Research Excellence Framework

Studies on urine, pain thresholds and unboiled eggs honoured in annual awards for improbable research. John Elmes takes a look

David Price argues that axeing staff selection would remove the temptation to manipulate data and protect careers

Scholar says departments that did well in the research excellence framework may not have the right to ‘strut around campus’ if their field is not competitive 

Financial boost follows better than average performance in the 2014 REF

The merger of seven subpanels into a single one for modern languages and linguistics has skewed results, claim scholars

The rise in ‘kilo-authors’ and ‘gift authorship’ is causing the academy to rethink how it assesses the worth of academic publications

Hefce study finds large differences in submission rates by ethnicity and gender

Bibliometric analysis concludes lower-quality thresholds in 2014 are more likely explanation for doubling of top-rated research

REF case studies used to create a map of knowledge connections between fields

Accountability review finds cost of assessment equates to 2.4 per cent of funding bodies’ expected spend over next six years

Hefce head of research policy suggests the way research is conducted should be measured too

Amid concerns about the growing use – and abuse – of quantitative measures in universities, a major new review examines the role of metrics in the assessment of research, from the REF to performance management

Abandoning peer review could lead to never-ending assessment, micromanagement of staff and übergaming, warns Howard Hotson

Complexity of government initiatives to help commercialise university research under scrutiny 

Edinburgh principal Sir Tim O’Shea warns such a system would distract from real mission

An Elsevier analysis explores the viability of a ‘smarter and cheaper’ model

Institution may close one of its engineering schools after a 'disappointing result' in the research excellence framework

Universities, and especially the research elite, faced a choice between aiming for highest quality scores and the greatest number of staff submitted

The director of a partnership of research-intensive universities is upbeat about future outlook

LSE pro-director also calls for metrics to measure impact

Findings reveal the total cost to institutions of attempting to articulate impact

Funding gains for smaller universities ‘risks UK research quality’

Informing government policy was the most common kind of impact submitted to the 2014 research excellence framework, a study has found

REF-based distribution of £1.6bn research pot results in some big changes

Dominic Dean has a plan to make future assessment exercises easier, quicker and better

Division as scholars analyse Hefce’s system for dividing £1 billion QR pot

England’s funding council has changed the formula for distributing quality-related research funding following the research excellence framework

The REF’s formal assessment of the impact of academic work was highly controversial in theory: how did it play out in practice?

Sector challenged to share data on REF costs and come up with less ‘disingenuous’ figure than official estimates

The standards of research and teaching would be best protected by department-based reviews, argues Roger Brown

Report finds new measures did make exercise more inclusive but panels differed in numbers of scholars submitted with reduced outputs

Jargon demanded by REF ‘risks isolating universities from rest of society’

Submission patterns reveal how institutions responded to rules

Study finds variations by seniority, subject and institutional mission in scholars’ published opinions on the research excellence framework

REF analysis suggests that new system for allocating funds has ‘no correspondence with excellence in research impact’

Uplift in research quality in main panel A raises fears that funding could be concentrated at a handful of universities

How do rankings shift when institutions are compared on research intensity, which takes into account percentage of staff submitted, rather than on standard GPA alone?

The exercise was robust and positive, says Willy Maley, who found work on the English subpanel to be like ‘a well-run exam board’

The Association of Business Schools has called on the government and funding councils to reverse the decline in funding for management research

Alternative ranking of REF results maps university performance against the proportion of eligible staff submitted.

More academics were employed on teaching-only contracts around the time of the research excellence framework deadline, new figures show

The results of the research excellence framework have triggered claims that London universities are challenging the longstanding dominance of Oxbridge

All the reaction to the research excellence framework as we get it

Rising quality leads to questions about future QR formula

Devolved countries claim proportion of 3* and 4* submissions above average

King’s College London raised its GPA while submitting more staff. Who were the other notable achievers and underachievers?

Problems associated with the system of research assessment would be reduced by a move to annual reviews, Paul Grout argues

Were new research stars born? Who was helped or hurt by impact? Times Higher Education dissects the results by discipline

Some post-92s gain, but traditional research powers dominate 2014 research excellence framework rankings

As the results of the research excellence framework approach, Emma Rees’ sleep-deprived imagination runs riot

The flawed research excellence framework is not a process of peer review in any meaningful sense, argues Derek Sayer, who appealed against his inclusion in the exercise

Richard Black on data manipulation and the problems with multidisciplinary subpanels

Academics’ engagement activities are valuable, says Alison Phipps. But a public profile comes at a price, especially for women who study gender

Research team hopes that predictions will help to clarify the value of metrics in assessment

Ansgar Allen questions the motives of a growing band of champions

Sovietised REF blocks progress. Innovation comes when universities encourage risk-taking, says Andrew Oswald

Academics have internalised research assessment to such a degree that the effects may be irreversible, fears Thomas Harrison

Willetts sees potential in tie-ups with Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong

England’s funding council has been asked to look at whether overseas universities could take part in future research excellence frameworks.

Chair of review into use of metrics suggests REF interval could be cut to once a decade