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This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: Our aim is to collect, assess, and synthesise all the available empirical evidence on what works to support evidence‐informed decision‐making by policymakers. In doing so, we will aim to answer the following research questions: What are the impacts of interventions to support evidence‐informed decision‐making by policymakers? What are the factors which have influenced the impact of these interventions, and their design and implementation in low‐ and middle‐income countries? In answering these questions, our goal is to estimate the overall impact and relative effectiveness of different interventions, identify factors or configurations of factors that support or hinder their effectiveness in low‐ and middle‐income countries and to identify gaps and areas for future primary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health social workers, like social workers in general, have been found to utilise research knowledge to a low degree. No previous study has made comparisons based on the following: higher education, job tenure and workplace. This article is based on statistical comparisons between 1236 health social workers in Sweden working in various healthcare contexts. The central finding was that higher education was the factor with the largest impact. Workplace and especially job tenure were found to be less influential. An implication for practice is to raise the knowledge requirements in terms of research knowledge utilisation already from bachelor's degree level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: Our aim is to collect, assess, and synthesise all the available empirical evidence on what works to support evidence‐informed decision‐making by policymakers. In doing so, we will aim to answer the following research questions: What are the impacts of interventions to support evidence‐informed decision‐making by policymakers? What are the factors which have influenced the impact of these interventions, and their design and implementation in low‐ and middle‐income countries? In answering these questions, our goal is to estimate the overall impact and relative effectiveness of different interventions, identify factors or configurations of factors that support or hinder their effectiveness in low‐ and middle‐income countries and to identify gaps and areas for future primary research.

When clinician-educators and medical education researchers use and discuss medical education research, they can advance innovation in medical education as well as improve its quality. To facilitate the use and discussions of medical education research, we created a prefatory visual representation of key medical education research topics and associated experts. We conducted one-on-one virtual interviews with medical education journal editorial board members to identify what they perceived as key medical education research topics as well as who they associated, as experts, with each of the identified topics. We used content analysis to create categories representing key topics and noted occurrences of named experts. Twenty-one editorial board members, representing nine of the top medical education journals, participated. From the data we created a figure entitled, Medical Education Research Library. The library includes 13 research topics, with assessment as the most prevalent. It also notes recognized experts, including van der Vleuten, ten Cate, and Norman. The key medical education research topics identified and included in the library align with what others have identified as trends in the literature. Selected topics, including workplace-based learning, equity, diversity, and inclusion, physician wellbeing and burnout, and social accountability, are emerging. Once transformed into an open educational resource, clinician-educators and medical education researchers can use and contribute to the functional library. Such continuous expansion will generate better awareness and recognition of diverse perspectives. The functional library will help to innovate and improve the quality of medical education through evidence-informed practices and scholarship.

When clinician-educators and medical education researchers use and discuss medical education research, they can advance innovation in medical education as well as improve its quality. To facilitate the use and discussions of medical education research, we created a prefatory visual representation of key medical education research topics and associated experts. We conducted one-on-one virtual interviews with medical education journal editorial board members to identify what they perceived as key medical education research topics as well as who they associated, as experts, with each of the identified topics. We used content analysis to create categories representing key topics and noted occurrences of named experts. Twenty-one editorial board members, representing nine of the top medical education journals, participated. From the data we created a figure entitled, Medical Education Research Library. The library includes 13 research topics, with assessment as the most prevalent. It also notes recognized experts, including van der Vleuten, ten Cate, and Norman. The key medical education research topics identified and included in the library align with what others have identified as trends in the literature. Selected topics, including workplace-based learning, equity, diversity, and inclusion, physician wellbeing and burnout, and social accountability, are emerging. Once transformed into an open educational resource, clinician-educators and medical education researchers can use and contribute to the functional library. Such continuous expansion will generate better awareness and recognition of diverse perspectives. The functional library will help to innovate and improve the quality of medical education through evidence-informed practices and scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational networks and knowledge brokering play a critical function in supporting educators to keep abreast of scholarly literature and contemporary research that inform practice and policy in schools and districts. In this article, we leverage a quality use of research-evidence framework within a designbased study to elucidate the pivotal role of knowledge brokering in how teacher leaders utilized research during their participation in a professional learning series. In a survey administered to K-9 teacher leaders in Western Canada at the end of a year-long professional learning series, participants (n = 374/500) provided their reflections about how the series supported their learning. The analysis revealed developments across individual, organizational, and systemlevel components. A significant contribution of this study is that meaningfully integrated research evidence in professional learning can support teacher leaders' individual confidence in practice, confidence in collaboration at the school level, confidence in leading professional conversations at the organizational level, and confidence in staying updated with educational research at the system level fostering a culture of support and continuous improvement. Knowledge brokering is a pivotal function of relational professional learning networks and when embedded in design-based professional learning for teacher leaders, this powerful combination can contribute to quality research use and can serve to strengthen the theory-to-practice connections in educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy expectations for the role of research evidence in educational decision-making have grown exponentially in the U.S. and globally, yet there has been limited attention to school capacity to engage in evidence-informed improvement. In this paper, I address this gap by first conceptualizing principal leadership for evidence use and, second, use this conceptual lens to examine large-scale survey data about school evidence use practices and capacity. Drawing on data from a national survey of more than 4000 educators in 134 schools in the US, I explore school practices and capacity to use research and surface opportunities and needs for principal leadership in evidence-informed improvement. Findings suggest that there is an opportunity to improve the role of research in school improvement decision-making, and that principals may contribute to school capacity in specific ways that relate to developing human capital, influencing culture, leveraging resources, and shaping decision-making. Data reveal moderate evidence of research