Project output versus influence in practice: impact as a dimension of research quality

Hall, Hazel

Abstract

In an environment where resources are few, research funders are expected to focus on projects that demonstrate value for money. Thus, in the context of service provision, proposed research projects should actively contribute to the building of an evidence base that both supports decision-making, and is actively deployed in practice. Based on Hall's keynote presentation at EBLIP6 in June 2011, this paper explores strategies for researchers to maximise the impact of librarianship research projects. It takes into account a range of factors, for example those related to: initial project conception and implementation; the nature of research output and its dissemination; researcher profiles; and target practitioner audiences. It draws on preliminary results from the Research into Librarianship Impact Evaluation Study (RiLIES), a study sponsored by the UK Library and Information Science Research Coalition. The associated PowerPoint slides can be found at http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~hazelh/esis/Hall_EBLIP6_2011.ppt

Citation

Hall, H. (2011). Project output versus influence in practice: impact as a dimension of research quality. Evidence based library and information practice, 6(4),

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2011
• Deposit Date: Dec 9, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 31, 2011
• Electronic ISSN: 1715-720X
• Publisher: University of Alberta, Learning Services
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 4
• Keywords: Service provision; research projects; evidence based; Research into Librarianship Impact Evaluation Study
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/4768
• Publisher URL: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/views/12138