Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 761-779 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Higher Education |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments and their assessment by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), drawing on data from the three most recent assessments (RAE 2001, 2008, REF 2014). Symptoms of stratification are documented by the distribution of memberships in assessment panels, of research active staff, and of external research grants. Symptoms of a standardization are documented by the publications submitted to the assessments. The main finding is that the RAEs/REF and the selective allocation of funds they inform consecrate and reproduce a disciplinary center that, in contrast to the periphery, is well-endowed with grants and research staff, decides in panels over the quality standards of the field, and publishes a high number of articles in high-impact journals. This selectivity is oriented toward previous distributions of resources and a standardized notion of “excellence” rather than research performance.
Keywords
- Marketization, Performance assessment, Research Assessment Exercise, Research Excellence Framework, Standardization, Stratification
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Education
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In: Higher Education, Vol. 72, No. 6, 01.12.2016, p. 761-779.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The visible hand of research performance assessment
AU - Hamann, Julian
N1 - Funding information: The peculiar financial position of the history department at UCL in Fig. is caused by an institutional exception: from 1966 to 2012, the UCL Centre for the History of Medicine was primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust. Accordingly, during the period in question the trust awarded the Centre two grants, which explain the exceptional position of UCL in terms of external research funds (RAE ).
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments and their assessment by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), drawing on data from the three most recent assessments (RAE 2001, 2008, REF 2014). Symptoms of stratification are documented by the distribution of memberships in assessment panels, of research active staff, and of external research grants. Symptoms of a standardization are documented by the publications submitted to the assessments. The main finding is that the RAEs/REF and the selective allocation of funds they inform consecrate and reproduce a disciplinary center that, in contrast to the periphery, is well-endowed with grants and research staff, decides in panels over the quality standards of the field, and publishes a high number of articles in high-impact journals. This selectivity is oriented toward previous distributions of resources and a standardized notion of “excellence” rather than research performance.
AB - Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments and their assessment by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), drawing on data from the three most recent assessments (RAE 2001, 2008, REF 2014). Symptoms of stratification are documented by the distribution of memberships in assessment panels, of research active staff, and of external research grants. Symptoms of a standardization are documented by the publications submitted to the assessments. The main finding is that the RAEs/REF and the selective allocation of funds they inform consecrate and reproduce a disciplinary center that, in contrast to the periphery, is well-endowed with grants and research staff, decides in panels over the quality standards of the field, and publishes a high number of articles in high-impact journals. This selectivity is oriented toward previous distributions of resources and a standardized notion of “excellence” rather than research performance.
KW - Marketization
KW - Performance assessment
KW - Research Assessment Exercise
KW - Research Excellence Framework
KW - Standardization
KW - Stratification
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84955309125&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10734-015-9974-7
DO - 10.1007/s10734-015-9974-7
M3 - Article
VL - 72
SP - 761
EP - 779
JO - Higher Education
JF - Higher Education
SN - 0018-1560
IS - 6
ER -