use in agenda setting and of organizational routines that support research use, but lack of uptake of those routines for research use as well as limited investment in resources (e.g., time). Further, decision-making was distributed across a wide range of improvement initiatives, with evidence of a lack of clarity about goals. Although principals report confidence and experience with using research, overall school staff also reported limited experience with prior research, including coursework or participation in research, and low confidence in critically consuming research. Implications point to the need to strengthen principals' own evidence use capacity as well as focus on dimensions school capacity as part of evidence use initiatives. Recommendations suggest strategies for developing principals' knowledge and skills around leadership for evidence-informed improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Embedding researchers into policy and other settings may enhance research capacity within organisations to enable them to become more research active. We aimed to generate an evidence map on evaluations of embedded researcher interventions to (i) identify where systematic reviews and primary research are needed and (ii) develop conceptual understandings of ‘embedded researchers’. We define ‘embedded researchers’ through a set of principles that incorporate elements such as the aim of activities, the types of relationships and learning involved, and the affiliations and identities adopted. Methods We included studies published across all sectors, searching fourteen databases, other web sources and two journals for evaluations published between 1991 and spring 2021. Data were extracted using a coding tool developed for this study. We identified new typologies of embedded researcher interventions through undertaking Latent Class Analysis. Results The map describes 229 evaluations spanning a variety of contexts. Our set of principles allowed us to move beyond a narrow focus on embedded researchers in name alone, towards consideration of the wide range of roles, activities, identities, and affiliations related to embedded researchers. We identified 108 different allied terms describing an embedded researcher. Embedded researcher activity spanned a continuum across lines of physical, cultural, institutional, and procedural embeddedness (from weaker to more intense forms of embeddedness) and took a range of forms that bridge or blur boundaries between academia and policy/practice. Conclusions We developed a broad map of international embedded researcher activity in a wide range of sectors. The map suggests that embedded researcher interventions occupy a broader suite of models than previously acknowledged and our findings also offer insight on the type and nature of this literature. Given the clear policy interest in this area, a better understanding of the processes involved with becoming embedded within an organisation is needed. Further work is also necessary to address the challenges of evaluating the work of embedded researchers, including consideration for which outcome measures are most appropriate, to better understand their influence.

Background: Embedding researchers into policy and other settings may enhance research capacity within organisations to enable them to become more research active. We aimed to generate an evidence map on evaluations of embedded researcher interventions to (i) identify where systematic reviews and primary research are needed and (ii) develop conceptual understandings of 'embedded researchers'. We define 'embedded researchers' through a set of principles that incorporate elements such as the aim of activities, the types of relationships and learning involved, and the affiliations and identities adopted. Methods: We included studies published across all sectors, searching fourteen databases, other web sources and two journals for evaluations published between 1991 and spring 2021. Data were extracted using a coding tool developed for this study. We identified new typologies of embedded researcher interventions through undertaking Latent Class Analysis. Results: The map describes 229 evaluations spanning a variety of contexts. Our set of principles allowed us to move beyond a narrow focus on embedded researchers in name alone, towards consideration of the wide range of roles, activities, identities, and affiliations related to embedded researchers. We identified 108 different allied terms describing an embedded researcher. Embedded researcher activity spanned a continuum across lines of physical, cultural, institutional, and procedural embeddedness (from weaker to more intense forms of embeddedness) and took a range of forms that bridge or blur boundaries between academia and policy/practice. Conclusions: We developed a broad map of international embedded researcher activity in a wide range of sectors. The map suggests that embedded researcher interventions occupy a broader suite of models than previously acknowledged and our findings also offer insight on the type and nature of this literature. Given the clear policy interest in this area, a better understanding of the processes involved with becoming embedded within an organisation is needed. Further work is also necessary to address the challenges of evaluating the work of embedded researchers, including consideration for which outcome measures are most appropriate, to better understand their influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational networks and knowledge brokering play a critical function in supporting educators to keep abreast of scholarly literature and contemporary research that inform practice and policy in schools and districts. In this article, we leverage a quality use of research-evidence framework within a design-based study to elucidate the pivotal role of knowledge brokering in how teacher leaders utilized research during their participation in a professional learning series. In a survey administered to K-9 teacher leaders in Western Canada at the end of a year-long professional learning series, participants (n = 374/500) provided their reflections about how the series supported their learning. The analysis revealed developments across individual, organizational, and system-level components. A significant contribution of this study is that meaningfully integrated research evidence in professional learning can support teacher leaders’ individual confidence in practice, confidence in collaboration at the school level, confidence in leading professional conversations at the organizational level, and confidence in staying updated with educational research at the system level fostering a culture of support and continuous improvement. Knowledge brokering is a pivotal function of relational professional learning networks and when embedded in design-based professional learning for teacher leaders, this powerful combination can contribute to quality research use and can serve to strengthen the theory-to-practice connections in educational contexts.

Abstract Background Local government plays an important role in addressing complex public health challenges. While the use of research in this work is important, it is often poorly understood. This study aimed to build knowledge about how research is used by investigating its use by local government authorities (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia in responding to a new legislative requirement to prioritise climate and health in public health planning. The role of collaboration was also explored. Methods Informed by Normalization Process Theory (NPT), this study adopted multiple research methods, combining data from an online survey and face-to-face interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics; thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. Results Participants comprised 15 interviewees, and 46 survey respondents from 40 different LGAs. Research was most commonly accessed via evidence synthesis, and largely used to inform understanding about climate and health. When and how research was used was shaped by contextual factors including legislation, community values and practical limitations of how research needed to be communicated to decision-makers. Collaboration was more commonly associated with research access than use. Conclusions Greater investment in the production and dissemination of localised research, that identifies local issues (e.g. climate risk factors) and is tailored to the communication needs of local audiences is needed to foster more impactful research use in local public health policy.

