Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico

Research’s relevance and social impact are essential criteria to evaluate if the research produced in universities fits society's wants and needs. There is a growing interest in these two elements that have increased publications that explore the most effective ways to evaluate research projec...

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Main Authors: Emilia Cristina González-Machado, Ernesto Israel Santillán-Anguiano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Institute of Research and Community Services, Universitas Terbuka 2025-05-01
Series:International Journal of Research in STEM Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jurnal-fkip.ut.ac.id/index.php/ijrse/article/view/1749
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author Emilia Cristina González-Machado
Ernesto Israel Santillán-Anguiano
author_facet Emilia Cristina González-Machado
Ernesto Israel Santillán-Anguiano
author_sort Emilia Cristina González-Machado
collection DOAJ
description Research’s relevance and social impact are essential criteria to evaluate if the research produced in universities fits society's wants and needs. There is a growing interest in these two elements that have increased publications that explore the most effective ways to evaluate research projects from this standpoint. There are various papers addressing evaluation from a statistical and bibliometric perspective. This paper delves into the experience of creating an evaluation for social relevance and social impact in research through a series of qualitative indicators brought about by consulting researchers themselves. The procedure was conducting six focus groups with 39 Autonomous University of Baja California researchers, organized by different fields of knowledge. The information submitted for analysis from the participants' discussions delved into their experience in both categories. The results point to 5 indicators linked to the relevance, 8 to the impact, 3 to the research ethics, and eight as proposals for the institution. They pointed out the need for a flexible evaluation to discern the differences between academic disciplines. Likewise, they stress the need to further cooperation between researchers and the social and industry sector to counteract the Mexican government's current scientific investment reduction. Finally, they underline the importance of university spaces for disseminating and divulging research results and products.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2721-3242
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language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher The Institute of Research and Community Services, Universitas Terbuka
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series International Journal of Research in STEM Education
spelling doaj-art-ff80f883528e40cba7edba07cef254672025-08-20T03:49:41ZengThe Institute of Research and Community Services, Universitas TerbukaInternational Journal of Research in STEM Education2721-32422721-29042025-05-017110.33830/ijrse.v7i1.1749Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern MexicoEmilia Cristina González-Machado0Ernesto Israel Santillán-Anguiano1Universidad Autónoma de Baja CaliforniaUniversidad Autónoma de Baja California Research’s relevance and social impact are essential criteria to evaluate if the research produced in universities fits society's wants and needs. There is a growing interest in these two elements that have increased publications that explore the most effective ways to evaluate research projects from this standpoint. There are various papers addressing evaluation from a statistical and bibliometric perspective. This paper delves into the experience of creating an evaluation for social relevance and social impact in research through a series of qualitative indicators brought about by consulting researchers themselves. The procedure was conducting six focus groups with 39 Autonomous University of Baja California researchers, organized by different fields of knowledge. The information submitted for analysis from the participants' discussions delved into their experience in both categories. The results point to 5 indicators linked to the relevance, 8 to the impact, 3 to the research ethics, and eight as proposals for the institution. They pointed out the need for a flexible evaluation to discern the differences between academic disciplines. Likewise, they stress the need to further cooperation between researchers and the social and industry sector to counteract the Mexican government's current scientific investment reduction. Finally, they underline the importance of university spaces for disseminating and divulging research results and products. https://jurnal-fkip.ut.ac.id/index.php/ijrse/article/view/1749Higher educationPublic higher educationRelevance of researchQualitative ResearchesSocial impact
spellingShingle Emilia Cristina González-Machado
Ernesto Israel Santillán-Anguiano
Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
International Journal of Research in STEM Education
Higher education
Public higher education
Relevance of research
Qualitative Researches
Social impact
title Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
title_full Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
title_fullStr Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
title_full_unstemmed Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
title_short Qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern Mexico
title_sort qualitative indicators to evaluate the relevance and social impact of public university research in northwestern mexico
topic Higher education
Public higher education
Relevance of research
Qualitative Researches
Social impact
url https://jurnal-fkip.ut.ac.id/index.php/ijrse/article/view/1749
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AT ernestoisraelsantillananguiano qualitativeindicatorstoevaluatetherelevanceandsocialimpactofpublicuniversityresearchinnorthwesternmexico