Research that Matters: Pursuing Impactful Research Prince of Songkla University Hat Yai, Thailand The 40th National Graduate Research Conference “Higher Education Harmonization” 20th Oct 2016 Research that Matters: Pursuing Impactful Research Prof Dr Shahizan Hassan OYA Graduate School of Business Universiti Utara Malaysia
Presentation Outline Why do you conduct research? What is impactful research? Theoretical impact Practical impact Policy impact ROI Impactful research for higher education Impactful research and publications Impactful Research and university reputations/ranking
Why do you conduct research? Purpose must be clear Purpose of conducting Research Build reputation? Meeting KPIs? To get a degree Or simply not sure? To contribute to knowledge? To contribute to the nation building?
What is impactful Research? Theoretical impact ROI Policy making impact Practical impact
Research-based Programs (PhD/ Master) Theoretical Impact Contributions to theory (new idea/ model/ framework/ guidelines/ principles/algorithms/ formula, etc.) Theoretical Impact Research-based Programs (PhD/ Master) Fundamental research
Theoretical Impact Example: Research in Information System area: Consists about 110 theories Your Research should refer/ utilise/ select relevant theories Your research should have impact on any of these theories (e.g. refinement, merging, alignment) Delone & MacLean IS Success Technology Acceptance Model TOE Contingency theory UTAUT Diffusion of Innovation Theory
Practical Impact Contributions to practice (outcome can be adopted/ adapted/ implemented/ used/ commercialised) Practical Impact Applied Research Research for degree projects (e.g. DBA, MBA, Final year project) Solving real world problems Impact on Business and society
Practical Impact Examples of practical impact based research projects New teaching method Enhanced inventory control system M-commerce marketing model Flood mitigation system Minimalist Interior design for low cost housing New media participation model for youth
Policy Impact Impact on policy and decision making for both public and private sectors Policy impact High impact research grant Long term projects Utilise both primary and secondary data Improve policy and decision making
Policy Impact Examples of policy impact research (Higher education context) Policy impact Expatriate academic policy National education blueprint – impact study Internship policy University-industry collaboration framework National graduate employability model Education management policy Outcome Based Education Ranking and education management GoT Strategy Research funding model
Return on Investment Research projects are mostly heavily funded by many parties (Government/ private sector/ NGOs/ International agencies) These stakeholders need ROI ROI Meet objectives Have value and desired impact Strong methodology Reliabale results Outcome can be adopted/ adapted/ implemented/ commercialised
Impactful research for Higher Education Higher Education Research Higher education policies/ strategies/ strategic direction Quality of Teaching and Learning Graduate Employabili-ty Technology Innovations Education management Impact study of University/ Faculty/ school on community Curriculum improvement
Impactful research and publications Impactful research is linked to quality publications Publish in high ranked journals (e.g. ABS List or ABDC List) Publish in top ranked magazines Case studies Books and monographs Etc.
Impactful research and university reputation/ranking Most international accreditations require institutions to have good track records of impactful research (e.g. AACSB, EQUIS) Ranking: QS Times Higher Educations (THE) Academic reputation (40%) Employer reputation (10%) Student-faculty ratio (20%) International faculty (5%) Citation per faculty (20%) International students (5%) Teaching & Learning (30%) Research (Volume, income, reputation) (30%) Citations (30%) International outlook (7.5%) Industry income (KT) (2.5%)
Impactful research and university reputation/ranking
Impactful research and university reputation/ranking
Concluding remarks A good research is the one which has an impact on both theory and practice. Impactful research determines the development of theory and help improve quality of lives and the way we do things. Impactful research can also spearhead the academic reputation and standing of an instititution.