Abstract Background Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) and other forms of research co-production are increasingly recognized as valuable approaches to knowledge creation as a way to better facilitate the implementation of scientific findings. However, the nature of some scientific work can preclude direct knowledge to action as a likely outcome. Do IKT approaches have value in such cases? Methods This study used a qualitative case study approach to better understand the function of IKT in a non-traditional application: basic and clinical science investigating the causes and consequences of food allergy. Building off previous baseline findings, data were obtained through in-depth interviews with project scientists and steering committee members and complemented by researcher observation. Data were analyzed through an integrated approach to understand how well participants perceived the stipulated project IKT outcomes had been met and to better understand the relationship between different forms of IKT goals, outcomes, and impacts. Results We propose a conceptual model which builds temporal continuity into the IKT work and understands success beyond truncated timelines of any one project. The model proposes project IKT goals be conceptualized through three metaphorical tower blocks: foundational (changing the culture for both scientists and knowledge-users), laying the groundwork (building relationships, networks and sparking scientific inquiry), and putting scientific knowledge to action. Based on this model, this case study demonstrated notable success at the foundational and intermediate blocks, though did not turn basic and clinical research knowledge into actionable outcomes within the project timespan. Conclusions We find that current IKT literature which situates success as filling a knowledge to action gap is conceptually inadequate for understanding the full contributions of IKT activities. This work highlights the need for building cultural and scientific familiarity with IKT in order to better enable knowledge to action translation. Improving understanding and communication of science and empowering knowledge-users to engage with the research agenda are long-term strategies to build towards knowledge implementation and lay the ground work for many future research projects.

Increasingly, there are expectations internationally that schools will use research to inform their improvement initiatives. Within this context, this paper brings together findings from two large-scale Australian studies – the Monash Q Project and the University of Newcastle's Quality Teaching Rounds Project – to explore educators' patterns of engagement with research. The combination of these studies provides data from a larger and more diverse sample (n = 774) than other recent Australian studies, and integrates insights from direct and indirect approaches to investigating educators' research engagement. The analysis highlights several common themes associated with educators' research use including: the perceived credibility of different sources; the relevance and usability of research; and affordances of access to research and time to use it well in practice. Newer and more nuanced insights include: the interrelationships between collaborative and directed research use; the need for research to be convenient in terms of access and usability; the role of trusted colleagues in helping to bridge gaps between research and practice; and educators' distrust of research itself. The paper argues that these insights provide important cues as to how systems and school leaders can help educators to increase and improve their use of research in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research literacy is essential for teachers to practice their profession based on research-based knowledge. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Research Literacy Scale (RLS) and investigate teachers' research literacy based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and research utilization models. The data was collected from teachers working in primary and secondary schools for two separate studies. According to the exploratory factor analysis results, a 20-item, four-factor solution emerged: research awareness, attitude toward research, research skills, and research use. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor model fit the data well, and all items are significant under the relevant factors. The sub-factors of the RLS demonstrated high internal consistency. Measurement invariance tests revealed showed full configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across gender. Teachers doing research had significantly higher scores on all four dimensions, and those who followed scientific journals had higher scores on the three dimensions except for attitude. As a conclusion RLS has good psychometric features to measure teachers' research literacy, and variables related to research experience cause a significant difference in research literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) and other forms of research co-production are increasingly recognized as valuable approaches to knowledge creation as a way to better facilitate the implementation of scientific findings. However, the nature of some scientific work can preclude direct knowledge to action as a likely outcome. Do IKT approaches have value in such cases? Methods: This study used a qualitative case study approach to better understand the function of IKT in a non-traditional application: basic and clinical science investigating the causes and consequences of food allergy. Building off previous baseline findings, data were obtained through in-depth interviews with project scientists and steering committee members and complemented by researcher observation. Data were analyzed through an integrated approach to understand how well participants perceived the stipulated project IKT outcomes had been met and to better understand the relationship between different forms of IKT goals, outcomes, and impacts. Results: We propose a conceptual model which builds temporal continuity into the IKT work and understands success beyond truncated timelines of any one project. The model proposes project IKT goals be conceptualized through three metaphorical tower blocks: foundational (changing the culture for both scientists and knowledge-users), laying the groundwork (building relationships, networks and sparking scientific inquiry), and putting scientific knowledge to action. Based on this model, this case study demonstrated notable success at the foundational and intermediate blocks, though did not turn basic and clinical research knowledge into actionable outcomes within the project timespan. Conclusions: We find that current IKT literature which situates success as filling a knowledge to action gap is conceptually inadequate for understanding the full contributions of IKT activities. This work highlights the need for building cultural and scientific familiarity with IKT in order to better enable knowledge to action translation. Improving understanding and