UK Research Assessment Exercise Research Articles

Collaboration in cardiovascular stem-cell research

Although the excitement of discovery motivates medical researchers, competition among them is a driving force and is considered normal and healthy. Articles that are first in the field can have precedence for publication in journals with high impact factors. Academic promotion is aided by such articles and the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) demands them. Funding bodies distribute resources to the authors of such articles. For gene therapy, the motive of personal recognition by academics striving to be the authors of articles describing small advances in basic science or small clinical studies led to the publication of fragmented information that did not advance the research field.

Stem-cell therapy: hope and hype

In the fifth year since human cloning to generate stem cells was legalised in the UK, what progress has been made towards taking stem-cell therapy from laboratory to clinical practice? In 2000, articulating robust UK Government support, then Health Minister Yvette Cooper proclaimed that stem cells from cloned human embryos “could prove the Holy Grail in finding treatments for cancer, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's disease, leukaemia and multiple sclerosis … transform[ing] the lives of hundreds of thousands of people”. 1 Kite M Disabled MPs plead for stem cell research. Times (Lond). Dec 16, 2000; Google Scholar But 4 years later, the technical difficulties and biological hazards inherent in cloning human embryos and developing treatments from their stem cells led Richard Gardner, Chairman of the Royal Society Working Group on Stem Cells and Therapeutic Cloning, to doubt whether this would ever be “a procedure that becomes widely available … There are concerns about the efficiency and elaborateness of the procedure, and it's going to be very time-consuming and very expensive”. 2 Sample I Is there hope behind the stem cell hype?. Guardian. Aug 19, 2004; Google Scholar So, to paraphrase May 25th's Saving Faces event in London, UK, are stem-cell therapies hype, or hope, or substance? Collaboration in cardiovascular stem-cell researchAlthough the excitement of discovery motivates medical researchers, competition among them is a driving force and is considered normal and healthy. Articles that are first in the field can have precedence for publication in journals with high impact factors. Academic promotion is aided by such articles and the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) demands them. Funding bodies distribute resources to the authors of such articles. For gene therapy, the motive of personal recognition by academics striving to be the authors of articles describing small advances in basic science or small clinical studies led to the publication of fragmented information that did not advance the research field. Full-Text PDF Semantics and ethics of human embryonic stem-cell researchThe ethical debate about human embryonic stem-cell research has revisited the old embryo-research debate, which UK law put within a framework as long ago as 1990,1 licensing it under strict conditions, permitting only research linked to reproduction, and creation of embryos for research when “necessary”. In the aftermath of animal research on stem cells, new categories were added to the statute,2 allowing also “research for serious disease” on the human embryo. Although on both occasions the legal process had been democratic3 and expressed its respect for the symbolic nature of the embryo,4 a judge5 was asked to determine whether an embryo created by somatic-cell nuclear transfer was an embryo under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, a matter settled on appeal in February, 2002. Full-Text PDF

A New Method for Ranking Academic Journals in Accounting and Finance

Given the many and varied uses to which journal rankings are put, interest in ranking journal 'quality' is likely to persist. Unfortunately, existing methods of constructing such rankings all have inherent limitations. This paper proposes a new (complementary) approach, based on submissions to the most recent UK research assessment exercise (RAE 2001), which is not restricted to a pre-defined journal set and, importantly, is based on quality choice decisions driven by economic incentives. For three metrics, submissions to RAE 2001 are compared with the available set of publications to provide evidence on the perception of journal quality, a fourth metric is based on the overall RAE grades, and an overall ranking is produced.

Ratings in the Research Assessment Exercise 2001 - the Patterns of University Status and Panel Membership

Ratings awarded to university departments in the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 were analysed to determine whether they were influenced either by the status of the university (pre-1992 or post-1992) or by whether the university was represented on the panel that determined the ratings. There was little evidence that panel membership has any effect on ratings, but an analysis of covariance also showed that, among universities not on the panel, pre-1992 universities were more favourably assessed, relative to post-1992 universities, than would be expected on the basis of their ratings in the 1996 RAE. This finding, along with the preponderance of pre-1992 universities on all panels (even those where the majority of the research is conducted by post-1992 universities), is used to urge strongly that in future RAEs, panel membership should be made much more representative of higher education in general and of the institutions submitting the research considered by each panel in particular.

