Discussing research impact

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology

ISSN: 0955-6222

Article publication date: 25 February 2014

413

Citation

Stylios, G. (2014), "Discussing research impact", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 26 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCST-01-2014-0002

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Discussing research impact

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Volume 26, Issue 1

We start the new volume of IJCST Vol. 26 with a discussion of an important aspect of research which although considered in research quality, it was not explicitly defined and measured; it is the subject of research impact. In the last couple of years and with the onset of the Research Excellence Framework REF2014 in the UK, research impact is now well and truly set as a measure of research quality. Also in Europe, in the USA and in Australia impact is now in every research proposal and quantified in each research budget. Let us define it; "The demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to academic advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, methods, theory and application"[1]. There are some key words in this definition, i.e. a demonstrable contribution means that the impact of research should be measured. We are not talking about paper numbers and their citations here, it goes much beyond that. Impact can be measured in various ways and its specific definition is given by Research Councils UK as:

The demonstrable contribution[1] that excellent research makes to society and the economy. Economic and societal impacts embrace all the extremely diverse ways in which research-related knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations by:

fostering global economic performance, and specifically the economic competitiveness of the United Kingdom,

increasing the effectiveness of public services and policy,

enhancing quality of life, health and creative output.

My own information tells me that research impact in the next period of assessment, which has already started, will be given higher importance and although currently it carries 20 percent in the next assessment it may carry as much as 40 percent. This has serious implications which are now being addressed by the research community.

On the one hand when we are able to define impact we can do better research and allow the funding bodies to distribute their funds more effectively, on the other hand research impact can be generated in many ways and particularly at different timescales, so we have to try to accept this complexity and to make allowances for people with strange ideas to pursue them because focusing only at monetary impact of the research will certainly not make the leaps of science and technology that made in the past so many improvements of our lives. After all history has taught us that it is those that do not fit in the mainstream of academic formats, these eccentrics that do not follow the budget envelopes and those mavericks that make usually the difference.

IJCST has been assessing research impact for many years during its peer review and I can say well before the recent formal government requirements, but it has always had the flexibility of going beyond monetary assessment and recognising new research areas, blue sky outputs, early career researchers, etc. and this will continue in the new volume. The paper quality of IJCST is increasing year on year and the publisher under the helm of Emma Bruun has been increasing the number of papers in the volume by 25 percent, meaning more opportunity for authors and higher coverage of research topics for readers. IJCST will pay particular attention to original research papers in the areas of SMART Textiles and Nano Textiles. A special issue for the former has been agreed for Vol. 26 with another one following on the latter for Vol. 27.

One particular important reference in all of this is the research peer review and IJCST. We will continue to rely on this scholarly activity of our reviewers who safeguard one of the most important publishing criteria of IJCST, and for this I am very grateful. On the occasion of the first issue of Vol. 26, my best wishes to authors for successful papers and good knowledge generation to our readers.

George Stylios
Editor-in-Chief

Note

[1] Research Councils, UK.

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