Hayley - Blog Post 2

I think that so much of the future of peer review in the humanities relies on the future of online journals and articles. As mentioned in the article, “Blog to the Future? Journals Publishing in the Twenty-First Century,” open access is on the rise, as well as less formal ways of reviewing scholarly work. For example, in an open system, fellow researchers can directly comment on an article, indicating its merits and/or downfalls. I would not be surprised if this system continues at the forefront of the evolution of peer review in the coming decades.

I usually find out about important works in my field via listservs, word of mouth (among my peers/instructors/professors), and research databases. In addition, I’ve never had the opportunity to discuss my research in a formal setting – besides class presentations; therefore, I end up discussing my research interests/work with others in casual conversation, which also serves as a helpful way to organize my thoughts and make sure they have grounding. I would, indeed, consider myself part of an “invisible college.” As mentioned above, the ways in which I discover important works within the humanities, as well as how I discuss my own work, all seem to fit into the description in Module 3 of an “invisible college” – “a sort of grassroots system of dialogue.”

On a broader note concerning my own, current research, I am with Cassandra, as she mentioned having trouble finding primary sources with which she would like to work. For our bibliographic work, I, too, am finding it difficult to pinpoint a specific topic to pursue, and find primary resources for, within my broad research interests. Also, using the “MLA International Bibliography,” I searched the “Journal of Medical Humanities,” which I mentioned using for my research, and found that it is peer-reviewed. I found this bibliographic resource particularly easy to use and beneficial when trying to decide whether I should continue to pursue a certain journal, etc. And finally, I attended a session on Virginia Tech’s Special Collections this past Friday, and was pleasantly surprised at the thousands of unique items held there – completely available for our research needs. I encourage you all to check it out: http://spec.lib.vt.edu.