RESEARCHING POLICY RESEARCH - ISSUES OF UTILIZATION IN DECISION-MAKING

This article addresses the problems of exploring the use of research in the policy process. Measuring the impact or outcomes of policy research raises complex methodological and conceptual issues. How the task is approached and what measures are used depend, for example, on how the nature of the policy-making process is conceived, on what functions research is presumed to play in the making of policy, and on the way in which the relationship between research and policy is presented. Drawing on the wider literature in this field, this article describes and illustrates the three main methods that have been used for studying research use in the policy arena—impact studies, insider accounts, and case studies—and examines their strengths and weaknesses. © 1990, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.