Beyond Academia - Interrogating Research Impact in the Research Excellence Framework.

Area of Science:

• Higher Education Studies
• Research Policy
• Text Mining Applications

Background:

• The Research Excellence Framework (REF) in UK universities significantly altered research funding allocation.
• REF replaced the Research Assessment Exercise, introducing 'impact' as a key funding criterion (20%).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate diverse interpretations of research impact within UK universities using text mining.
• To analyze how these interpretations align with REF funding allocations and quality scores.

Main Methods:

• Text mining techniques were applied to analyze impact case studies submitted to the REF.
• Institutional and disciplinary variations in impact interpretation were examined.

Main Results:

• Universities demonstrated varied interpretations of research impact, including commercialization and public engagement.
• No single interpretation of impact was demonstrably more rewarded by REF.
• A positive correlation was observed between research impact scores and overall research quality.

Conclusions:

• Institutional interpretations of research impact are diverse and context-dependent.
• The REF's assessment of impact does not appear to compromise research quality.
• Further research could explore the long-term effects of impact assessment on research practices.