Professional historians are expected to write articles for scientific peer-reviewed journals and improve their manuscripts based on feedback from peer reviewers and editorial teams. They are also expected to conduct peer reviews and help other historians improve their manuscripts. But what is peer review and why is it important? What's the process of peer review like? How should you deal with peer review when reworking your manuscript? And how should you write a good review report?
This workshop explores key elements in receiving and writing high-quality peer reviews. It offers hands-on training, feedback and discussions. All participants will also present and receive feedback on a text from their PhD thesis, which can be either a journal article or part of a monograph.
NB: This workshop will be partly bilingual. Participants may use either Scandinavian or English in their writing. Discussion and feed-back groups will be organized according to language. Introductory lectures will be held in English. Participation grants 1 ECTS.
Confirmed teachers:
- Professor May-Brith Ohman Nielsen
- Dr. Thomas V.H. Hagen
- Associate Professor Trond Bjerkås
- Associate Professor Camilla Mørk Røstvik
- Professor Christoph Kalter
- Professor Christa Wirth
Student preparations
Students participate with a manuscript, which can be either early writing, such as project descriptions or text segments, or more developed texts like draft chapters or articles. The maximum length is 6000 words, excluding references. If you submit a longer text, please indicate the parts you want your readers to focus on. The first page(s) should include your name, indicate the stage of the process you're in (beginning, mid, end, or the number of semesters into your project), provide the draft dissertation title, and a draft outline of its chapters or articles. It is recommended that the draft outline includes abstracts of 100-200 words for each chapter or article. The texts should be in either Scandinavian languages or English. It is mandatory to submit a manuscript in order to attend.
Additionally, you will be expected to read the materials for the joint module and participate in discussions of approximately three manuscripts. You will serve as the chair for the discussion of one manuscript and as the main commentator for another.
Deadline for manuscripts is June 7th, 2023. Students upload their manuscripts to MS Teams. You will be added to the room when your application is accepted.
Essential information
- The course is estimated to 1 ECTS. Students may take the course for credit or audit it. To achieve the credit, the participants are expected to submit a manuscript.
- Participation is open to PhD candidates at partner institutions and other students members of the Norwegian Research School in History. Membership is open to all PhD students who have taken the theory and methods course.
- Please sign up by filling in the application form by May 8th at the latest. After the deadline, we accept candidates on a “first come, first served basis’. The course is open for everyone who write a thesis in history or use historical materials/perspectives. Students from partner institutions will have priority.
Program:
Tuesday, 13 June (Zoom):
11:15 – 12:45: Professor May-Brith Ohman Nielsen: Why are peer reviews essential for the professional community and professional standards in history? What makes a high quality peer review.
13:00 – 14:45: Associate Professor Trond Bjerkås, Associate Professor Camilla Mørk Røstvik, Professor Christoph Kalter, Professor Christa Wirth: Personal experiences with receiving and reworking manuscripts after peer review reports. Cases for discussion.
15:00 – 15:45: PhD Fellows Maria Antonie Sæther and Else Barring Berggren present their experience with reworking manuscripts for after peer review reports.
16:00 – 17.00: Group and plenary session: Discussions about peer reviews and of article manuscripts.
Wednesday, 14 June (Zoom):
09:15 – 12:00: Group session: Discussions of participants' dissemination texts. In addition to feedback from the other students, participants will receive comments on their manuscripts from the faculty participants, see above.
12:30 – 13:00: Professor May-Brith Ohman Nielsen: Conclusions and discussions. What have we learned about good peer reviews and what are the major challenges? How does experience and insights from the peer review sessions impinge on the work with and discussions of PhD mauscripts?
Contact:
Course convener: May-Brith Ohman Nielsen (may-brith.o.nielsen@uia.no)
Partner institutions:
- University of Agder, Department of Religion, Philosophy and History
- University of Bergen, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion
- BI - Norwegian Business Schoow, Department of Law and Governance
- Nord University, Faculty of Social Science
- NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Humanities
- University of Oslo, Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History
- UiT - The Artic University of Norway, Department of Archaeology, History, Religious Studies and Theology
- Volda University College - Social Sciences and History
- University of South-Eastern Norway
Strategic Partner: