Authors

• Late, Elina (Tampere University)
• Pölönen, Janne (Federation of Finnish Learned Societies)
• Ochsner, Michael (The Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences)
• Stojanovski, Jadranka (University of Zadar)
• Urbanc, Mimi (Anton Melik Geographical Institute)
• Guns, Raf (University of Antwerp)
• Kraniauskas, Liutauras (Klaipeda University)
• Delicado, Ana (University of Lisbon)
• Iseli, Marlène (Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Keywords

cooperation, internationalism, publishing industry, research and development, research finance, scientific research, social influence

Abstract

The survey charted the activities of European learned societies in social sciences and humanities. The data were collected as part of a joint project by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies and Tampere University, which aimed to investigate the activities of learned societies and make them more widely known.

First, some background information was collected on the learned societies. The respondents were asked which field of science the society represented, in which country the society was located, whether the society operated internationally or nationally, and what the primary aim of the society was. Next, the survey charted the society's finances, such as the annual budget, changes in the budget in the past five years, and the most important sources of income for the society. Organisation and staff of the society were surveyed with questions on, for example, how the society was organised (e.g. departments or working groups), whether the society had salaried employees, and how large a share of the society's tasks were carried out without a salary or compensation. The respondents were also asked about the society's membership composition (e.g. individuals or organisations or both), the number of members, member benefits, and recruitment of new members.

The publishing activity of the society was examined next with questions on how many peer-reviewed and other journals, book series, monographs, conference proceedings, and reports and policy briefs the society had published in 2019. The languages of the publications were also charted, and the respondents were asked if there had been any changes in the society's publishing activity in the past five years. The society's seminar and conference activity as well as research activity were surveyed with questions focusing on the number of organised seminars and conferences and the types of research activities the society engaged in. Finally, the respondents were asked about the society's societal impact and science communication, the promotion of open science by the society, collaborations between other learned societies, and the future of their society.

No background information was collected on the respondents.