Societal impact of research: a text mining study of impact types

Abstract

In addition to academic impact, researchers are increasingly concerned with understanding and demonstrating the practical impact of research outside academia. Several frameworks capturing key impact types have been developed based on project experiences, expert opinions, and surveys. This empirical study seeks to contribute to this development by identifying impact types documented in 6,882 case studies submitted to impact evaluation groups in Australia (Engagement and Impact Assessment) and the United Kingdom (Research Excellence Framework). The results of text mining indicate three emerging impact types that extend existing frameworks in terms of the recognition of new opportunities, the length of use, and experience improvement, thereby allowing a variety of researchers, not just those who address popular, short-term, and instrumental issues, to understand and demonstrate their practice impact.