Participants Were Part of Conference Focusing On Increasing Importance of Research Evaluation in the New University Ranking Systems
Philadelphia, PA, London UK - May 5, 2008 - The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters and King's College London today announced the results of a survey of representatives from 75 U.K. universities and research institutes examining key concerns about research evaluation in the new Research Excellence Framework (REF). The respondents' top concern about research evaluation in the REF — identified by 28 percent of respondents — is "getting accurate and verifiable data."
“Institutional infrastructure,” “Knowing what is required,” and “Time and workload” were also significant concerns, each being identified by 20 percent of respondents.
The survey was conducted in conjunction with a national conference called “Beyond the RAE 2008: Bibliometrics, League Tables and the REF,” sponsored by the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters and King’s College London. Following the survey, the attendees — representing various parts of the U.K. research system — took part in a candid discussion about the survey’s findings and the REF.
“The survey results tell us that these representatives from the U.K. research system have reservations about their access to accurate, verifiable data within the REF, and their participation in the ‘Beyond the RAE’ conference is an important first step in addressing them,” said Jim Pringle, vice president of product development for the Scientific business at Thomson Reuters. “The conference’s open, productive dialogue aired these and other concerns of institutional representatives involved with the changing evaluation research system.”
Held at King’s College London on April 30, the one-day conference informed participants about appropriate uses of citation data in research evaluation, and provided a forum to discuss and plan for future evaluative activities around the upcoming REF, the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). It was the first opportunity for research managers and the professional information community from across the U.K. to meet and discuss the current status of planning for the REF and review their roles in implementing it. Similar events will be held as the REF takes shape.
The conference featured speakers from the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE), The Center for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Evidence, Ltd. and the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters, with an external perspective provided by the Australian Research Evaluation and Policy Project. In addition, case studies presented by King’s College London, the University of Leicester and the University of Southampton showcased these universities’ experiences with systems and processes for research evaluation in the context of the RAE 2008, illustrating the level of innovation and effort being put forth by the U.K. university community.
“We were pleased to work with King’s College London on this special event. This truly was a university-led event; King’s College stepped forward to provide leadership in making this important event possible, and we were glad to help make it a success,” added Pringle. “Thomson Reuters will continue to work closely with the U.K. university community to optimize its tools and services to facilitate the compilation of accurate, verifiable data in the new research environment.”
Formerly Thomson Scientific, the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters provides information and knowledge to accelerate research, discovery and innovation. Thomson Reuters’ authoritative, accurate and timely information is essential for drug companies to discover new drugs and get them to market faster; researchers to find relevant papers and know what’s newly published in their subject; and businesses to optimize their intellectual property and find competitive intelligence. Thomson Reuters creates the research platforms and services of the future that powers their customers toward business and personal success. Scientific information solutions can be found at scientific.thomsonreuters.com.
