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How should the societal impact of research be generated and measured? A proposal for a simple and practicable approach to allow interdisciplinary comparisons

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  • Lutz Bornmann

    (Administrative Headquarters)

  • Werner Marx

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the scope of research evaluation has widened to encompass the societal products (outputs), societal use (societal references) and societal benefits (changes in society) of research. Research evaluation has been extended to include measures of the (1) social, (2) cultural, (3) environmental and (4) economic returns from publicly funded research. Even though no robust or reliable methods for measuring societal impact have yet been developed. In this study, we would like to introduce an approach which, unlike the currently common case study approach (and others), is relatively simple, can be used in almost every subject area and delivers results regarding societal impact which can be compared between disciplines. Our approach to societal impact starts with the actual function of science in society: to generate reliable knowledge. That is why a study (which we would like to refer to as an assessment report) summarising the status of the research on a certain subject represents knowledge which is available for society to access. Societal impact is given when the content of a report is addressed outside of science (in a government document, for example).

Suggested Citation

  • Lutz Bornmann & Werner Marx, 2014. "How should the societal impact of research be generated and measured? A proposal for a simple and practicable approach to allow interdisciplinary comparisons," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(1), pages 211-219, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:98:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-013-1020-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-013-1020-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Keungoui Kim & Dieter F. Kogler & Sira Maliphol, 2024. "Identifying interdisciplinary emergence in the science of science: combination of network analysis and BERTopic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Ferreira, Paula & Rocha, Ana & Araujo, Madalena & Afonso, Joao L. & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler & Lopes, Marta A.R. & Osório, Gerardo J. & Catalão, João P.S. & Lopes, João Peças, 2023. "Assessing the societal impact of smart grids: Outcomes of a collaborative research project," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. João Carlos Nabout & Fabrício Barreto Teresa & Karine Borges Machado & Vitor Hugo Mendonça Prado & Luis Mauricio Bini & José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho, 2018. "Do traditional scientometric indicators predict social media activity on scientific knowledge? An analysis of the ecological literature," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 1007-1015, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Matteo Pedrini & Valentina Langella & Mario Alberto Battaglia & Paola Zaratin, 2018. "Assessing the health research’s social impact: a systematic review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 1227-1250, March.
    6. Marco Gatti, 2018. "The Impact of Management Accounting Research: An Analysis of the Past and a Look at the Future," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(5), pages 1-47, March.
    7. Rousseau, Sandra & Catalano, Giuseppe & Daraio, Cinzia, 2021. "Can we estimate a monetary value of scientific publications?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    8. Morretta, Valentina & Vurchio, Davide & Carrazza, Stefano, 2022. "The socio-economic value of scientific publications: The case of Earth Observation satellites," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    9. Bornmann, Lutz, 2014. "Validity of altmetrics data for measuring societal impact: A study using data from Altmetric and F1000Prime," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 935-950.
    10. Ardito, Lorenzo & Petruzzelli, Antonio Messeni & Ghisetti, Claudia, 2019. "The impact of public research on the technological development of industry in the green energy field," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 25-35.
    11. 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.
    12. Han Zheng & L. G. Pee & Dan Zhang, 2021. "Societal impact of research: a text mining study of impact types," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7397-7417, September.
    13. Ana Sofia Brandão & José M. R. C. A. Santos, 2024. "Sustainability from Policy to Practice: Assessing the Impact of European Research and Innovation Frameworks on Circular Bioeconomy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-25, March.
    14. 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).

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