Civil Society Assessment for the Albanological Institute of Pristina (3)

This article is the third part separated from the report "Isolated Institute - Civil Society Assessment for the Albanological Institute of Pristina". This evaluation, authored by Shkëlzen Gashi, has been supported by "Integra" and the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS).

Scientific projects

Books

In the period 1967-2015 in the fields of history, folklore and ethnology, linguistics and literature, IA has published 334 separate publications with a total of 170 authors, of which 122 publications by male authors, 20 by women and 36 by groups of authors. All the publications are by Albanian authors and all in the Albanian language and with topics related to Albanian history, folklore, ethnology, linguistics and literature. IA has only one four-volume edition from the 1970s by a foreign author in the Serbian language and only two foreign authors translated from English into Albanian in 2011 and 2012.

The History Branch has a total of 58 publications by 35 authors (29 by men, 4 by women and 2 by groups of authors). All publications are by Albanian authors, in the Albanian language and with topics for Albanians. Within this section, there is no publication with a foreign author and no publication in a foreign language.

The Department of Folklore and Ethnology has a total of 115 publications by 54 authors (36 by men, 8 by women, and 18 by groups of authors). All publications are by Albanian authors, in the Albanian language and with topics for Albanians. Within this section, there is no publication with a foreign author and no publication in a foreign language.

The Linguistics Branch has a total of 75 publications by 48 authors (32 publications by men, 3 by women and 13 by groups of authors). All publications are by Albanian authors, in the Albanian language and with topics for Albanians. Within this section, there is no publication with a foreign author and no publication in a foreign language.

The Literature Branch has a total of 86 publications by 33 authors (25 by men, 5 by women and 3 by groups of authors). All publications are by Albanian authors and in the Albanian language. Within this section, there is no publication with a foreign author and no publication in a foreign language.

journals

"Albanological traces" is a magazine published every year since 1968 in three series: the series of philological sciences, the series of historical sciences and the series for folklore and ethnology. A total of 2012 authors have published studies and articles in this journal until 490, of which 400 Albanians and 90 foreigners, mainly from the countries around Kosovo, who published during the 1970s, but also Albanianologists and foreign researchers who published mainly in these last two decades. The gender structure of the authors is 419 men and 71 women. It is important that all the papers in this journal are in Albanian, without summaries in English. The magazine has a total of 48 issues. The last issue was published in 2018.

"Albanian language" is a magazine that publishes works in the field of linguistics. Its first issue was published in 1983. Until 1989, three issues of this magazine were published every year. Due to the situation under occupation, only one issue was published in 1990, then one issue in 1997 and two issues in 1998. After the war in Kosovo (1998-1999), the magazine began to be published every year, and from 2004 to 2015 three issues of this magazine were published per year. A total of 74 issues have been published so far. All issues are in Albanian, without abstracts in English or any other language. There are a total of 978 publications, of which 24 are by foreign authors, the others by Albanians; 841 publications are by male authors, and 137 are by female authors.

"Albanology" is a magazine that publishes the works of authors who participate in the "Albanology Week", which has been organized every year since 2011. So far, a total of 16 issues have been published. The last issue was published in 2016. Out of 687 publications in this magazine, 488 are men, 199 are women, 678 are by Albanian authors, and only 9 are by foreign authors. Likewise, all contributions are in Albanian and do not have short summaries in English.

IA has a total of three magazines in which mainly IA employees publish. Do these journals meet the technical and quality standards of a serious journal, are they accessible to the entire community at any time, do they have an ISSN, are they indexed in serious databases, and above all, do they have peer review? Access to journals is usually provided through their indexing in serious databases. A necessary technical criterion for indexing in serious databases is that journals have ISSN, an internationally recognized code that identifies serial publications, which is not a professional criterion, but only a technical one. In order to be indexed in serious databases, such as SCOPUS, WOS, and others, it is imperative that journals practice the peer review process.

The purpose of peer review is for published articles to meet the standards of quality and scientific validity, therefore it is important to clarify the steps of this process:

1. The editor of the magazine evaluates whether the criteria have been met by the author of the article.
2. If the article has met the criteria, then the editor invites two or three experts in the field to review the article.
3. The experts then compile a report with comments on the article, which the editor returns to the author for improvement.
4. After making the suggested improvements, the author resubmits the article to the editor for evaluation.
5. The editor once again receives the opinions of the experts and decides whether the article has met all the standards (technical and scientific) for publication.
6. In the journal articles that practice the peer review process, the name of the editor who followed the entire process appears.

Of these five IA journals, none has an ISSN (internationally accepted and recognized code for serial publications), which is a technical criterion for journals. Also, none of these five journals have online publications accessible to the public, which is also a technical criterion for journals.

The editors of all journals say they have "peer review", but they do not meet the criteria required for a journal with "peer review":

a) None of these journals are found in the serious databases where journals with "peer review" are indexed, such as: SCOPUS, WOS, or in any other narrow field;
b) In none of the articles of these magazines does the name of the editor who followed the evaluation process of the article appear;
c) In none of these journals is there any data on the date of sending the paper to the journal and on the date of acceptance of the paper by the editor of the journal.

All books, magazines and other publications of the IA, according to the leaders of the IA, are distributed to all libraries and other relevant institutions in the Republic of Kosovo. Also, IA publications are for sale in various bookstores, although, according to IA executives, they are mostly given away for free.

Conferences, symposiums, tables, scientific gatherings

IA does not have accurate data on the conferences, symposia, tables and scientific gatherings organized by IA sections - History, Folklore and Ethnology, Linguistics, and Literature. Through the conferences, symposiums, tables and scientific gatherings of the IA, the vast majority of the participants are Albanians, and occasionally a foreigner also participates. The Albanology Institute considers the several-day conference "Albanology Week" as the main annual organization. The words of the participants, based on the decision of an editorial board composed of scientific employees of the IA, are published in the magazine "Albanology". The main international organization, led by the employees of the Folklore Branch, has been the annual conference of the International Ballad Commission, held in 2015.

The publication of the complete works of Rexhep Qosje

In 2009, the Albanology Institute sent a request to MEST for financial support for the publication of the complete work of academician Rexhep Qosje. The request was approved by MEST in 2010 and in the same year, under the care of the Editorial Board consisting of Hysen Matoshi, Jorgo Bulo, Shefkije Islamaj, Agim Vinca and Arben Hoxha, the complete set of this work with 29 volumes and with about 13 thousand pages in total. The value of the project was 198 thousand euros, of which 77.431 euros were used for the preparation and printing of the set, while 120.569 euros were allocated as a royalty for the author, although most of these works are reprints. In our question about why the publication of this set was important, we did not receive any answer.

The publication of the complete works of Anton Cetta

also Culture Supplement 17 August 2025 Assistance in researching "Albanological Traces" - the philological sciences series

In 2015, the Folklore Branch of the Albanology Institute, in cooperation with Anton Çetta's family, decided to publish his complete work, under the care of an editorial board composed of Leontina Gega-Musa, Fazli Syla, Anton Berisha, Myzafere Mustafa, Zymer Neziri and Arbnora Dushi, as well as a Publishing Council consisting of Hysen Matoshi, Leontina Gega-Musa, Lulëzim Lajçi, as well as Anton Çetta's two daughters, Donika and Agata. The set of works of Anton Cetta, consisting of 13 volumes, was prepared by IA for printing and submitted for publication to MEST in 2018, but to date it has not been published for unknown reasons. The project is expected to cost 48 euros (the circulation is expected to be given to the family) and will be published as a set for the first time, although most of the works are reprints. In our question about why the publication of this set was important, we did not receive any answer.

(to come tomorrow)