communication of science and empowering knowledge-users to engage with the research agenda are long-term strategies to build towards knowledge implementation and lay the ground work for many future research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development policymakers and practitioners face a range of challenges to using research. This paper draws on an action research project that aimed to investigate the individual and organisational drivers that contribute to, or inhibit, greater use of research in international development organisations, and test strategies to shift them. We convened a group of practitioners and researchers from 12 diverse international development organisations to undertake action research projects within their own organisations. Analysis of the portfolio of action research projects identified five organisational factors which are the basis for improving research use and 15 practical strategies for implementing organisational change. Taken together, these organisational factors and strategies can assist in improving the integration of research in international development organisations and support more evidence-based policy, programming, and advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing demands on evidence-based teaching, combined with increasing business involve-ment, constitute a transformation of education in which research and research collaborations have become commodities and selling points for companies. This article, building on interviews with 30 Swedish edupreneurs, explores how the discursive trope of the Triple Helix organises collaborations between the business sector, research, and school. In what ways do people in edu-business use research and research collaborations and what kinds of values do they expect to produce through different practices? The study identifies five approaches to research – philanthropists, influencers, ambassadors, brokers, and engineers – and describe the edupreneurs' manifold ways of using, relating to, and translating research into sellable products. Using the theoretical lens of assetization, we show how different values are produced: (1) economic – strengthening the company's brand; (2) pedagogical – changing teaching practices; (3) political – lobbying for policy change and changing public conversations; (4) academic – defining useful research and funding research, and (5) social – building networks. We conclude that the striving for Triple Helix collaborations preserves the entrepreneurial right to define useful research and providing legitimacy through the power of research, an important asset on the edu-market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background A significant gap exists between the production of research evidence and its use in behavioral health policymaking. Organizations providing consulting and support activities for improving policy represent a promising source for strengthening the infrastructure to address this gap. Understanding the characteristics and activities of these evidence-to-policy intermediary (EPI) organizations can inform the development of capacity-building activities, leading to strengthened evidence-to-policy infrastructure and more widespread evidence-based policymaking. Methods Online surveys were sent to 51 organizations from English-speaking countries involved in evidence-to-policy activities in behavioral health. The survey was grounded in a rapid evidence review of the academic literature regarding strategies used to influence research use in policymaking. The review identified 17 strategies, which were classified into four activity categories. We administered the surveys via Qualtrics and calculated the descriptive statistics, scales, and internal consistency statistics using R. Results A total of 31 individuals completed the surveys from 27 organizations (53% response rate) in four English-speaking countries. EPIs were evenly split between university (49%) and non-university (51%) settings. Nearly all EPIs conducted direct program support (mean = 4.19/5 [sd = 1.25]) and knowledge-building (4.03 [1.17]) activities. However, engagement with traditionally marginalized and non-traditional partners (2.84 [1.39]) and development of evidence reviews using formal critical appraisal methods (2.81 [1.70]) were uncommon. EPIs tend to be specialized, focusing on a group of highly related strategies rather than incorporating multiple evidence-to-policy strategies in their portfolios. Inter-item consistency was moderate to high, with scale α’s ranging from 0.67 to 0.85. Ratings of respondents’ willingness to pay for training in one of three evidence dissemination strategies revealed high interest in program and policy design. Conclusions Our results suggest that evidence-to-policy strategies are frequently used by existing EPIs; however, organizations tend to specialize rather than engage in a breadth of strategies. Furthermore, few organizations reported consistently engaging with non-traditional or community partners. Focusing on building capacity for a network of new and existing EPIs could be a promising strategy for growing the infrastructure needed for evidence-informed behavioral health policymaking.

Policy expectations for the role of research evidence in educational decision-making have grown exponentially in the U.S. and globally, yet there has been limited attention to school capacity to engage in evidence-informed improvement. In this paper, I address this gap by first conceptualizing principal leadership for evidence use and, second, use this conceptual lens to examine large-scale survey data about school evidence use practices and capacity. Drawing on data from a national survey of more than 4000 educators in 134 schools in the US, I explore school practices and capacity to use research and surface opportunities and needs for principal leadership in evidence-informed improvement. Findings suggest that there is an opportunity to improve the role of research in school improvement decision-making, and that principals may contribute to school capacity in specific ways that relate to developing human capital, influencing culture, leveraging resources, and shaping decision-making. Data reveal moderate evidence of research use in agenda setting and of organizational routines that support research use, but lack of uptake of those routines for research use as well as limited investment in resources (e.g., time). Further, decision-making was distributed across a wide range of improvement initiatives, with evidence of a lack of clarity about goals. Although principals report confidence and experience with using research, overall school staff also reported limited experience with prior research, including coursework or participation in research, and low confidence in critically consuming research. Implications point to the need to strengthen principals’ own evidence use capacity as well as focus on dimensions school capacity as part of evidence use initiatives. Recommendations suggest strategies for developing principals’ knowledge and skills around leadership for evidence-informed improvement.

