The phrase "intellectual merit" is grammatically correct and commonly used in written English, particularly in academic or technical contexts.
It refers to the value or worth of an idea, concept, or piece of research in terms of its contribution to knowledge, understanding, or advancement of a field. Example: The research proposal was highly praised for its strong intellectual merit and potential impact on the field of quantum computing.
Attention has increasingly been given to factors other than intellectual merit, including personal attitudes, incentives, personality, personal relationships, and collective bargaining.
I asked whether incentivizing science according to its marketability might distort the university's mission to nurture ideas on the basis of intellectual merit, regardless of commercial potential.
Contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court (front page, June 24), the only standard for university admission that is appropriate is intellectual merit.
But the type of legal candidate being chosen is no longer dependent simply on the traditional criteria of intellectual merit, Marks said.
Voltaire, for example, liked the idea of a state led by scholarly mandarins, chosen on the basis of intellectual merit in a strict examination system.
This may have some superficial intellectual merit, but the idea that the public won't notice if there is a "public value test" is a bit optimistic.
NIH isn't alone: Just a few weeks ago, Rita Colwell, the director of the NSF, reminded the academic community (including reviewers) to focus on "impact" and "intellectual merit --criteria that were introduced two years ago!--when preparing and reviewing research proposals.
(Representative Smith cited five N.S.F.-funded social science projects, with concerns as to whether they "adhere to NSF's 'intellectual merit' guideline").
In his letter, a copy of which ScienceInsider obtained, Smith wrote: "I have concerns regarding some grants approved by the Foundation and how closely they adhere to NSF's 'intellectual merit' guideline".
Last week, Smith sent a letter to NSF asking the agency to explain how five recent grants in the social and behavioral sciences "adhere to NSF's 'intellectual merit' guideline".
On 25 April, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) wrote to acting NSF Director Cora Marrett about his "concerns regarding some grants approved by the foundation and how closely they adhere to NSF's 'intellectual merit' guideline".
