An Overview of the Quantitative Measurement of Outcomes and Impacts in Research Co-Production

• In Event: The Challenges and Impacts of Research Use

Abstract

Current quantitative approaches to measuring the impacts of research co-production are failing to do so in ways that are meaningful, consistent, rigorous, reproducible, and equitable. This paper makes a first step in addressing this issue by exploring promising measurement tools from fields of study with conceptual similarities to co-production. An overview methodology was used to synthesize the findings from prior instrument reviews, focusing on the contexts in which measurement tools were used, the main constructs and content themes of the tools, and the extent to which the tools display promising psychometric and pragmatic qualities. Eight identified reviews described 441 measurement tools that capture various aspects of knowledge being mobilized among diverse research actors, with 285 exhibiting relevance for impact measurement.

Author

• Stephen William MacGregor, University of Toronto