In this article, we examine how economy-wide sentiment, measured with the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index, affects analysts' research activities. Using a firm-fixed effects design, we find that consumer sentiment, especially the component related to economic fundamentals, is negatively associated with analysts' frequency of issuing research reports, but is positively associated with the precision of analysts' idiosyncratic information, our proxy for analysts' engagement in private information discovery. The evidence is more pronounced for firms with larger total assets, higher return on assets, better market performance, lower stock return volatility, and higher institutional ownership. We further document that analyst reports are more informative when consumer sentiment is higher. Taken together, our findings suggest that analysts respond to higher consumer sentiment by allocating more effort to private information discovery, which enhances the informativeness of their reports to investors. Our research reveals the impact of sentiment, a macrolevel factor, on analysts' research activities, and it enriches the knowledge of analysts' decision processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique dataset built around published papers in top quality public policy, public administration and program evaluation journals, we find that 29.7% of respondent authors indicate that the knowledge from their articles was used by policymakers or public administrators. These data are used to test for different patterns of use for policy vs management knowledge. Findings suggest that journal quality positively affects policy use but negatively affects management use and that topics suggested by practitioners affect management use but not policy use. The researchers' degree of motivation to have their work used is important in both types of knowledge use. Overall, the results suggest there may be greater spillovers to practical use derived from standard academic publishing pursuits than generally believed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are growing expectations in Australia and internationally that school educators will engage with and use research to improve their practice. In order to support educators to respond to such expectations, there is a need to be able to accurately assess the levels of educators' research engagement. At present, however, few psychometrically sound instruments are available. Drawing on two studies of Australian educators (n = 1,311) and utilising Rasch analysis, supported by confirmatory factor analysis, this paper reports on the development of a brief eight-item scale that demonstrates validity and reliability and evidenced unidimensionality in the second study. The scale is intended as a quick, easy-to-use tool for educators to gain insights into their beliefs about the value of engaging with research, their actions around using research, and their confidence in finding, interpreting, and judging the quality of relevant research. Notwithstanding the need for further testing, this paper argues that the scale has the potential to be applicable to other educational contexts and to contribute to future research into educators' research engagement and its assessment. The scale can also provide school and education system leaders, as well as evaluators and researchers, with data regarding educators' research engagement over time, allowing for research use supports and resources to be better targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctoral students in education-related fields are required to take graduate level statistics courses and often face anxiety and negative attitudes about taking these courses. Using a mixed methods survey research design (N = 95), this study explored students' experiences with statistics anxiety and how course instructors can support them to mitigate statistics anxiety and improve attitudes. Analyses of quantitative survey data found that students who had never taken a statistics course before beginning their doctoral program, and students that had completed less doctoral coursework had higher negative attitudes towards learning statistics; and older students had higher statistics anxiety. Plans to use research in the future predicted more positive attitudes and lower statistics anxiety. Analysis of qualitative survey data found that students: (1) expressed that their attitude towards learning statistics was very important and played a big role in how they approached their coursework; (2) considered their plans to use research skills in the future as motivation to learn statistics; and (3) believed that their instructors' attitudes and instructional practices supported learning and decreased statistics anxiety. This study has implications for how statistics and research methods courses are taught in higher education, and how the experiences of graduate students in education may have lasting implications for research use in Prek-12 education settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies have enhanced the capacity for organisations across many sectors to produce, publish, and disseminate research in a variety of formats, and a great deal of it is sought and used in public policy and practice‐related research, yet this diversity is often overlooked in studies of research use. While the need for diverse research sources and formats for public policy and practice is increasingly acknowledged, there have been few studies which articulate and categorise what this diversity looks like in practice, and how research is filtered and selected based on genre, source, and other facets. This article reports on a large‐scale online survey and semi‐structured interviews with research users across multiple sectors in Australia on the materials they access and use for policy and practice work. The results indicate that research users are active information seekers who require online access to diverse genres and formats produced by a range of sources and sectors. However, respondents also faced many barriers to research use, including the cost of subscriptions for academic journals, discoverability of reports and data, poor management of publications by organisations including government, and the time required for filtering and evaluation. Based on these findings I argue that policy research requires a far greater variety of genres and sources than is generally recognised with implications for the way research use and the research publishing system is understood and managed in Australia. Points for practitioners: Policy research and implementation requires diverse online sources and resources from multiple sectors, including reports, discussion papers, evaluations, and data, produced by organisations (grey literature), as well as journals and books.However, this paper finds there are major barriers to discovery, filtering, and access to diverse research publications for practitioners, resulting in poor productivity and policy outcomes.To improve the use of evidence for policy and practice, we must invest in efficient discovery, access, and management systems for diverse research publications. Summary at a glance Research publications used for public policy and practice in Australia are far more diverse, dynamic, and multisector than is generally recognised with implications for the way we understand and manage the research publishing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of transforming our educational systems to fulfill enduring needs for equity, justice, and responsiveness will take a multitude of partners. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) arrange collaboration and engagement with research to bring about shared commitments and resources to tackle these challenges. Just as sociocultural and political dynamics can shape educational politics generally, without close and intentional attention to the politics of starting, operating, and sustaining RPPs, those political dynamics can potentially derail a partnership. In this article, we consider the emerging research on the politics in and around RPPs pursuing educational transformation and propose a framework to reflect these dynamics. To introduce this special issue, we also deconstruct RPP politics into four major phases of RPP work, and describe the articles addressing each phase. This compilation of articles contributes a wealth of expertise and evidence illuminating how politics can shape both RPPs and their goals of equity and transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of research use in education tend to focus on specific elements of education systems or underplay the complexity of system change. Within other public policy areas, notably health, more work has been undertaken to integrate systems thinking when considering knowledge mobilisation and research use. In this paper, we survey public policy system change literature to develop a set of system dimensions. We use these to examine models relating to research use that are widely referenced in education. We then apply these dimensions to the work of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the UK's What Works Centre for Education, which aims to support evidence‐informed practice at all levels of the education system. We focus on its work to embed research‐informed practices in regional school systems, through a case analysis of two 'scale‐up campaigns' to mobilise evidence relating to the effective deployment of teaching assistants (educational support paraprofessionals). The findings highlight the value of using the system dimensions framework as a diagnostic tool to understand how to effect system change, highlighting the key role of brokerage and system leadership at different system levels; school‐level capacity to implement change; and system relationships. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyCurrent approaches to supporting research use in education underplay the complexity of system change. Failure to acknowledge the complexity of research‐use systems is likely to result in less‐than‐optimal approaches and interventions to improve research use.Why the new findings matterBy applying a systems perspective, we explore how research use can be more effectively supported.Implications for educational researchers and policymakersResearch use emerges as a myriad of interconnected 'moving parts' that need to function optimally and be aligned. Weakness in any area of the system, or interactions between system actors and activities across system levels, can potentially impede research use.A systems perspective, using the dimensions table presented in the paper, can be used to examine the functioning of existing systems and make informed decisions on where best to intervene to support practitioners' use of research.There is value in exploring multi‐stranded mobilisation strategies that work together at different levels of the system e.g. school, regional policy, national. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing demands on evidence-based teaching, combined with increasing business involve-ment, constitute a transformation of education in which research and research collaborations have become commodities and selling points for companies. This article, building on interviews with 30 Swedish edupreneurs, explores how the discursive trope of the Triple Helix organises collaborations between the business sector, research, and school. In what ways do people in edu-business use research and research collaborations and what kinds of values do they expect to produce through different practices? The study identifies five approaches to research – philanthropists, influencers, ambassadors, brokers, and engineers – and describe the edupreneurs’ manifold ways of using, relating to, and translating research into sellable products. Using the theoretical lens of assetization, we show how different values are produced: (1) economic – strengthening the company’s brand; (2) pedagogical – changing teaching practices; (3) political – lobbying for policy change and changing public conversations; (4) academic – defining useful research and funding research, and (5) social – building networks. We conclude that the striving for Triple Helix collaborations preserves the entrepreneurial right to define useful research and providing legitimacy through the power of research, an important asset on the edu-market.

