherent subjectivity of evaluation. Researchers bring their own views about what constitutes scientific quality and impact to peer review and these views do not always align with those being assessed," Himanen states.
When discussing responsible research assessment, it is crucial to also recognise its boundaries: what can be influenced by principles and what cannot.
"If the gap between the ideal proclaimed in the principles and actual assessment practices becomes too wide, there is a risk that researchers become alienated from the politics of responsible assessment thus weakening its credibility," Himanen reminds.
Himanen’s study highlights how the movement for responsible research assessment has mainly focused on achieving changes at the organisational level, while researchers have largely been considered in this process as targets of evaluation. However, considering that most of all research evaluation takes place through peer review, researchers in their role as evaluators should be seen as one of the most important groups in promoting a more responsible culture of research assessment.
Public defence on Friday 6 June
M.Soc.Sc. Laura Himanen’s doctoral dissertation in the field of administrative sciences titled The Promise of Responsible Research Assessment will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University at 12.00 o’clock on Friday 6 June 2025. The venue is auditorium 109 of the Virta building on the city centre campus (address: Åkerlundinkatu 5). The Opponent will be Professor Ludo Waltman, Leiden University. The Custos will be Senior Research Fellow, Adjunct Professor Reetta Muhonen from the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University.