Reports of practitioners’ use of public affairs faculty published research

What determines public affairs researchers’ motivations for policy impact? Results from an exploratory study

“…Previous research has indicated that the value social scientists place on the use of their research by practitioners affects the likelihood that their research will in fact be used (Bozeman et al, 2021; Cherney et al, 2012a; Walker et al, 2019b; Weiss-Gal et al, 2017). 1 These findings fit with other research indicating that the timeliness, relevance, presentation, and communication of research, as well as the density and quality of researcher–practitioner relationships, affect the incidence of utilization (see, e.g., Cherney et al, 2012b; Newman et al, 2016; Ouimet et al, 2010; Pizmony-Levy et al, 2021; Rose et al, 2020; Schut et al, 2014; Teirlinck et al, 2013).…”

“…Researchers who are more highly motivated to see their research is used will be more likely to put in the work to make research accessible, relevant, and timely to practitioners (Atta-Owusu and Fitjar, 2021;D'Este et al, 2018). Previous survey work shows that selfreported concern with impact is positively associated with both policy outreach efforts and policy impact (Bozeman et al, 2021;Cherney et al, 2012a;Walker et al, 2019b;Weiss-Gal et al, 2017).…”

“…Research may be undertaken for many reasons, including curiosity (Merton, 1942;Polanyi, 1962;Weber, 1958Weber, [1917), the availability of data, pursuit of career advancement, or prestige (compare Greenberg 1967Greenberg , 2001, or a perception that a topic is important (Cancian, 1993;Wylie et al, 2014). Previous studies have shown that general prioritization of use is positively associated with impact (see, e.g., Bozeman et al, 2021;Cherney et al, 2012aCherney et al, , 2013Walker et al, 2019a;Weiss-Gal et al, 2017), although the relationship between use motivation and other motivations has not been investigated. Haeussler and Sauermann, 2016; for a review, see Bozeman et al, 2013).…”

“…One important influence on impact that may be within researchers' control is the motivation to achieve it. A recent survey by Bozeman et al (2021) indicates that one major predictor of whether a particular public affairs research study will affect practice is the extent to which the conducting researcher or researchers want it to do so. Previous studies have suggested that researcher efforts to scope, tailor, and time research to the needs of policymakers and public administrators, and to adapt and communicate results, facilitate practitioner utilization of research (Cherney et al, 2012a;Landry et al, 2003;Ouimet et al, 2010;Rose et al, 2020).…”

The Last 20 Years of Empirical Research on Government Utilization of Academic Social Science Research: A State-of-the-Art Literature Review

“…Yet one of the most frequently appearing findings in the reviewed articles is that modes of scholar-practitioner relations matter for research utilization. A recent survey of ours finds communication between scholars and practitioners about research at any time before, during, or after research to associate positively with use (Bozeman et al 2021(Bozeman et al , 2023. There is a fair amount of practical wisdom available on scholar-practitioner collaborations (e.g., Broström & McKelvey, 2018;Fletcher et al, 2018;Janousek & Blair, 2018;Pizmony-Levy et al, 2021;Ranchod & Vas, 2019;Woolcott et al, 2020;Yu, 2020), but these are far from the only or the primary mechanism of research uptake.…”