The article analyzes the current discussions on how to define evidence and implement evidence-based practice in education. Despite their frequent use, the terms “evidence-based practice”, “evidence-based education” etc. remain something like “empty signs” the meaning of which still needs to be defined. The authors highlight several discussion topics regarding research for evidence-based practice and evidence-based process: hierarchical versus pluralistic conception of evidence; theoretical reasoning as evidence; top-down evidence-based practice versus bottom-up evidence-informed practitioner judgment; conception of research use as linear process of uptake or dissemination versus as bidirectional process by which research and practice mutually inform each other. It is presumed that although historically evidence-based approach was associated with an appeal to science primarily as an institution of prescription, in its actual versions the relationship between science and practice is much more complex.

Prevention science sheds light on complex social policy problems, yet its social impact cannot reach full potential without the uptake of research evidence by policymakers. This mixed-methods study examined the US federal legislation pertaining to justice-involved youth to reveal opportunities for strengthening the use of prevention science in legislation. The results indicated that research language, particularly references to the type of study (e.g., longitudinal) or methodology (e.g., data mining), within bills predicted bill progression out of committee and enactment. Rigorous scientific methods may either lend credence to a bill during its progression in the legislative process or may be infused in language during mark-up and negotiation of bills that successfully progress in Congress. In-depth bill coding illustrated the ways that research has been used in legislation to define problems, reinforce effective practice, generate knowledge through research and evaluation, and disseminate findings. A prominent implication of these findings is that policies could be used to improve data monitoring and evaluation capacity in ways that enhance the implementation of evidence-based interventions. The comprehensive use of research in legislation increases the likelihood that policies reach their intended outcomes and benefit those they are designed to serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Collaborative problem-solving research approaches have the potential to support improvement in educational policy and practice beyond instruction, by facilitating the development of a shared understanding of complex problems and creating social structures where district, community, and research partners can work together to solve them. This study investigates how findings from a developmental evaluation of a district attendance initiative were incorporated into the initiation process of a networked improvement community to create a shared narrative about how members conceptualized the problem of absenteeism and how they should adapt their levers to better align to that problem. The developmental learning process created an infrastructure within which district leaders and community partners could develop a partnership culture that facilitated change in policy. This study suggests the need to revisit the assumptions that have driven non-instructional improvement efforts and highlights the potential of collaborative problem-solving to strengthen the implementation of district reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalonia has a long tradition of school innovation movements. These have increased in recent years as public administration and private entities have initiated substantial school reforms oriented toward the use of evidence in teaching practice. As the Catalan education system is highly autonomous, not all schools have embraced the evidence-informed practice (EIP) movement, and this has created differences between schools that choose to implement a change or innovation based on scientifically demonstrated evidence and those that do not. In the present paper, we will attempt to understand the current state of the inclusion of evidence-informed practice in Catalonia and to assess teachers’ perceptions of its adoption as part of their daily practice. In order to address these issues, we start by exploring the legal and structural framework grounding the implementation of evidence-informed practice in the Catalan system, and through interviews conducted in a sample of primary school leaders and teachers, we approach the organisational and individual level to explore the opportunities to implement an authentic evidence-informed practice approach in the Catalan education system.

