Research Utilization in the Social Sciences

Abstract

Social science disciplines generate diverse forms of research utilization, given the various contexts in which disciplinary knowledge is produced and translated for the fields of policy and practice. We examine this issue from the perspective of academic researchers in the social sciences across education, economics, sociology, political science, and psychology. We use survey data from a study of university-based social science researchers in Australia to examine factors that influence perceptions of the policy uptake of social research. Our results show that disciplinary and methodological context matters when it comes to understanding the translation, dissemination, and utilization of academic social research.

The utilisation of social science research – the perspectives of academic researchers in Australia

“…While not strong, there was a positive relationship between whether respondents reported they used quantitative approaches and subsequent utilisation. Landry et al (2001aLandry et al ( , 2001b found a similar result in relation to particular social science disciplines, as did Cherney and McGee (2011) and Cherney et al (2013). It is possible that the perceived effect of quantitative methods in influencing levels of utilisation may reflect the preferences and bias of users for particular types of research.…”

“…We use a similar approach to that adopted in the study by Landry et al (2001aLandry et al ( , 2001b and draw on the Knott and Wildavsky (1980) research-use scale to examine factors that appear to influence reported levels of research impact. We do not examine knowledge utilisation rates between specific social science disciplines (see Cherney et al, 2013, for a comparison across sociology, education, psychology, economics and political science). While we recognise that different scientific disciplines may generate diverse forms of utilisation, given that the various contexts in which knowledge is produced and processed vary across research domains, our aim here is to generate broader generalisations about knowledge utilisation in the social sciences.…”

Examining the Link Between Funding and Intellectual Interventions Across Universities and Think Tanks: a Theoretical Framework

“…It is thus premature to conclude that broad changes have eroded the traditions and local contexts of specific disciplines and research units. There remains a multiplicity of research practices in academia; researchers are active actors who regulate their responses to change according to their values, interests, objectives and traditions (Cherney et al 2013;Goodall 2009).…”

How to Increase the Relevance and Use of Social and Behavioral Science: Lessons for Policy-makers, Researchers and Others

“…Partnerships in which university researchers work directly on a non-university actor's practical problem increase the likelihood that research solutions will be adopted (Cherney, Head, Boreham, Povey, & Ferguson, 2013;Lindblom & Cohen, 1979) over more passive strategies that assume that if researchers produce relevant research other actors will take it up. Partnering on a real world problem ensures that researchers work on problems relevant to partners with those partners, who are often also solution adopters.…”