Drug development: more science, more education

Drug development: more science, more education

UK's Research Assessment Exercise

UK's Research Assessment Exercise

UK's Research Assessment Exercise

UK's Research Assessment Exercise

A recurring question answered with a degree of optimism

What is architectural research? That was the title of a University of Cambridge Department of Architecture symposium held at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London in September 2005. The idea of the symposium emerged during a battle to save Cambridge's Department of Architecture from closure in 2004. The University authorities had recommended closure because the Department's research rating in the UK's Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) of 2001 had dropped from 5 to 4 with a corresponding fall in research funding from the government. For a research-based university like Cambridge (where only three departments out of over 50 in the whole University scored below 5) research funding subsidises teaching so, for the University authorities, closure would have saved money and reduced its financial deficit. An outcry from within and outside the University saved the Cambridge Department, but important questions remain.

The nursing research assessment exercise 2001: An analysis

Summary The 2001 UK research assessment exercise (RAE) was explored for units of assessment (UoA) 10 (Nursing) and 11 (Other Studies and Professions Allied to Medicine). In nursing funding was the best predictor of high RAE ratings. Other factors that appear relevant are numbers of doctorates awarded and publications in prestigious journals and in those with high impact factors (IF). UoA 11 showed similar but not identical trends. Specific funding sources were more important than overall funds in UoA 11, and the journals with high ratings in UoA 10 did not necessarily score highly in UoA 11. Further the diversity of journals was higher in UoA 11.

The UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 and Retail Research Output

Knowledge creation processes in British Universities have been affected significantly by formal evaluations of research performance. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 in the UK shows that retail research is based primarily in the business and management subject area and in selected institutions. There is a tension amongst institutional strategies to maximise assessment results and thus income, individual career paths, journal 'ratings' and the direction of research. The emerging focus on a North American model of research knowledge creation raises fundamental concerns covering the philosophy, methodology, techniques and topics of retail research in the UK.

Does Bradford-Zipf apply to business and management journals in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise?

As part of research on journal submissions to the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), data was compiled for a longitudinal analysis for Unit of Assessment (UoA) 43, Business and Management Studies (BMS). Data on the 1996 RAE submissions for this UoA was considered. For the 2001 RAE, academic Departments in the UK wishing to submit to the RAE were asked to nominate up to four items of published output per member of staff being submitted that represented the best work those individuals had published in the period. There was no obligation to just use journal articles, as all types of publication were acceptable, but in practice the majority of items returned (69.7% in 2001) were journal articles. The remainder comprised reports, conference proceedings and similar outputs. Journal submission data obtained from the publicly available database (http://www.hero.ac.uk) following the 2001 exercise was checked, tabulated and analysed. This showed that for 2001, 7941 journal articles were submitted to 1489 journal titles . This sample of journal titles could be said to represent the best UK BMS research for the period 1996-2001 (the period under consideration in the 2001 RAE). . The question arises whether journals in which articles for the RAE are submitted represent the “core” journals for that subject. One way of approaching this question is to subject the data to a Bradford-Zipf analysis. If the material shows a classic Bradford-Zipf distribution, it could be argued perhaps that the core journals in the field can indeed be identified using this method. In order to address this issue and as part of the on-going research, the group of 1489 titles was used to test for a Bradford-Zipf distribution.

Extracts from the ATHE Response to the Consultation Document ‘RAE 02/2004: Panel Configuration and Recruitment' for the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2008

Extracts from the ATHE Response to the Consultation Document ‘RAE 02/2004: Panel Configuration and Recruitment' for the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2008

High Performance Schooling

As anthropologist Marilyn Strathern notes in her introduction to the collection Audit Cultures, the emergence of audit and assessment procedures that we see in academic practice ‘is part of a global phenomenon. Audit regimes accompany a specific epoch in Western international affairs’.2 The different evaluative procedures found in the US GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and the UK RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) are both culturally specific – and increasingly shared by people around the world. From individuals and small groups to larger institutions, governments and, of late, international and transnational organizations, we find a complex and growing regime of evaluative procedures that accompany, enable and, precisely, account for contemporary processes of globalization. Such procedures are in no way limited to academics, of course, but extend across every social sphere, including those of business, politics, healthcare, the military and even art and culture. Through initiatives such as the United Nation’s Global Compact, the entire world is becoming a giant test site, a colossal ‘audit-orium’ or space of auditing. Perhaps a more fitting punch line to my epigraph will soon be: ‘I’m an Earthling. I was born to be audited’.

