Features and mechanisms of nonacademic impact of research: a textual analysis of the educational research case studies of the Research Excellence Framework in the UK
HOU Dingkai
(Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)
Abstract: Selecting nonacademic impact case studies with high and low score in education research from REF database, this study uses text analysis method to compare and analyze the basic characteristics of these case studies in terms of supportive research, breadth and depth of nonacademic impact, and explores the types of nonacademic impact mechanisms and initiatives at the institutional level. It is found that, compared with the lowscoring impact case studies, highscoring ones illustrate academically sounder base of underpinning research and achieve broader national and global reach. Instrumental impact, conceptual impact, users′ capacity building, and public engagement are most commonlyused impact mechanisms. Institutions generating highscoring case studies take more active roles in most of impact approaches identified in this research than lowscoring ones do, especially in such activities as providing training for academic staff, maintaining long relationship with endusers, organizing promotional activities, and staging project showcasing. Based on the inspiration from the case of nonacademic impact of educational research in the UK, the study recommends to smooth the interaction path between researchers and research users, build a nonacademic impact governance system and create a nonacademic impact culture in order to expand the nonacademic impact of educational research at the institutional level in China.
侯定凯. 科研非学术影响力的基本特征和机制研究——对英国“科研卓越框架”教育研究案例的文本分析[J]. 高校教育管理, 2022, 16(6): 59-68.
HOU Dingkai. Features and mechanisms of nonacademic impact of research: a textual analysis of the educational research case studies of the Research Excellence Framework in the UK
. Journal of Higher Education Management, 2022, 16(6): 59-68.