Introduction

The present memorandum replaces the 2008 edition of an earlier memorandum regarding criteria for admission to membership and membership continuation as laid down by the Board in June 2005. The memorandum concerns criteria used to determine the eligibility of new Members, conversion of junior-membership to full membership, and continuation of full membership. The Science Committee annually evaluates the research output of the school’s Members in terms of these criteria. In addition, the Committee advises the Board on the basis of these criteria concerning admission, conversion and continuation of membership.

From a disciplinary point of view NSRPP (OZSE) is not homogeneous. For some of its researchers philosophy and ethics are not the only or, in some cases, not the primary disciplines. Also, researchers may be ethicists or philosophers participating in larger research programmes in scientific fields other than ethics or philosophy. Accordingly, the school is faced with diverse publication cultures and with different valuations of international publishing. Assessment of the publication output of the Members needs to take this into account. The evaluation includes consideration of the total spectrum of one’s scientific activities. Examples of other scientific activities are the editing of a scholarly journal and the organisation of a scientific conference.


Evaluation of publications

Scientific publications, trade publications and popular publications
Evaluation of publications relates to scientific and trade publications exclusively. Popularising publications are left out of consideration. Scientific publications are publications of research results primarily meant for fellow researchers/colleagues (‘peers’). Trade publications are publications presenting research results for a public of other specialised scientists and policy makers outside the own discipline who can apply the results in their own research, teaching or policy making. Trade publications also differ from popularising publications. Popularising publications are meant for a broad public (the readers of newspapers, weeklies and monthly magazines). Examples are editorials, columns, and the like. The school applauds Members who seek and maintain contact with the public at large. Popularising publications are however not included in the annual reports and evaluations of the Science Committee.

International publications
The school attaches great importance to international publications. International publications reach a large public of peers, so that the opportunities for academic discussion are greater than when one publishes in the Dutch language. Extensive opportunity for debate with colleagues is vitally important for the flourishing of academic philosophy and ethics. Nevertheless, the school also values publications in Dutch. For example, a Dutch journal is included in the list of A-journals. In addition, a special evaluation category is reserved for refereed Dutch publications. Currently classified as international publications and publishers are publications in English, German, French or Chinese, of publishing houses that serve these languages areas are at present.

Refereed publications
The school holds that ‘peer reviewed’ or ‘refereed’ is a very important, though certainly not the exclusive criterion for the quality of a publication. First, not all high-ranking journals apply a system of assessment by reviewers. Secondly, less-distinguished journals have now introduced a peer-review system as well. Being refereed is one important quality factor, next to others such as the publisher’s or the journal’s reputation. It is therefore insufficient to classify scientific journals as refereed and non-refereed. For this reason the school also utilises, next to categories for refereed journals, monographs and collections, mixed categories, including the A-category with high-ranking journals.
Being ‘refereed’ refers to a system of evaluation for acceptation aided by external peer review, that is, fellow scientists other than the editors who offer an argued judgement regarding the acceptance of the article, monograph or collection. Comment or judgement on the part of the editors of a journal or collection themselves does not count as being refereed.


The categories

Regarding scientific publications five categories are distinguished. An explanation is given below.

A-publications
A-publications are texts published in journals included in the NSRPP A-list, and monographs and publications from certain renowned international publishing houses such as Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Ashgate, Brill, De Gruyter, Suhrkamp and Springer Verlag. The A-list includes journals that count as representing the scientific top in the area of practical philosophy and ethics. Both the list of A-journals and the list of comparable publishers mentioned here are periodically reviewed by the Science Committee. In view of the markedly interdisciplinary approach at NSRPP, the lists are not complete and (in some respects also) provisional in nature.
Applied ethicists frequently publish in high-ranking journals in the field in which they are active (medical ethicists for example publish in Lancet). Such journals address themselves to a discipline other than ethics, however. It is commendable that applied ethicists do publish in journals of that kind, but it is impossible to include all top journals in those specialisations in the NSRPP A-list. In this connection the Science Committee makes use of a case-by-case assessment, taking into account also the standards recognised in these areas.
Some areas of specialisation in applied ethics are in rapid development; consequently, journals with a history of high quality in these fields are not yet available. In these cases the NSRPP refers to journals that are currently considered ‘good’ – involving no pronouncement concerning that journal’s future reputation. The Science Committee regularly monitors the state of affairs as presented by experts in these fields and adjusts the list accordingly.

The list of A-journals is appended. The NSRPP website presents the latest version of the list. Recently A-status was accorded to the Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie and the Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung. Also added is the Flemish Tijdschrift voor Filosofie. The Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte is included in the A-list as of early 2008, for a provisional period of two years. The expectation is that the quality of the journal will continue to develop positively over that period.

