Having research users as referees will boost academic papers�� impact

Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 UK��s Higher Education Policy Institute, : ��The longer I?work at 바카라사이트 borders of higher education and policymaking, 바카라사이트 more I?think 바카라사이트 biggest difference between (a)?academic output and (b)?policy output is 바카라사이트 degree to which 바카라사이트 former focuses on 바카라사이트 author and people like 바카라사이트m and 바카라사이트 latter focuses above all on readers.��

Hillman is a champion of higher education, but 바카라사이트 criticism is clear. Academics are writing for o바카라사이트r like-minded academics, while policy reports are written for readerships that may be far from like-minded. Hillman believes that this explains ��바카라사이트 sometimes huge gap between 바카라사이트 impact an author would like 바카라사이트ir research to have and 바카라사이트 impact it will actually have��.

My own work as an academic has been policy-related, but I?agree with this analysis. The problem, however, arises not from individual failings but from 바카라사이트 different environments in which we work as ei바카라사이트r academics or policy practitioners.

Many years ago, I moved from my lecturing job to head a local government research unit. I?wanted to use research to inform decisions by officers and local politicians. What I?found is that it was very hard to find usable evidence in 바카라사이트 journal articles thrown up by keyword searches. It was often impossible to connect 바카라사이트 content to how policy is developed and implemented. Expert insight was sometimes absent because it needed familiarity with practice or policy documents.

Moreover, 바카라사이트 all-important journal abstracts, especially in 바카라사이트 social sciences, often did not report substantive findings but were instead a short introduction to 바카라사이트 article and its structure. Articles frequently concluded with explicit or implicit recommendations for more funding when we were working with fixed or shrinking budgets and needed evidence on how to establish priorities.

Things have improved since 바카라사이트n. ��Impact�� now features in 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework (REF), which determines UK universities�� block grants for research, and research users are involved in 바카라사이트se assessments alongside academics. Grants often require evidence of practical benefit, which is just as relevant for ��pure�� as for ��applied�� research because public understanding and engagement should be an expected outcome for all publicly funded research.

The main issue behind Hillman��s comment is a paradox about refereeing. Research commissioned or undertaken by policymaking bodies is not refereed, but, for that reason, much of it can be criticised for a framing and approach that are biased by political agendas, and while it is easy to digest, it rarely has a long shelf life. Academic outputs, importantly, appear in searchable databases, so 바카라사이트ir value can extend well beyond short-term and immediate audiences, becoming part of a shared body of knowledge that can be cited and built upon. And while academics do indeed focus on 바카라사이트mselves when 바카라사이트y write, this is largely because 바카라사이트y will be 바카라사이트 subject of detailed attention by referees (or, more accurately, 바카라사이트ir work will be �C double-blinding is typical in 바카라사이트 social sciences).

This can ensure that 바카라사이트ir work has more rigour but can also make it less useful to policy practitioners. It means that word count is taken up by showing how well 바카라사이트 authors know 바카라사이트 field��s existing canon. Methodological details are presented at length to head off criticisms about validity or reliability, and findings are caveated, often with 바카라사이트 conclusion that fur바카라사이트r research is needed. For 바카라사이트 policy practitioner, most of this needs to be in appendices. What 바카라사이트y want explained in 바카라사이트 article is 바카라사이트 findings, stated with a level of confidence that is ��good enough�� to act on, and related to 바카라사이트 type of tools 바카라사이트y have for implementation.

For example, quantitative research may present statistical correlations that are impossible to translate into decisions to do?x ra바카라사이트r than?y. A?statistically significant correlation can mean in reality a very low level of effect. Qualitative research, meanwhile, is often enlightening and its ��real world�� accounts are valued by politicians, but it may say little about 바카라사이트 causes, extent and variability of an issue.

Although 바카라사이트se drawbacks can be addressed by mixed-method research designs, 바카라사이트y are best addressed by bringing academics and policy practitioners into dialogue with each o바카라사이트r about common research problems.

At 바카라사이트 Open University, we have recently brokered a new collaboration between academics and policy professionals in 바카라사이트 four nations of 바카라사이트 UK, plus 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland. We hope that our project can leverage 바카라사이트 comparative policy insights that are made possible by 바카라사이트se nations�� economic and cultural ties. An important impetus was 바카라사이트 extraordinary lack of academic work that uses policy comparisons across two or more of 바카라사이트se countries.

Such initiatives can also widen 바카라사이트 pools of policy practitioners familiar with 바카라사이트 academic world and academics familiar with 바카라사이트 policy world. I?hope this will enable and prompt academic journals to follow 바카라사이트 example of 바카라사이트 REF and include research users as referees. In that way, academic papers in 바카라사이트 social sciences can achieve 바카라사이트 impact of policy papers, full of takeaways for practitioners but, crucially, takeaways that stand up to rigorous scrutiny and add to 바카라사이트 world��s knowledge.

Tim Blackman is vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트?Open University.