Researchers increasingly engage with the digital archives built by libraries, archives, and museums, but many institutions still seek to learn more about researchers' needs and practices with these digital collections. This paper presents a user assessment study for "Emblematica Online," a research digital library that provides digitized…

This article explores the perceived value of public health research and the types of research considered useful in Ghana. Sixty-nine decision makers, researchers and stakeholders were interviewed. A broad range of research was highly valued. Two traits were important: an applied, relevant topic and quickly produced findings. Interviewees valued…

Grounded in critical policy theories and democratic conceptions of research, case studies of three community-based organizations, one in Canada and two in the U.S., were analyzed to determine if and how the groups engaged with research in their efforts to influence education policy. The findings demonstrate that the community-based organizations…

Recent policy statements have urged greater use of research to guide teaching, with some commentators calling for a "revolution" in evidence-based practice. Scholarly literature suggests that research can influence policy and practice in "instrumental," "conceptual" or "strategic" ways. This paper analyses…

The Policy Liaison Initiative (PLI) is a long-term knowledge translation initiative designed to support the use of Cochrane systematic reviews in health policy. A joint initiative between the Australasian Cochrane Centre and Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the PLI includes: 1) a community of practice for evidence-informed…

This study examines elements of collaborative research partnerships (CRPs) between university researchers and organisations who engage in knowledge mobilisation activities in education. The study uses key informant interviews and document analysis from one type of partnership, and a survey of university-community partnerships across Canada to…

In this paper we compare the use of research and other evidence in the decision-making practices of two groups of education policy elites, situated in different contexts--provincial education ministries and school districts. Data are derived from two pan-Canadian studies: Galway (2006) and Sheppard, Galway, Brown and Wiens (2013). The findings…

In contemporary school settings, leaders seeking to support professional development are faced with many challenges. These challenges call for educators who can undertake professional learning that is continuous and adaptive to change. As a term, continuous professional development (CPD) reflects many different forms of professional development in…

This paper reflects on the emergence of an impact agenda and its incorporation as a feature of the academic contract in UK universities. It focuses on the depositions of senior academic managers across a range of social science research centres, as they critically reflect upon their organizational strategy for capturing and communicating the…

Performance contracting has been acclaimed as an effective and promising means of improving the performance of public enterprises as well as government departments. The government of Kenya introduced performance contract signing in 2004. The aim of performance contracts was to improve resource utilization in public institutions among other…

Increase in numbers of postgraduate students worldwide represent an opportunity and necessity for nurturing and recognising the diversity of culturally inflected research topics, methodologies and expression. However, there are tensions in the definitions, encouragement and recognition of diversity in theses, and in balances of power in…

While much research utilisation literature shows an increasing emphasis on the added value of structural partnerships, which should facilitate prolonged interactions between researchers, policy makers and professionals, the question of how such collaborative structures "develop over time" and what consequences that has in terms of…

"Impact" is a notion that is not very well understood in research. Within Australian higher education, it has been bandied about within such frameworks as the "Research Quality Framework" ("RQF") and Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). Vocational education and training (VET) research is not immune from these…

Research and teaching are supposed to be closely related in universities. Among academics the belief in a symbiotic relationship is strong. However, it is unclear what form this relationship can take. Several authors have presented categories and dimensions to clarify this relationship and the aim of this project was to contribute to this…

In this article, the "researcher" narrates the issues faced by novice researchers in choosing the correct lenses to conduct research when searching for the truth via the use of qualitative methodology. It is argued that choosing an appropriate research approach and methodology can be described as an "arduous" journey. For the…