Examining differentiation in academic responses to research impact policy: Mediating factors in the context of educational research

O'Connell, Catherine (2018) Examining differentiation in academic responses to research impact policy: Mediating factors in the context of educational research. Studies in Higher Education. pp. 1-16. ISSN 0307-5079

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Abstract

This article examines responses to a new impact indicator introduced to the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF). Whilst analysts have pointed to opportunities in impact policy for educational research as a field, the requirement to demonstrate impact beyond the academy poses challenges for research relating to higher education. The study illustrates forms of research used to demonstrate impact in, and on, HE. Through narratives of respondents engaged in HE-related research, the study indicates ways research practices are influenced by the impact indicator. The analysis demonstrates greater diversity in forms of research used to demonstrate impact than portrayed in earlier studies. Formulaic responses to impact are evident in some institutional contexts, which reify particular forms of research. In other cases, respondents portrayed a re-framing impact in ways that resonate with research orientations within the local context. An argument is made for a relational approach to policy interpretation in local organisational contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Education on [9th March 2018], available online from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2018.1447556."
Keywords:	policy analysis, relational perspective, research policy, tertiary education, institutional research
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
Depositing User:	Catherine O'Connell
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2018 12:02
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 10:26
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2397

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