The ACLS Survey of Scholars

This highly readable and well-documented report shows what humanists and social scientists think about a wide range of issues of greatest concern to their careers, their disciplines, and higher education in general. The preliminary results of this survey, sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies, were given widespread attention when they were released late in 1986 in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the newsletter Scholarly Communication. This revised...
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This highly readable and well-documented report shows what humanists and social scientists think about a wide range of issues of greatest concern to their careers, their disciplines, and higher education in general. The preliminary results of this survey, sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies, were given widespread attention when they were released late in 1986 in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the newsletter Scholarly Communication. This revised and expanded final report includes: more than 30 additional tables and new charts, including more data by age and gender; a special analysis of findings about libraries; a new introductory chapter discussing questions on the interpretation of the findings and a new section on retirees; and a technical appendix about the survey procedure and a facsimile of the complete survey. The survey questionnaire was prepared with the advice of a distinguished advisory committee of scholars and librarians, and was sent to a sample of more than 5,000 members of principal scholarly societies. More than 70 percent of the sample group responded. The Final Report reveals their attitudes about issues such as the fairness of peer review and the adequacy of opportunities for publishing journal articles and scholarly books; the quality of college and university libraries; the applications of computer technology to teaching, research, and publishing; and more. Co-published with the American Council of Learned Societies.