Comment regarding criticism of press release dated 2 October

Comments regarding recent discussion, primarily on social media, of the press release “Exhibition: Viking Age patterns may be Kufic script ”, published 2 October.

Is it correct that this research is not published in a peer reviewed journal?
Yes, this research has not yet been published. The findings are preliminary and the result of an ongoing project which will be peer reviewed and published at a later date. Publishing procedures differ between different scholarly fields. Research can for instance be published in reports, books or articles in scientific journals.

Why did you still choose to publish this press release?
The Press Office deemed the research, which is part of an ongoing exhibition in Enköping, to be of public interest. Research is a long process, and ongoing research is communicated in different contexts such as at conferences, seminars and thematic events. It is discussed, questioned and re-evaluated many times and moves our knowledge forward.

Why has the University not answered the criticism?
Only the researcher can answer objections and questions about the contents and methods of the research. In this case, the researcher has been available for questions from media and welcomes scholarly discussion.

Regarding criticism of the communication of this research, the Press Office has clarified that the press release presents ongoing research to be shown at an exhibition. Initially, this was not sufficiently clear.

Can the information you publish be trusted?
The Press Office write about a selection of the research being conducted at the University. It is important to careful to always include context, for instance if a project has received new funding, is presented at an exhibition or is published in a specific journal. This time this was not clear.

It is important that current research is made available to the public. A single study should be seen as a piece of the puzzle, to be added to the existing knowledge in the specific research field.