Thomson Reuters/King’s College London Survey Explores U.K. Research Community’s Concerns About New Research Excellence Framework
PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, May 5 /PRNewswire/ —
- Participants Were Part of Conference Focusing On Increasing Importance
of Research Evaluation in the New University Ranking Systems
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.
About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information
for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with
innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision
makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare
and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization.
With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan,
Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries.
Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI);
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI); London Stock Exchange (LSE: TRIL); and
Nasdaq (NASDAQ: TRIN). For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.
About King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world
(Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led
university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more
than 140 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation
for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is
in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual
income of approximately 400 million pounds Sterling. An investment of 500
million pounds has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.
King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities,
law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering,
and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern
life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre
for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five
Medical Research Council Centres — more than any other university.
Web site: http://www.scientific.thomsonreuters.com
Thomson Reuters
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment