Academics fear the value of knowledge for its own sake is diminishing
Are we in danger of losing academic freedom?
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on research impact
Displaying 1 - 20 of 42 articles
How plugging into well-connected colleagues can help research fly
The scientific impact of a research paper increases with every additional commenter who provides feedback – particularly if the comment came from a well-connected academic.
Five things to consider when designing a policy to measure research impact
This move to measure the impact of university research on society introduces many new challenges that were not previously relevant when evaluation focused solely on academic merit.
Wikipedia is already the world’s ‘Dr Google’ – it’s time for doctors and researchers to make it better
Medical entries on Wikipedia are widely consulted across the world. Doctors and medical researchers need to make efforts to ensure the content on the online collaborative encyclopedia is accurate.
How a deep dive into people’s lives helps to separate fact from fiction
Without data, people don't know what to believe or whom to trust. Empirical, thorough data collected by academics can help to fill important governance gaps.
Why getting medical information from Wikipedia isn’t always a bad idea
The academic medical community largely views Wikipedia with suspicion. But some traditional journals are starting to take the site more seriously – and some journals work very closely with it.
The science of using research: why it starts with the policymaker
Researchers and policymakers need to talk to each other. If they don't, important research will merely gather dust and policies might do more harm than good.
When measuring research, we must remember that ‘engagement’ and ‘impact’ are not the same thing
Engagement is not impact, and simple measures such as non-government research income tell us very little about genuine external engagement between universities and industry.
An education in irony: why academics need to be funny
Irony can provide new theoretical insights. Social scientists should embrace it.
Academics’ ability to lobby government under threat from new funding clause
New rules could have a chilling effect on academic freedom of speech.
Will the impact framework fix the problems the research audit found?
The new impact framework will improve some of the problems arising out of the ERA's university research audit, but major challenges will remain.
Watt report suggests financial incentives for measuring research impact
A government report on research funding and policy has recommended introducing a funding incentive to ensure university research benefits society and business.
Shift away from ‘publish or perish’ puts the public back into publication
Prime Minister Turnbull has signalled a desire to move away from a 'publish or perish' academic culture toward one that prioritises public impact and engagement. It's a challenge scholars should embrace.
There is no easy way to measure the impact of university research on society
Publicly-funded research should contribute to society in some way. But we need to think carefully about how we create a system that allows us to measure the impact of research.
Academics must still ‘publish or perish’ under revamped research funding policy
A new policy on research outputs and funding will be introduced in South Africa in 2016. But it leaves too much unchanged from the old policy.
Opening up access to research and information isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity
A lack of access to quality, peer-reviewed information can actually contribute to societal and educational inequality. How can Open Access help?
How to value research that crosses more than one discipline
We need to know what 'good' interdisciplinary research looks like.
It’s time to redraw the world’s very unequal knowledge map
There are huge global inequalities in knowledge production and exchange. What drives this inequality and how can it be corrected?
Five things I learned when my research went viral
What's behind a plant scientist's research getting reported in over 4,000 media outlets? Here's her post-game analysis.
Five ways universities have already changed in the 21st century
As more people around the world head to university, the quality of teaching and research is coming under tighter scrutiny.
Top contributors
-
Professor of Physics and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Durham University
-
Assistant Professor, Stockholm University
-
Associate professor, Lund University
-
Adjunct research fellow, Swinburne University of Technology
-
Professor of International Higher Education, UCL
-
Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
-
Associate professor, Management Discipline Group UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
-
Research and Technical Development Manager, Digital Humanities, Western Sydney University
-
Program Director, Higher Education, Grattan Institute
-
Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
-
Executive Director, Development & Communications, Australian Technology Network of Universities
-
Professor of Accounting, University of Technology Sydney
-
President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and Director of the Asia-Pacific Program for Social Investment and Philanthropy in the Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology
-
Professor of Archaeology, Flinders University
-
Professor of Public Sector Management, Monash University
Most read on The Conversation
India’s wells are running dry, fast
‘Cow economics’ are killing India’s working class
‘I’m so sorry’: when Indian advertisements turn around sexism
How world cities moving forward on climate change leave the US President behind
Kepler Mission has released its catalogue of exoplanets, but what have we learnt about these worlds?
No, palm oil is not responsible for 40% of global deforestation
Selling sex: Wonder Woman and the ancient fantasy of hot lady warriors
When a river is a person: from Ecuador to New Zealand, nature gets its day in court
70 years on, Primo Levi’s If This is A Man is still a powerful reminder of what it means to be human