B-publications
B-publications are contributions to refereed international journals that cannot be designated as A-journal, refereed monographs and publications in refereed collections from an international publisher that are not ranked with A-listed journals.

C-publications
C-publications are publications in non-refereed international journals, monographs and publications in non-refereed collections from an international publisher.

D-publications
D-publications are publications in refereed Dutch journals of good quality that cannot be designated as A-journal, refereed Dutch-language monographs and publications in refereed Dutch-language collections of good quality (as evaluated by the Science Committee).

E-publications
E-publications are ‘other scientific publications’: non-refereed monographs and publications in journals or collections in whatever language, also, refereed Dutch publications with insufficient status for Category D (as evaluated by the Science Committee).  Listed under Category E are journals such as Krisis, Filosofie en Praktijk, Ethische Perspectieven, Nederlands Juristenblad.
E-publications are scientific publications. Trade publications are listed separately, under
Category F.

Trade publications
F-publications
Trade publications are publications that present research results to a public of other specialised academics and policy makers outside the own field of study, who apply these results in their own research, teaching or policy making.
Trade publications differ from popularising publications. Popularising publications are meant for a broad public in for instance newspapers, weeklies and monthly magazines. In this connection one can think of editorials, columns, etc.

All publications that appeared in the course of the current recognition period will be listed in accordance with the above classification.


Assessment of publications

All publications are assigned a score (expressed in points). The score depends on the (sub)category in which the publication is classified.

Explanation of the assessment
1.    For articles in a collection holds that per collection the author cannot be awarded a score higher than awarded for a monograph (for example, for an A-collection, maximally 30 points).  The same holds when the author is also (co-)editor of the collection. In that case, too, the author cannot receive more points for the relevant articles and the editing jointly than for a monograph in the same category.
2.    PhD theses are not classified and evaluated, because they are prerequisite to (junior) membership rather than publications by (junior) Members. An edited commercial edition of a PhD thesis classified in the A or B-category is eligible for assessment.
3.    Monographs are awarded three times as many points as articles.
4.    Editing of a special issue of a journal is evaluated equal to editing of a collection. In part editing is substantial scientific activity. Edition of a collection or a special issue should be distinguished from regular editorial membership of journals and publishing houses. These latter yield no points.
5.    To be accepted as separate publication, reviews must be longer than 2 pages, and evaluated in according with the quality of the journal.
6.    Prefaces, postscripts, introductions, afterwords, commentaries, must be of at least 5 pages in length.
7.    Replies of less than 2 pages to comment on previously published articles yield no points.
8.    Translations of previously published works yield no points, unless the translation is from a regional language such as Dutch to an international language.
9.    Successive issues, other than translations into an international language, yield no points.
10.    Preprints and abstracts that count as independent publication in some empirical areas of special study also count as such in the present classification, on condition that they appear in collections with an ISBN number or in journals with an ISSN number. The score is not high however. The Science Committee assumes that, if abstracts and preprints have substantial significance, they will be elaborated into fully fledged publications.
11.    Papers published in Congress Proceedings are considered on a par with contributions to collections.
12.    Publication of qualitatively good scientific work in the Dutch language should not be discouraged by too low a valuation of such publications. For this reason refereed publications in the Dutch language are awarded as many points as non-refereed publications in an international language.

Criteria for admission of new Members and for extension of memberships

One is admitted to NSRPP as Member, casu quo one’s membership is extended if:

in the course of 6 years, whereby 0.4 fte (full-time equivalent) is reserved for research, one has obtained
a score of 60 points, of which at least 40 A-points, or
a score of 80 points, of which at least 30 A-points.
In cases of a lower research time allotment, the criteria are calculated in accordance with the terms of the appointment (for example, instead of 60 points, of which 40 A-points for 0.4 fte, calculation for 0.3 fte becomes 45 points, of which 30 A-points).

In June of 2005 the standard was 6 A-publications and 5 good-quality scientific publications. The present standard is more relaxed. For the non A-points no further distinction is made concerning the type of publication scored. In this way trade publications count as well.
The Board is authorised to grant or extend membership even if an applicant or Member does not meet the above standard. The Board must present appropriate motivation for doing so. For example: an above-average number of important trade publications, or scholarly activities such as editing a journal, or organising congresses, and an above-average number of promotions.

NSRPP PhD candidates who obtained their PhD can apply for junior membership within a period of 3 years. Such membership is valid for a period of 3 further years, after which time the Board judges whether the Junior Member has published enough during that period to be eligible for full membership. The Board can also grant junior membership to PhD’s from other institutions, and in very special cases to persons who obtained their PhD more than 3 years previously, but due to special circumstances were unable to meet the publication requirements.

May 2009, Board of Directors, Netherlands School for Research in Practical Philosophy