The valuation of HAL. Purposes, tools and process

This article presents the results of a qualitative analysis of the use of the HAL platform by research laboratories. The analysis is based on semi-directive interviews with representatives from 50 laboratories affiliated to the ten Udice research universities. It focuses on the function that HAL fulfils for the laboratories, on its added value for their operation and their development. In particular, we are questioning the purposes of the use of HAL by the laboratories, the use of internal and external tools, and the trajectories of practices. We discuss the results from three angles: the discourses and communities of practice in the laboratories; the scope and challenges of the systems put in place by the laboratories upstream and downstream of HAL; and the transformation of HAL from a platform for self-archiving and direct scientific communication to an infrastructure for monitoring and evaluating scientific performance. This is the first in a series of three articles from the HAL/LO project.