Text 2.2 Utility of Research

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Impact of Research

Research impact is the effect research has beyond academia. ...When the knowledge generated by...research contributes to, benefits and influences society, culture, our environment and the economy."

~ University of York

This impact can happen in many forms, but the most important part is that the impact provides a benefit in the 'real world'. Research that you do can provide understanding and awareness of a specific issue. It can also help with the well-being of individuals or groups and provide meaningful change, and have a hand in cultural or societal impacts.

Deeper Dive: The Impact of Research (Optional)

How can you measure impact? How can you increase it? Why does it matter?

Read Research impact: what it is, why it matters, and how you can increase impact potential to explore this concept.

Quick Check

Research must impact society for the greater good for it to be considered necessary.

Absolutely! Time, money, and resources are used so it should have a beneficial impact on society.

While the hope is that research will have a wide-reaching scope, not all research will impact society for the "greater good." Besides, what is the "greater good" anyways?

Not necessarily. Research can impact society, but that is a short-sighted view of what research can do.

Research can impact society, but it can also cause change in other ways. There are many kinds of impact, including attitudinal, awareness, economic, social, policy, cultural, and health (Rapple, 2019). While it can take hard work to see if the research that you conduct may have the impact you wish it could have, every properly conducted research project creates one more step in proving or disproving the hypothesis or theme you are exploring.

Check Answer

Reference

Rapple, C. (2019, Aug 23). Research impact: what it is, why it matters, and how you can increase impact potential. Kudos Innovations Ltd. Retrieved 17 March 2022, from https://blog.growkudos.com/research-mobilization/research-impact-what-why-how.