The foregoing report leads to relatively straightforward conclusions:
first, in respect of the value of the awards for the students
themselves, it is quite clear that the majority felt that the
award not only benefited their careers but also benefited them
personally in other ways, from giving a feeling of accomplishment
to providing a high degree of intellectual satisfaction. Secondly,
and also personally, the successful completion of the Ph.D. had
financial consequences for the holders, partly as a result of
their career advancement within academia, but also outside academic
in demonstrating the intellecual ability to cope with novel situations
in new occupations.
The awards have also helped to advance the disciplines of librarianship
and information science by demonstrating that work conducted by
the holders of the awards carry out work that is recognized internationally
as of value. The two case studies of Ellis and Grindley show
that this impact can be of a considerable order when the work
is of a high quality and originality.
There are, however, conclusions of other kinds: first, it has
been difficult to obtain information on awards that have been
held in departments other than those of librarianship and information
science; secondly, in all cases, the quality of records kept
by departments has been poor and it proved difficult, and in some
cases, impossible, to obtain information on the present location
of award holders; finally, it is evident, as the two case studies
suggest, that performance is likely to be higher in departments
with a well-established research culture.
The recommendations to be made follow directly from the report
and from the conclusions presented above:
a) the value of the awards to the individual and to the field
suggests that they should continue, although it is recognized
that, with the transfer of the awards to the Humanities Research
Board, the role of the British Library Research and Innovation
Centre (BLRIC) is limited;
b) pressure should be put upon award-holding departments to maintain
effective records so that follow-up investigations of this kind
may be carried out at regular intervals;
c) consideration should be given to ensuring that awards go to
individuals wishing to join established research groups so that
the development of the field can proceed in an integrated manner.
The successive Research Assessment Exercises provide a means
whereby this can be assured;
d) award holders should report to the funding agency on the completion
of their period of research, setting out the range of outputs
that has been produced, so that monitoring impact may be undertaken
more readily; and
e) the Humanities Research Board should be advised by the BLRIC
that a regular process of monitoring the impact of the research
awards can have value for decisions on the number to be awarded
in the future and the subject scope of awards that may be desirable.
Mary Dykstra Lynch and T.D. Wilson ©British Library Board 1997