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Research Impact & Metrics Guide

This guide provides an introduction to research impact and an overview of select metrics used to measure research impact and their value, appropriate use, and limits.

What Is Research Impact?

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) defines research impact as the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy.

This can include both:

  • Academic impact: the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research makes in shifting understanding and advancing scientific method, theory and application across and within disciplines
  • Economic and societal impact: the demonstrable contribution that excellent social and economic research has on society and the economy, and its benefits to individuals, organizations or nations.

The National Institutes of Health defines research impact as “advances that improve health, revolutionize science, and serve society more broadly.”

The National Science Foundation funds scientists and engineers to perform research that advances discovery and innovation. The agency also expects researchers' work to have broader impacts: the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

Why Measure Your Research Impact?

  • "Academic Career Advancement" demonstrates the quality and influence of your scholarly output to support promotion and tenure.
  • "Funding Accountability" quantifies the value of your research to help secure continued funding and future funding requests.
  • "Other Contributions" demonstrates the research value to societal, economic and public policy objectives and needs.
  • "Research Influence" identifies researchers and institutions who are using your work credited.
  • "Collaboration Opportunities" identifies potential collaborators within or outside of your discipline.

References

Alla, K., Hall, W. D., Whiteford, H. A., Head, B. W., & Meurk, C. S. (2017). How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review. Health Res Policy Syst, 15(1), 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-017-0247-z

Greenhalgh, T., Raftery, J., Hanney, S., & Glover, M. (2016). Research impact: a narrative review. BMC Med, 14, 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-016-0620-8

Penfield, T., Baker, M. J., Scoble, R., & Wykes, M. C. (2014). Assessment, evaluations, and definitions of research impact: A review. Research Evaluation, 23(1), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvt021

Ravenscroft, J., Liakata, M., Clare, A., & Duma, D. (2017). Measuring scientific impact beyond academia: An assessment of existing impact metrics and proposed improvements. PLoS One, 12(3), e0173152. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173152