Impact case studies: what accounts for the need for numbers in impact evaluation?

Challenges of reporting societal impacts for research evaluation purposesthe case of sociology

“…While the nature and scope of reported impacts relate to thinking on research utilisation and more generally the role of science in society (see, among others, Boswell & Smith, 2017;Weiss, 1979Weiss, , 1980, the question of how to demonstrate impacts is also a matter of narration and the use of persuasive causal claims backed by credible evidence (Hellström & Hellström, 2017;Lim, 2020). Below, we lay out the analytical framework for discussing the nature of research utilisation and the potentials of narrative strategies in writing impact cases in more detail.…”

“…To support the impact argument, narrative impact cases also present evidence that corroborates the claims made in the argument. This is a requirement in evaluation contexts, yet it is also a common mechanism in settings where researchers strive for credibility and trust (Lim, 2020). As Latour and Woolgar (1986) argued, credibility is a necessary asset for scientists to be able to continue their activity, and this is also relevant in the realm of impact case studies, where researchers introduce so-called credibility markers (Derrick & Benneworth, 2020;Toma & D'Angelo, 2015) to build the reputation of their claims.…”

Numbers and their contexts: how quantified actors narrate numbers and decontextualization

“…For actors producing data, trust in numbers is paradoxically both strong and fragile. When numbers are used in the politics of accountability or high-stakes decisionmaking on the allocation of funds or could have damaging effects on one's reputation, they become incentives to manipulation and mistrust (Lim, 2020). Trust in numbers is thus contingent upon trust in the expertise and procedures behind those numbers.…”