A new measure to understand the role of science in US Congress: lessons learned from the Legislative Use of Research Survey (LURS)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.C. Long ◽  
R.L. Smith ◽  
J.T. Scott ◽  
B. Gay ◽  
C. Giray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Sources ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Factor Loadings ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
The Us ◽  
Congressional Staff ◽  
Research And Policy ◽  
Use Of Research

Background: There is growing interest in and recognition of the need to use scientific evidence to inform policymaking. However, many of the existing studies on the use of research evidence (URE) have been largely qualitative, and the majority of existing quantitative measures are underdeveloped or were tested in regional or context-dependent settings. We are unaware of any quantitative measures of URE with national policymakers in the US.Aims and objectives: Explore how to measure URE quantitatively by validating a measure of congressional staff’s attitudes and behaviors regarding URE, the Legislative Use of Research Survey (LURS), and by discussing the lessons learned through administering the survey.Methods: A 68-item survey was administered to 80 congressional staff to measure their reported research use, value of research, interactions with researchers, general information sources, and research information sources. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on each of these five scales. We then trimmed the number of items, based on a combination of poor factor loadings and theoretical rationale, and ran the analyses on the trimmed subscales.Findings: We substantially improved our model fits for each scale over the original models and all items had acceptable factor loadings with our trimmed 35-item survey. We also describe the unique set of challenges and lessons learned from surveying congressional staff.Discussion and conclusions: This work contributes to the transdisciplinary field of URE by offering a tool for studying the mechanisms that can bridge research and policy and shedding light into best practices for measuring URE with national policymakers in the US.<br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Demonstrates structural validity of a quantitative measure of policymakers’ use of research evidence;</li><br /><li>Includes scales that assess mechanisms for bridging research and policy;</li><br /><li>Illustrates the potential for applying rigorous measurement designs with congressional staff;</li><br /><li>Discusses specific lessons that can inform successful measurement in the future.</li></ul>

Reconsidering symbolic use: a situational model of the use of research evidence in polarised legislative hearings

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-541
Author(s):  
Robert Asen ◽  
Whitney Gent
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Research Use ◽  
Situational Model ◽  
The Us ◽  
Modes Of Interaction ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Use Of Research

Participating in the growing scholarly attention to the roles of rhetoric and argumentation in policymaking, we examine how the use of research evidence operates in explicitly argumentative legislative hearings characterised by partisanship and polarisation. Conducting a rhetorical analysis of three legislative hearings in the US state of Wisconsin, we discovered that partisanship and polarisation did not influence argument and the use of research evidence uniformly. Instead, legislators and committee witnesses employed a range of uses for research evidence. To understand this usage, we have developed a framework that foregrounds situations of research use. These situations consist of conditions of polarisation (visibility, bipartisan leadership, familiarity, and controversy), modes of interaction (participation, cooperation and (dis)qualification), and conceptions of research use (necessity, relevance, and sufficiency). This situational model recognises that symbolic use provides the foundation for the use of research evidence in legislative settings. This model also reconfigures the relationship between research evidence and decision making.

Family-Based Programs for Preventing Delinquency and Later Offending

2018 ◽  
pp. 652-672
Author(s):  
Brandon C. Welsh ◽  
Steven N. Zane
Keyword(s):  
Parent Education ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Parent Management Training ◽  
Criminal Offending ◽  
Family Risk Factors ◽  
Family Risk ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Parent Management ◽  
Research And Policy

This chapter reviews the leading family-based programs for preventing delinquency and later offending, focusing on the highest quality research studies as well as the most rigorous reviews of research that include only high-quality studies. It argues that by focusing on families we can go a long way toward improving the effectiveness of programs and policies to prevent delinquency and later criminal offending. As such, this chapter provides some background on family risk factors and family-based prevention programs. It then examines the research evidence on the leading family-based programs for preventing delinquency and later offending: parent education, parent management training, and family programs for system-involved youth. Finally, this chapter discusses some implications for research and policy.

scholarly journals Psychodynamics of imagination failures: Reflections on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

2021 ◽  
pp. 135050762110097
Author(s):  
Amy L Fraher
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
September 11Th ◽  
Empire Building ◽  
Public Inquiry ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Type ◽  
20Th Anniversary ◽  
Psychodynamic Understanding

This article aims to advance the psychodynamic understanding of imagination failures by studying lessons learned in the US government’s public inquiry into September 11th, 2001 (9/11). Analyzing the findings of The 9/11 Report, I theorize that two forms of macro-level hubris—America’s “hubris of empire-building” and Al Qaeda’s “hubris-nemesis complex”—amalgamated in a uniquely generative manner leading to events on 9/11. Previous studies of public inquiries often demonstrate that inquiry reports are monological story-telling performances used to create sense-making narratives that function hegemonically to impose a simplified version of reality to assign blame and depoliticize events in order to facilitate closure after shocking events. In contrast, findings here suggest that by constructing a critical narrative, The 9/11 Report may serve as a new type of public inquiry report that invites learning about the complex factors that underpin crisis. The article concludes by identifying fruitful areas of future research and ways to theorize further about the collective psychodynamics of macro-level hubris and the psychodynamic factors that hinder learning and contribute to imagination failures.

Usability of E-government mapping applications: lessons learned from the US National Atlas

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Wade Bishop ◽  
Kenneth Carter Haggerty ◽  
Benjamin Earl Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Us

Countering Violent Extremism in Canada and Abroad

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Abdelrahman Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
The Us ◽  
Violent Extremism ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
The Uk

Terrorism and violent extremism have undoubtedly become among the top security concerns of the 21st century. Despite a robust agenda of counterterrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the evolution of global terrorism has continued to outpace the policy responses that have tried to address it. Recent trends such as the foreign fighter phenomenon, the rampant spread of extremist ideologies online and within communities, and a dramatic increase in terrorist incidents worldwide, have led to a recognition that “traditional” counterterrorism efforts are insufficient and ineffective in combatting these phenomena. Consequently, the focus of policy and practice has shifted towards countering violent extremism by addressing the drivers of radicalization to curb recruitment to extremist groups. Within this context, the field of countering violent extremism (CVE) has garnered attention from both the academic and policy-making worlds. While the CVE field holds promise as a significant development in counterterrorism, its policy and practice are complicated by several challenges that undermine the success of its initiatives. Building resilience to violent extremism is continuously challenged by an overly securitized narrative and unintended consequences of previous policies and practices, including divisive social undercurrents like Islamophobia, xenophobia, and far-right sentiments. These by-products make it increasingly difficult to mobilize a whole of society response that is so critical to the success and sustainability of CVE initiatives. This research project addresses these policy challenges by drawing on the CVE strategies of Canada, the US, the UK, and Denmark to collect best practice and lessons learned in order to outline a way forward. 

scholarly journals Evaluating educational changes: a statistical perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (78) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Harvey Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Educational Policy ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
League Tables ◽  
Educational Changes ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Use Of Research

The paper explores some of the issues involved in evaluating educational policy initiatives. It gives examples of how research findings can be evaluated and draws lessons for the ways in which policymakers can interact usefully with researchers. It argues that while central government's use of research evidence is often highly selective and concerned with its own perceived short term interests, a broader view of the research process is more productive and beneficial. The issues of class size, school league tables and the effects of homework are studied in detail and the often provisional nature of research evidence is emphasised as well as the uncertainty surrounding the findings of individual studies.

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