Performance anxiety in academia: Tensions within research assessment exercises in an age of austerity

Abstract

Abstract.The current recessionary economic climate in Ireland has (re-) awakened a neoliberal agenda that is changing the dynamic of what is being valued within research assessment exercises, specifically across Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) disciplines in higher education. Research assessment exercises in AHSS disciplines now place a greater emphasis on measuring performance in terms of quantitative research metrics (such as: bibliometrics, impact factors and/ or citation indices), in an attempt to demonstrate greater accountability and value-for-money within this age of austerity. This practice has the potential to impact negatively on the quality and diversity of research, as well as 'the autonomy of researchers' (RIA, 2009, p2) undertaking AHSS research in Ireland and elsewhere. This article critically reviews research assessment exercises, with particular reference to the assessment of educational research in Ireland. It examines issues in the assessment of research within the neoliberal agenda that is evident in Ireland, and elsewhere. For example, in other jurisdictions, the neoliberal drive for accountability has been accompanied by an increase in 'citation clubs', a malpractice involving a group of researchers consistently citing each others work to increase their citation index. It also challenges the validity of utilising predominantly quantitative research metrics in light of the recent move towards online publication of research, where the manipulation of metadata (key words that describe the research) has the potential to unfairly increase the citation indices of those researchers with a better understanding of search optimisation techniques within online contexts. The discussion concludes by critiquing some of the emerging and emergent anxieties in relation to researcher performance in assessment exercises.

Patterns and paths towards privatisation in Ireland

“…Since the late 1990s, Irish public policy-making has been driven by neoliberal assumptions regarding the supremacy of the market (Lynch and Moran 2006), and since the millennium, Mooney Simmie (2012, 506) reports a 'changing tune of neoliberalism being played from soft to medium to loud' in Irish education. This is perhaps unsurprising given the recessionary economic climate in Ireland (Holland, Lorenzi, and Hall 2016) in recent years that has seen the country go from having one of the highest economic growth rates in the world to one of severe economic contraction (Drudy 2009). When the country was plunged into times of economic hardship, the President invited the public to engage with the discourse that makes the connection between the economy, society and state (Mooney Simmie 2012), and similar stances were taken by both the Minister for Education and Skills (see Quinn 2012) and the Chief Inspector of the DES (see Hislop 2012).…”

The changing research landscape and reflections on national research assessment in the future

“…There are a series of measures used in different settings to quantify research performance (e.g. number of publications, citation index, funding received and impact factor of publications) and inform an understanding of the value-for-money of funded research (Holland et al 2016). 26 Qualitative evidence can also be presented, for example case studies as part of the impact element of the REF and the pilot for ERA.…”

“…However, there are also some negative consequences to a focus on acclaim, and the use of research assessment exercises as a means for ranking is said to have led to the reconfiguration of some institutions in terms of mission and internal systems (Holland et al 2016;Li 2016;Martin-Sardesai et al 2017).…”

“…Although this was expected to stimulate higher quality research among researchers, there is evidence that it discourages universities from recruiting early-career researchers who will not have established research records. Additionally, individual-focused research assessment may result in 'citation clubs', where a group of researchers consistently cite each other's work to increase their citation index (Holland et al 2016).…”

Impacting Capabilities: A Conceptual Framework for the Social Value of Research

“…We argue that this, and other features of the capabilities approach, can help address common concerns that the use of research metrics infringes on academic freedom or intellectual autonomy (Smith et al, 2011;Wilsdon et al, 2015, ch. 7; Statement on "Academic Analytics" Research Metrics 1 , Holland et al, 2016). We suggest that these concerns are, in part, responses to three limitations of many commonly-used research metrics.…”