Architectural research and its enemies

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Macmillan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Research Excellence Framework ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Architectural Research ◽  
Competitive Allocation ◽  
Support Research

Like the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) that preceded it, the UK government's proposed Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a means of allocating funding in higher education to support research. As with any method for the competitive allocation of funds it creates winners and losers and inevitably generates a lot of emotion among those rewarded or penalised. More specifically, the ‘winners’ tend to approve of the method of allocation and the ‘losers’ denigrate it as biased against their activities and generally unfair. An extraordinary press campaign has been consistently waged against research assessment and its methods by those involved in architectural education, which I will track over a decade and a half. What follows will question whether this campaign demonstrates the sophistication and superior judgment of those who have gone into print, or conversely whether its mixture of misinformation and disinformation reveals not just disenchantment and prejudice, but a naivety and a depth of ignorance about the fundamentals of research that is deeply damaging to the credibility of architecture as a research-based discipline. With the recent consultation process towards a new cycle of research assessment, the REF, getting under way, I aim to draw attention to the risk of repeating past mistakes.

Ideals and ideas

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-195
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Education Funding ◽  
Higher Education Funding ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Most architectural education takes place within a university context. There are very considerable advantages to such an arrangement but, for a discipline as broadly based and practically orientated as architecture, there can also be occasional problems if aspects are inappropriately managed. Anyone who doubts this should read Philip Steadman and Bill Hillier's review of the Built Environment category of the UK Higher Education Funding Council's (HEFCE) 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) (pp. 203–207).

scholarly journals Dental research: where are we now?

2011 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 207-207
Author(s):  
Gerry Linden
Keyword(s):  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Senior Lecturer ◽  
Research Excellence Framework ◽  
Selective Distribution ◽  
Dental Research ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Quality Of Research ◽  
Support Research

When I was appointed as a senior lecturer in periodontology in the mid-1980s academic posts were attractive and sought after, with the promise of involvement in research that would underpin teaching. Within a few years regular reviews of research were introduced through the research assessment exercise (RAE), now rechristened the research excellence framework (REF). The RAE assessed the quality of research in all subjects in all UK universities. The results have informed the selective distribution of resources from government to the universities to support research.

Is the RIBA taking research seriously? At long last, it looks as if it is

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-106
Keyword(s):  
Initial Response ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Architectural Research ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
As If

The repercussions of the results of the UK Government's highly controversial 2000 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) for architecture (arq 6/3, pp 203–207) continue to resonate. But this time the university architecture schools are not alone. For the first time ever, the RIBA, recognizing the seriousness of the situation for the profession, is giving architectural research the attention it deserves. Jack Pringle is masterminding the Institute's response. In late September, arq reminded him of his initial response to the RAE debacle (arq 6/3, pp 197–198), and asked him about current developments.

Research assessed

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 6-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Carolin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Architectural Education ◽  
Full Time ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Architectural Research

The publication, last December, of the ‘research ratings’ awarded to subject groups in each of the United Kingdom's higher education institutions provoked a shocked response in many Architecture schools. A fierce debate on the nature of architectural research and its implications for the future form of architectural education is now developing. With so many countries following the UK standard of a five-year period for full-time education in Architecture (and RIBA validation), this is a subject of more than local interest. Peter Carolin reports on the background to this debate.

Telling tales of impact: as seen through the eyes of user assessors

2020 ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Smith ◽  
Justyna Bandola-Gill ◽  
Nasar Meer ◽  
Ellen Stewart ◽  
Richard Watermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Funding ◽  
Research Excellence Framework ◽  
National System ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
Narrative Case Studies ◽  
The Uk

In this chapter we turn our attention to those charged with the task of judging the 'reach' and 'significance' of impact claimed by academic researchers in narrative case studies in REF2014. Knowledge pertaining to how the societal and economic impact of scientific research is evaluated is sparse. This is especially true in the context of the UK's national system of research assessment, the Research Excellence Framework (REF), in light of the confidentiality and rules of non-disclosure enforced by Research England and the UK Research & Innovation (previously the Higher Education Funding Council for England - HEFCE).

scholarly journals Ranking Research: Rankings as Devices in Higher Education Governance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Hamann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Main Section ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Education Governance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Data Informed

The paper provides a brief review of the literature on rankings in the higher education sector. It distinguishes literature on standardization effects and on stratification effects. The main section of the paper presents different rankings that are produced from the data of the Research Assessment Exercise and the Research Excellence Framework in the UK. Among them are rankings produced directly by the RAE/REF, and rankings produced by media outlets drawing on the RAE/REF data. Informed by these case examples, the closing section discusses the performativity of rankings. It looks into the different implications and effects rankings and the associated performance assessments have on higher education institutions, their personnel, and the personnel's practices.

scholarly journals The Real-Time REF Review: A Pilot Study to Examine the Feasibility of a Longitudinal Evaluation of Perceptions and Attitudes Towards REF 2021

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Netta Weinstein ◽  
James Wilsdon ◽  
Jennifer Chubb ◽  
Geoff Haddock
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Stern Review ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

The UK first introduced a national research assessment exercise in 1986, and methods of assessment continue to evolve. Following the 2016 Stern Review and further rounds of technical consultation, the UK higher education community is now preparing for the next Research Excellence Framework – REF 2021.Despite its importance in shaping UK research cultures, there is limited systematic and nuanced evidence about how academics across the sector view the REF, and which aspects are viewed favourably or unfavourably. The aims of this pilot study were twofold: first, it was designed to gather initial data to address this evidence gap; second, it was aimed at testing the feasibility of conducting a longitudinal study into academic and managerial attitudes towards the REF. We argue that further research to better understand the effects of the REF on research cultures, institutions, and individuals should be part of the evidence used to inform the development of future iterations of the exerciseThe Real Time REF Review Pilot Study was developed and delivered by a research team from Cardiff University and the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with Research England.

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