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Measuring the benefits of university research: impact and the REF in the UK

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  • Hanan Khazragui
  • John Hudson

Abstract

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the latest attempt by the UK government to evaluate research in UK universities. A key component of this is the evaluation of the economic and societal impact of research. We discuss the nature of such impact and how, in an ideal world, we would measure it. We then evaluate a number of REF case studies and conclude that they are a long way from being an accurate reflection of impact. They are primarily narratives, with little hard information and no attempt to discount over time or spatially, or to evaluate against a counterfactual. But the REF deserves credit for focusing attention on impact, and it must be recognized that at this point in time, a first best methodology is not possible. Both the research councils and the universities need to begin collecting data which will facilitate improved analyses in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Hanan Khazragui & John Hudson, 2015. "Measuring the benefits of university research: impact and the REF in the UK," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 51-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rseval:v:24:y:2015:i:1:p:51-62.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/reseval/rvu028
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    Cited by:

    1. Perkmann, Markus & Salandra, Rossella & Tartari, Valentina & McKelvey, Maureen & Hughes, Alan, 2021. "Academic engagement: A review of the literature 2011-2019," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    2. Bornmann, Lutz & Haunschild, Robin & Adams, Jonathan, 2019. "Do altmetrics assess societal impact in a comparable way to case studies? An empirical test of the convergent validity of altmetrics based on data from the UK research excellence framework (REF)," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 325-340.
    3. Poege, Felix & Gaessler, Fabian & Hoisl, Karin & Harhoff, Dietmar & Dorner, Matthias, 2022. "Filling the Gap: The Consequences of Collaborator Loss in Corporate R&D," IZA Discussion Papers 15618, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Peter T. Jacobs & Alexis Habiyaremye & Bhekiwe Fakudze & Kgabo Ramoroka & Siyanda Jonas, 2019. "Producing Knowledge to Raise Rural Living Standards: How Universities Connect with Resource-Poor Municipalities in South Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 881-901, September.
    5. Dotti, Nicola Francesco & Walczyk, Julia, 2022. "What is the societal impact of university research? A policy-oriented review to map approaches, identify monitoring methods and success factors," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Nasirov, Shukhrat & Joshi, Amol M., 2023. "Minding the communications gap: How can universities signal the availability and value of their scientific knowledge to commercial organizations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    7. Dorta-González, Pablo & Rodríguez-Caro, Alejandro & Dorta-González, María Isabel, 2024. "Societal and scientific impact of policy research: A large-scale empirical study of some explanatory factors using Altmetric and Overton," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3).
    8. Lutz Bornmann & Robin Haunschild & Werner Marx, 2016. "Policy documents as sources for measuring societal impact: how often is climate change research mentioned in policy-related documents?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1477-1495, December.
    9. Robin Haunschild & Lutz Bornmann, 2017. "How many scientific papers are mentioned in policy-related documents? An empirical investigation using Web of Science and Altmetric data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1209-1216, March.
    10. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Filippo Chiarello & Gualtiero Fantoni, 2021. "Impact for whom? Mapping the users of public research with lexicon-based text mining," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1745-1774, February.
    11. John Hudson, 2017. "Identifying economics’ place amongst academic disciplines: a science or a social science?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(2), pages 735-750, November.
    12. John Hudson, 2016. "What is Wrong with the West’s Economies? An Alternative View," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 19-24, August.
    13. Houqiang Yu & Xueting Cao & Tingting Xiao & Zhenyi Yang, 2020. "How accurate are policy document mentions? A first look at the role of altmetrics database," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1517-1540, November.

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