Erratum

Learned PublishingVolume 17, Issue 2 p. 84-84 ErratumFree Access Erratum This article corrects the following: The role of academic journal publications in the UK Research Assessment Exercise Valerie Bence, Charles Oppenheim, Volume 17Issue 1Learned Publishing pages: 53-68 First Published online: January 1, 2004 First published: 01 April 2004 https://doi.org/10.1087/095315104322958454Citations: 2AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume17, Issue2April 2004Pages 84-84 RelatedInformation

The UK Research Assessment Exercise 2001: an analysis for hospitality research

Hospitality presence and performance in the UK's Research Assessment Exercise 2001 (RAE) is analyzed. This shows that circa 60 researchers with hospitality research interests were submitted to the RAE. The grades achieved by submissions that included hospitality were generally in the mid-range. Panel feedback to hospitality considered the area as lacking international quality and exhibiting a poor record in publications and doctoral work. A number of measures are offered to the hospitality community to meet this critique: these include approaches to develop researcher numbers and participation; settling on the purpose of research; developing confidence and disseminating findings.

The role of academic journal publications in the UK Research Assessment Exercise

ABSTRACTThis article explores the evolution of the role of academic journal articles submitted to the UK's Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). By reviewing their role, it is possible to see how the changes from quantitative to qualitative assessment (and the resulting problems surrounding the definition of ‘quality’ journals) has impacted both on the journals selected by academics for publishing their research and the assessment of them. Although only one part of RAE submissions, the listing of published research outputs provides the primary evidence for research quality to most RAE panels, and is a significant driver of the final grade awarded, and thus the funding received by submitting institutions. The RAE, being a peer‐reviewed assessment exercise, mirrors in some ways the peer‐review process immured within scholarly publication. The developing role of journal publications as a vehicle for academic research output is examined via the chronology of the RAE, before assessing the current situation in which published journal output formed almost 70% of all output assessed by RAE panels in the latest exercise. The impact of this increased importance of academic journals in the assessment process is considered not only for academics but also for the wider community, i.e. publishers and libraries.

The implicit use of business concepts in the UK Research Assessment Exercise

Research assessment exercises covering universities in the United Kingdom were established to produce quality ratings as a basis for allocating much of the research funding from central government. They represent some of the largest research management exercises ever undertaken. Amongst other aspects of university performance, the publications of all ‘research active’ UK academics are evaluated. This paper describes the way in which quality was assessed and funds were allocated as a result of the 1992, 1996 and 2001 exercises. It looks at how the exercises might continue to evolve and the value of a further exercise.The strategies adopted by universities to maximise their ratings and their income are also considered. Universities have improved their research performance and their reporting methods in response to changes in the criteria and weightings used in the exercise. In parallel the HEFC (Higher Education Funding Council) has changed the ways in which funds have been distributed once the level of research performance has been determined.The exercises have received much criticism as well as an acceptance that they have changed the culture of academic research. This paper considers the parallel evolution of trends in the management of R&D in business with trends in the management of university research via these exercises. There are underlying assumptions that seem to influence the transfer of policy design principles and management lessons between the two sectors.

Citation counts and the Research Assessment Exercise V

A citation study of the 692 staff that makes up unit of assessment 58 (archaeology), in the 2001 UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was undertaken. Unlike earlier studies, which were obliged to make assumptions on who and what had been submitted for assessment, these were, for the first time available from the RAE Web site. This study, therefore, used the specific submission details of authors and their publications. Using the Spearman rank‐order correlation coefficient, all results showed high statistically significant correlation between the RAE result and citation counts. The results were significant at 0.01 per cent. The findings confirm earlier studies. Given the comparative cost and ease of citation analysis, it is recommended that, correctly applied, it should be the initial tool of assessment for the RAE. Panel members would then exercise their judgement and skill to confirm final rankings.

Reply to Susanne MacGregor's Response, `We did not Simply Mimic Received Opinion'

In 2002, I published an article in the Journal of Social Work, in which, based on my experience as an external assessor for the UK's RAE (Research Assessment Exercise), I raised concerns about lack of clarity in criteria used to review research. Susanne MacGregor responded to my original article in a subsequent edition of the Journal of Social Work. This article is a reply to that response.

Evaluating research performance in tourism: the UK experience

This paper is a critical commentary on the measures now being used to evaluate the quality of tourism research in the UK. The paper examines the nature of the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and its evolution since 1992. A detailed analysis of the 2001 RAE in relation to tourism is reviewed, using the returns made by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This is complemented by a content analysis of the origin of authors who published in Tourism Management and Annals of Tourism Research 1996–2002, to examine the contribution of UK academics to tourism outputs in these journals.