Background and Aims: The growing body of research evidence on substance use and substance use disorder (SU/SUD) prevention could be leveraged to strengthen the intended impact of policies that address SU/SUD. The aim of the present study was to explore how research was used in United States federal legislation that emphasized SU/SUD prevention. Design: Using a mixed‐methods approach, we assessed whether the use of research predicted a bill's legislative progress. We randomly sampled 10 bills that represented different types of research keywords to examine how research was used in these bills, applying content analysis. Setting: United States Congress. Participants/Cases: Federal legislation introduced between the 101st and the 114th Congresses (1989–2017; n = 1866). Measurements The quantitative outcome measures were bills' likelihood of passing out of committee and being enacted. Qualitative outcomes included the ways research was used in legislation. Findings Bills that used any research language were 2.2 times more likely to pass out of committee (OR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.75, 2.72) and 82% more likely to be enacted (OR = 1.82; 95% CI, 1.23, 2.69) than bills not using research language. Bills using dissemination words were 57% more likely to pass out of committee (OR = 1.57; CI, 1.08, 2.28) and analysis words were 93% more likely (OR = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.51, 2.47) than bills not using dissemination or analysis words. Research was used to (i) define the problem to justify legislative action, (ii) address the problem by providing funding, and (iii) address the problem through industry regulations. However, there was a lack of research use that targets underlying risk and protective factors. Conclusions: In the US Congress, substance use and substance use disorder prevention bills that use research language appear to be more likely to progress in the legislative cycle than bills that do not, suggesting that legislation using research may be viewed as more credible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child welfare organizations serve vulnerable families and are required to effectively address the system's dual mandate. Therefore, workers must understand how families' unique challenges may impact caregiver's parenting ability and how to mitigate these concerns. In turn, workers require a framework for service that will address clinical factors and reduce decision-making noise. Evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) offers a comprehensive framework that guides child welfare workers through the service process. This study provides the evaluation of an EIDM training (n= 100) aimed at promoting attitudes and use of research of child welfare workers. This is a quantitative study that utilized pre- and posttest surveys to measure attitudes and behaviors related to EIDM. Findings suggest that attitude toward and likelihood to adopt EBP, confidence in using research, and perceived barriers to utilizing research significantly improved over the course of the five-month training. Findings suggest that key participant characteristics can be improved following education. Indeed, there are many factors, including organizational, that contribute to whether EIDM is utilized in the field. Workers, however, must be knowledgeable and feel confident about the use of EIDM in everyday practice for there to be a successful implementation and sustained use in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are growing expectations internationally that schools and systems will use research evidence to inform their improvement efforts. Such developments raise important questions about what it means to use research evidence well in education. To date, there has been wide-ranging debate about what counts as quality evidence, but very little dialogue about what counts as quality use. In response, this article presents a conceptual framework to define and elaborate what quality use of research evidence might mean in relation to education. The framework is informed by a cross-sector systematic review and narrative synthesis of 112 relevant publications from four sectors: health, social care, education and policy. The review explored if, and how, quality of evidence use had been defined and described within each of these sectors in order to inform a quality use framework for education. Based on the cross-sector review, quality use of research evidence is framed in terms of two core components: (1) appropriate research evidence and (2) thoughtful engagement and implementation, supported by three individual enabling components (skillsets, mindsets and relationships) and three organisational enabling components (leadership, culture and infrastructure), as well as system-level influences. There is potential for this framework to inform current approaches to the use of research in education. There is also an important need to test and refine its components through further empirical investigation, theoretical inquiry and intervention development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the process of increasing the integration of research and evidence into education practice and policy through the lens of knowledge mobilization. Using qualitative methods, we examine the experiences of knowledge brokers--those who facilitate the exchange of knowledge between individuals and organizations--throughout the education sector so that we can frame knowledge mobilization to practice and policy more effectively. Our work highlights brokers' efforts to mobilize not only resources to be implemented, but also values, beliefs, and practices. We show that trust and affect are central to the deeply relational work of knowledge mobilization, which requires brokers to be attuned to the learning journeys and organizational, structural, and cultural contexts of practitioners and policymakers. Relationships between brokers and practitioners/policy makers were key not only in settings involving close research-practice partnerships, but across all levels of knowledge mobilization, even in large-scale online spaces. Implications of this refocusing of knowledge mobilization are discussed for both brokers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Despite the increased emphasis placed on the use of evidence for policy development, relatively few initiatives have been developed to support evidence-informed decision-making, especially in West Africa. Moreover, studies examining the conditions under which policy-makers use research-based evidence are still scarce, but they show that their attitudes and opinions about research are one of the main determinants of such use. In February 2017, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Health planned to create a unit to promote evidence-informed decision-making within the ministry. Before the unit was set up, documenting the attitudes towards research at the highest levels of his Ministry appeared profitable to the unit’s planning. Method Individual interviews were conducted by the author with 14 actors positioned to consider evidence during decision-making from the Burkina Faso’s Minister of health cabinet. An interview grid was used to explore several themes such as attitudes towards research, obstacles and facilitators to research use, example of research use in decision-making and finally, ways to increase decision-makers’ participation in knowledge transfer activities. Interviews were partially transcribed and analysed by the author. Results The results show a mixed attitude towards research and relatively little indication of research use reported by respondents. Important obstacles were identified: evidence inaccessibility, lack of implementation guidelines, absence of clear communication strategy and studies’ lack of relevance for decision-making. Many suggestions were proposed such as raising awareness, improving access and research communication and prioritizing interactions with researchers. Respondents agree with the low participation of decision-makers in knowledge transfer activities: more leadership from the senior officials was suggested and greater awareness of the importance of their presence. Conclusions The conclusion presents avenues for reflection and action to increase the potential impact of the knowledge transfer unit planned within the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso. This innovative initiative will be impactful if the obstacles identified in this study and policy-makers’ preferences and needs are taken into account during its development and implementation.

Abstract In this commentary, we present a follow-up of two articles published in 2017 and 2018 about road traffic crashes, which is an important public health issue in Africa and Burkina Faso. The first article reported on a research project, conducted in partnership with local actors involved in road safety, carried out in Ouagadougou in 2015. Its aim was to test the effectiveness, acceptability, and capacity of a surveillance system to assess the number of road traffic crashes and their consequences on the health of crash victims. Several knowledge translation activities were carried out to maximize its impact and were reported in the 2018 article published in HRPS: monthly reports presenting the research data, large-format printed maps distributed to the city’s police stations, and a deliberative workshop held at the end of the research project. The present commentary presents our efforts to deepen our understanding of the impacts of the knowledge translation strategy, based on follow-up interviews, 18 months after the workshop, with the heads of the road traffic crash units in Ouagadougou police stations (n = 5). Several benefits were reported by respondents. Their involvement in the process prompted them to broaden their knowledge of other ways of dealing with the issue of road crashes. This led them, sometimes with their colleagues, to intervene differently: more rapid response at collision sites, increased surveillance of dangerous intersections, user awareness-raising on the importance of the highway code, etc. However, sustaining these actions over the longer term has proven difficult. Several lessons were derived from this experience, regarding the importance of producing useful and locally applicable research data, of ensuring the acceptability of the technologies used for data collection, of using collaborative approaches in research and knowledge translation, of ensuring the visibility of actions undertaken by actors in the field, and of involving decision-makers in the research process to maximize its impacts.

