Comment: Bibliometrics in the Context of the UK Research Assessment Exercise

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.

Download Full-text

Professionals, Self-Evaluation, and Information in the UK: The Higher Education Research Assessment Exercise and Clinical Governance

Quality Matters ◽

10.4324/9781351322447-10 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 199-213

Author(s):

Andrew Gray ◽

Bill Jenkins

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Education Research ◽

Clinical Governance ◽

Research Assessment ◽

Higher Education Research ◽

Research Assessment Exercise ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Architectural research and its enemies

Architectural Research Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s1359135510000527 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 11-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

Download Full-text