{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:28:34Z","timestamp":1777854514240,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,7]],"date-time":"2016-03-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1457308800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Information Science"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2016,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The importance of demonstrating value for money in terms of academic research beyond the walls of institutions grows stronger as demonstrated by the inclusion of impact assessment in the 2014 REF (Research Excellence Framework) exercise for UK higher education institutions (HEIs). To understand if such focus is influencing the library and information science (LIS) discipline, this paper reports a critical examination of impact case studies submitted to REF 2014 under the Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management Unit of Assessment. Content analysis was conducted on 25 case studies submitted by 14 institutions, establishing the methodologies, impacts, beneficiaries, published outputs and corroborative evidence reported. The implications of impact assessment on future LIS researcher behaviour, in terms of research conceptualisation and design, were explored through nine qualitative telephone interviews. While individual researchers did not anticipate their behaviour to change due to the introduction of impact assessments, there are anticipated changes across the discipline including a greater focus on engaging with stakeholders and research beneficiaries at early stages of research design and an emphasis on mixed methodologies to maximise the power and consequences of research results.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0165551516636291","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,7]],"date-time":"2016-03-07T21:13:09Z","timestamp":1457385189000},"page":"369-385","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Beyond REF 2014: The impact of impact assessment on the future of information research"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"42","author":[{"given":"Rita","family":"Marcella","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Aberdeen Business School, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hayley","family":"Lockerbie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aberdeen Business School, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lyndsay","family":"Bloice","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aberdeen Business School, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,3,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1474022214534381"},{"key":"bibr2-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morgan Jones M, Castle-Clarke S, Manville C, Gunashekar S, Grant J. Assessing Research Impact: An international review of the Excellence in Innovation for Australia Trial, http:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RR278.html (2013, accessed September 2015).","DOI":"10.7249\/RR278"},{"key":"bibr3-0165551516636291","unstructured":"REF 2014. Research Excellence Framework impact pilot exercise Findings of the expert panels, http:\/\/www.ref.ac.uk\/media\/ref\/content\/pub\/researchexcellenceframeworkimpactpilotexercisefindingsoftheexpertpanels\/re01_10.pdf (2010, accessed December 2015)."},{"key":"bibr4-0165551516636291","unstructured":"REF 2014. Assessment framework and guidance on submissions, http:\/\/www.ref.ac.uk\/media\/ref\/content\/pub\/assessmentframeworkandguidanceonsubmissions\/GOS%20including%20addendum.pdf (2011, accessed September 2015)."},{"key":"bibr5-0165551516636291","unstructured":"Witty A. Encouraging a British Invention Revolution: Sir Andrew Witty\u2019s Review of Universities and Growth London, https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/249720\/bis-13\u20131241-encouraging-a-british-invention-revolution-andrew-witty-review-R1.pdf (2013, accessed September 2015)."},{"key":"bibr6-0165551516636291","unstructured":"Oswald A. REF should stay out of the game. The Independent, http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/education\/higher\/andrew-oswald-ref-should-stay-out-of-the-game-1827306.html (2009, accessed August 2015)."},{"key":"bibr7-0165551516636291","unstructured":"Dunleavy P. The Research Excellence Framework is lumbering and expensive. The Impact Blog, http:\/\/blogs.lse.ac.uk\/impactofsocialsciences\/2011\/06\/10\/ref-alternative-harzing-google-scholar\/ (2011, accessed August 2015)."},{"key":"bibr8-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/03075079.2012.709490"},{"key":"bibr9-0165551516636291","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies in Valetta","author":"Marcella R"},{"key":"bibr10-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/berj.3112"},{"key":"bibr11-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/08841241.2014.970248"},{"key":"bibr12-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/bult.2012.1720380605"},{"key":"bibr13-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.22731"},{"key":"bibr14-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1360080X.2014.957890"},{"key":"bibr15-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Manville C, Jones MM, Henham ML, Castle-Clarke S, Frearson M, Gunashekar S, Grant J. Preparing impact submissions for REF 2014: An evaluation: Approach and evidence, http:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RR726.html (2015, accessed December 2015).","DOI":"10.7249\/RR726"},{"key":"bibr16-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/511S72a"},{"key":"bibr17-0165551516636291","first-page":"237","volume":"18","author":"Knowles C","year":"2014","journal-title":"Etnogr\u00e1fica. Revista do Centro em Rede de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Antropologia"},{"key":"bibr18-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pbio.1002003"},{"key":"bibr19-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0064841"},{"key":"bibr20-0165551516636291","unstructured":"REF 2014. Overview report by Main Panel D and sub-panels 27\u201336, http:\/\/www.ref.ac.uk\/media\/ref\/content\/expanel\/member\/Main%20Panel%20D%20overview%20report.pdf (2015, accessed September 2015)."},{"key":"bibr21-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Manville C, Guthrie S, Henham ML, Garrod B, Sousa S, Kirtley A, Castle-Clarke S, Ling T. Assessing impact submissions for REF 2014, http:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RR1032.html (2015, accessed December 2015).","DOI":"10.7249\/RR1032"},{"key":"bibr22-0165551516636291","unstructured":"Higher Education Funding Council of England. The nature, scale and beneficiaries of research impact: an initial analysis of Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 impact case studies, http:\/\/www.hefce.ac.uk\/media\/HEFCE,2014\/Content\/Pubs\/Independentresearch\/2015\/Analysis,of,REF,impact\/Analysis_of_REF_impact.pdf (2015, accessed September 2015)."},{"key":"bibr23-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Manville C, Jones MM, Frearson M, Castle-Clarke S, Henham ML, Gunashekar S, Grant J. Preparing impact submissions for REF 2014: An evaluation: Findings and observations, http:\/\/www.rand.org\/pubs\/research_reports\/RR727.html (2015, accessed December 2015).","DOI":"10.7249\/RR727"},{"key":"bibr24-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/reseval\/rvv007"},{"key":"bibr25-0165551516636291","unstructured":"Farla K, Simmonds P. REF Accountability Review: Costs, benefits and burden, http:\/\/www.technopolis-group.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/REF_costs_review_July_2015.pdf (2015, accessed December 2015)."},{"key":"bibr26-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/reseval\/rvu028"},{"key":"bibr27-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/reseval\/rvu021"},{"key":"bibr28-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jpm.12217"},{"key":"bibr29-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Walters WH, Wilder EI. Disciplinary, national, and departmental contributions to the literature of library and information science, 2007\u20132012. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/asi.23448\/abstract (2015, accessed 29 September 2015).","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.23448"},{"key":"bibr30-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5860\/crl12-398"},{"key":"bibr31-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/pla.2013.0038"},{"key":"bibr32-0165551516636291","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lisr.2014.09.003"},{"key":"bibr33-0165551516636291","volume-title":"Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs and behavior","author":"Case DO.","year":"2012"},{"key":"bibr34-0165551516636291","unstructured":"REF 2014. 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