I welcome your Editorial encouraging career recognition for writers of science books (Nature 463, 588; 2010). But nothing will change for British scientists unless books are properly valued within the new Research Excellence Framework, which assesses the quality of research in UK higher-education institutions.
Under the previous system, the Research Assessment Exercise, a 400-page peer-reviewed science textbook was allocated the same value as a single journal article. It made no difference if the book was cited hundreds of times and well-reviewed in academic journals. I must declare an interest: I wrote such a book (Pheromones and Animal Behaviour Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003). Concerns about the chilling effects on textbook-writing by British academics have been highlighted before, to no avail (see, for example, http://go.nature.com/nmq3Vq).
The scientists finalizing the new rules have the power to change the criteria and give textbook-writing more recognition. I hope they will.
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Wyatt, T. Skewed assessment values have stifled textbook-writing. Nature 463, 1018 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/4631018d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4631018d