Introduction: There is an existing gap between what people learned from theory and what they clinically practiced, as revealed in research studies in nursing. This gap is primarily due to identified barriers in utilizing the research findings in actual nursing practice. Objective: To present a scientific mapping of the Scopus-indexed literature published from 2002 to 2021, which studied barriers to research utilization in nursing using the BARRIER scale. Methods: This systematic review utilized bibliometric analysis. One hundred seventy-nine extracted literature from Scopus was manually reviewed, and the study included 53 documents for further analysis. Results: Remarkably, almost three-fourths of the documents identified setting-related factors as the most common barrier to research utilization in nursing (n = 39, 73.58%). This is followed by presentation-related factors (n = 16.98%) and nurse-related factors (n = 5, 9.43%), respectively. Findings revealed that insufficient time at work in implementing new ideas was perceived as the top barrier in research utilization in nursing. Conclusion: It is crucial to determine the hindrances to the utilization of research findings. The results of this study establish the connection between research and evidence-based practice which stimulates in meeting the gap in the current nursing practice. Future studies must include research utilization studies that apply tools other than the BARRIER scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examined how research has been used in the federal higher education rulemaking process, through which the U.S. Department of Education implements programs under the Higher Education Act. Findings indicate that in this high-conflict policymaking process, politics infuses various forms of research use to create several overlapping categories of use (political-instrumental, political-conceptual, and political-imposed) that existing typologies of research use omit. This study demonstrates how previous conceptualizations of forms of research use should be expanded to account for these politically infused forms of research use. This study also uncovered consequences of widespread political research use in rulemaking, including a general distrust of research presented in the process and political actors using the same or similar data to reach different conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One approach to promote students' use of research in future practice involves integrating students' research use in supervision during practice placements. Studies examining this aspect of supervision in practice placements are lacking. To explore how practice educators perceive and emphasise research in their supervision of occupational therapy students during practice placements. A qualitative study was conducted. A purposive sample was recruited, consisting of participants from community-based health services and hospitals in Norway. We conducted three focus groups and one individual interview with occupational therapists (n = 9). The qualitative data analysis was based on interpretive description. We identified four themes: 'emphasis on research in supervision of students'; 'practice educators' research competence and awareness of research'; 'institutionalisation of research use in everyday practice'; and 'communication and cooperation between education and practice regarding research'. Despite highlighting several benefits of research use, the practice educators focused rarely on students' research use in practice placements. Conclusions and significance: Cooperation between practice educators and faculty members regarding students' training in research use seems essential. Practice educators may need additional training in how research should be emphasised in supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) have drawn a great deal of attention as promising structures for bringing educational research and practice closer together. However, promising as RPPs may be, challenges still exist and there have been calls for studies investigating how research can be used within RPPs, and how to include practitioners more in the generation of research evidence. We address these calls by conducting a systematic review of the research literature on RPPs. Our review of 57 articles shows that research is used in various ways to inform both the methods and content for facilitating school improvement in RPPs. For instance, research on effective PD can be directly applied to a Professional Development (PD) programme to inform the methods of the intervention, or research findings can be used as the content of an intervention to facilitate teacher learning. Moreover, the results suggest that the type of research used to inform RPPs affects the kinds of opportunities for research use that are presented to practitioners; ranging from applying research directly to practice (instrumental use), to using research to extend understanding (conceptual use), or using research methods and methodologies in order to increase practitioners' capacity for improving education (process use). Based on the results, we argue that the presented opportunities for research use in interventions strongly affect teachers' opportunities to participate in the generation of research evidence and thereby achieve a more democratised evidence system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence about how to translate and mobilise research evidence for use in schools remains quite limited. The present study sought to address this gap by leveraging an opportunity to examine such processes. In February 2021, Edutopia (a large US-based, practice-focused educational intermediary organisation) hosted a large virtual event, with 6526 participants, to communicate/highlight just-released findings from four large-scale, funded causal studies into the efficacy of project-based learning and to encourage educators to adopt this practice. Examining this event, this primarily qualitative study addressed one main research question: How were research evidence and other forms of evidence used to justify and motivate the adoption of project-based learning in schools? This study also drew upon secondary data to examine certain self-reported impacts. This study applied a two-layered analytic frame to broadly examine the selling and gelling of educational research evidence and other forms of evidence, and to uncover if/how five main factors of innovation adoption were addressed. Findings provided detail and analysis along each of these dimensions and, further, revealed certain apparent tensions associated with making the case for project-based learning--for example, some instances of possible research 'over-selling', and a focus on answering certain questions that could not be addressed solely via research evidence, necessitating a reliance on other evidence sources. Survey/summary results suggested participants were strongly convinced of this innovation's positive impacts and were eager to discuss it further with colleagues, though given data limitations we were unable to discern the extent/ways participants' subsequent practices subsequently shifted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Generalisability is typically only briefly mentioned in discussion sections of evaluation articles, which are unhelpful in judging whether an intervention could be implemented elsewhere, with similar effects. Several tools to assess generalisability exist, but they are difficult to operationalise and are rarely used. We believe a different approach is needed. Instead of focusing on similarities (or more likely, differences) in generic population and setting characteristics, generalisability assessments should focus on understanding an intervention’s mechanism of action - why or how an intervention was effective. We believe changes are needed to four types of research. First, outcome evaluations should draw on programme theory. Second, process evaluations should aim to understand interventions’ mechanism of action, rather than simply ‘what happened’. Third, small scoping studies should be conducted in new settings, to explore how to enact identified mechanisms. Finally, innovative synthesis methods are required, in order to identify mechanisms of action where there is a lack of existing process evaluations.