How scientific research incorporates policy: an examination using the case of China’s science and technology evaluation system

Governments typically formulate sets of policies to guide the direction of scientific research. And the possible effects of these policies on scientific research have been explored. However, there is limited literature reflecting how policy information is incorporated and concerned by scientific research. In this research, we explore policy usages in scientific research by analyzing the occasions when these policies are mentioned. Taking China’s S&T evaluation policies as a specific case, we analyzed mentions of these policies in terms of velocity, strength, usage priority, usage variations, and usage intentions. From these perspectives, we found that the strength and velocity of mentions have consistently increased over the years. Additionally, researchers have tended to focus more on policies issued by senior agencies or by multiple agencies. Further, there are great variations in policy sensitivity across institutions and disciplines, with universities actively reacting to policies and social science research showing remarkable policy take-up. Last, these policies are often mentioned in the analysis section of papers alongside the major functionality of policy content reference. However, the locations and specific usages of the policies do not follow a fixed model. Overall, the quantitative side of our analysis reveals the diverse policy usages in scientific research activity. These new insights sharpen our perceptions of how policies pertain to and are used by scientific research in real-world settings.