Annex C – Glossary of research practices

Diverse research practices

All forms of research submitted to REF 2029 must meet the REF definition of research. Diverse research practices refer to the full range of approaches employed in research as defined in the REF. Diversity may be reflected both within and between panels and may span and integrate different perspectives, methodologies (both established and novel), types of funding and support, forms of evidence and knowledge agents. 

Examples of research practices

The section below indicates some areas of established, new and evolving research practices that may be reflected within outputs for REF 2029. These examples are illustrative only and are organised alphabetically. They are offered to assist institutions in considering as wide as possible a range of research, not to constrain in any way their selection for submission. They should not be read as exhaustive or prescriptive and are not expected to reflect research practice in all disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. The panels anticipate that a broad range of outputs will be submitted which have or have not used these types of practices.

The examples are accompanied by illustrative outputs, subject to the same caveats as above. Note that they do not systematically include peer-reviewed text-based outputs such as journal articles, books or conference papers. This is simply to avoid repetition, and it is no indication of either advantage or disadvantage of any kinds of outputs in the assessment.

Algorithmic and data-driven research

Research where datasets, algorithms or models are not just tools but the core intellectual contributions. 

Examples of outputs:  

• AI models that demonstrate novel theoretical insights  
• ethically annotated datasets
• data storytelling platforms (for example, dashboards with reflexive narratives)  
• visual analytics
• critical data studies 

Applied and policy-oriented knowledge

Practice- and action-focused research influencing decision-making, policy, organisational practice, education or societal behaviour. 

Examples of outputs:

• curriculum reform documentation with pedagogical research base  
• industry or regulatory guidelines developed through collaborative inquiry  
• best practice statements or guidance  
• public service transformation toolkits  
• systemic evaluations or pilot studies that shift practice norms  

Catalytic research

Research that intervenes in infrastructures, methods or institutions to enable more equitable knowledge production and circulation. It may involve questioning dominant research norms and practices.  

Examples of outputs:

• digital platform reconfiguring access to cultural heritage collections 
• multilingual dataset foregrounding low-resource languages 
• policy facing evidence synthesis addressing structural knowledge exclusion in public systems 
• synthetic or privacy-preserving dataset
• accessible animations

Community co-produced or participatory research

Generation of knowledge through equitable collaboration with communities.  

Examples of outputs:  

• co-authored policy briefs
• culturally-specific research outputs (for example, oral traditions, Indigenous knowledge systems)  
• participatory mapping projects  
• community-led archival or digital storytelling initiatives  
• multilingual public resources developed from collaborative research  
• participatory methods toolkit
• a toolkit for grassroots advocacy groups developed from participatory action research

Curated cultural events and public engagement

Cultural curation and public scholarship, particularly where interpretation and mediation are core to the research.  

Examples of outputs:  

• research-informed festival programming   
• curated exhibitions exploring academic themes for public audiences  
• research-informed immersive installations (for example, AR/VR experience)  
• research-informed radio documentaries
• performance lectures (which combine a lecture with an artistic performance)
• pop-up museums  

Development of tools and technologies

Development of tools and technologies to enable research and innovation. For example, scientific instrument development, novel test facilities, large scale data observatories, biobanks

Examples of outputs:  

• curated datasets and databases
• digital platforms and applications
• algorithms and computational models
• technical standards and protocols
• data visualisation tools and dashboards
• digital archives and repositories

Digital/multimedia and creative digital artifacts  

Designed digital, hybrid or multimedia works that contribute to scholarly debate or knowledge production. See also Practice Research.

Examples of outputs:  

• research-led video essays or podcast series
• data-driven storytelling platforms  
• interactive research websites with open annotation layers  
• visualisations that demonstrate novel analysis or interpretation  
• transmedia research projects (for example, combining film, web, print and other media)  

Embodied and experiential research

Research grounded in lived experience or sensory/physical knowledge. Dissemination may be experiential and audience- or participant-specific.  

Examples of outputs:  

• performance research methods (for example, verbatim theatre, movement ethnography) 
• therapeutic interventions co-developed with participants  
• tactile research outputs (for example, textiles, wearables, sensory installations)  
• age appropriate or accessible knowledge materials  
• research-informed community rituals or reenactments  

Interdisciplinary research  (IDR)

Research aiming to achieve outcomes and/or new approaches that could not be achieved within a single discipline. IDR features significant interaction between two or more disciplines and/or moves beyond established disciplinary foundations, for example in applying or integrating research approaches from other disciplines.

Examples of outputs:

• design thinking research applied to health or environmental problems 
• bio-art projects linking genomics and aesthetics  
• AI and ethics co-produced frameworks  
• science-art installations 
• futures studies or scenario planning bridging sectors 

Methodological development and innovation 

Scholarly work where the core contribution is a novel methodology, method, technique or instrumentation that shifts how research is done (across any discipline or IDR). 

Examples of outputs:

• experimental and mixed-methods toolkits  
• methods for researching high-risk and sensitive settings  
• creative coding environments for research  
• new fieldwork techniques (for example, speculative ethnography, sensory mapping) 
• frameworks for algorithmic accountability or participatory audit  

Practices enabling open research and methodological transparency  

Research that enables openness and reproducibility and where methodological transparency or open practice drives innovation.  

Examples of outputs:

• open-source tools that enable new forms of analysis  
• reproducible workflows or digital notebooks  
• pre-registered studies and study protocols that influence methodological norms [note duplicate submission rules still in place]  
• open peer review systems
• living documents (for example, evolving systematic reviews or protocols)  

Place-based and territorial knowledge

Research rooted in geographical, local or situated knowledge, emphasising specificity and context in both method and dissemination. 

Examples of outputs:  

• localised climate adaptation strategies  
• regional economic blueprints co-developed with civic actors  
• oral geographies or place-based heritage initiatives  

Practice research  

Practice research is a form of inquiry that recognises practice as central to the generation and sharing of knowledge. It explores, articulates and shares ways of knowing that emerge through practice, including intuitive, iterative, embodied, tacit, experiential, imaginative, affective or sensory knowledge. Dissemination of research insights may be through textual as well as non-textual forms, including artefacts, interventions, performances, systems and other forms.  Practice research may both arise from and contribute to professional practice. Across disciplines and interdisciplinary fields, practice research and its outputs are diverse, and encompass specific approaches such as practice-based, practice-led, close-to-practice and practitioner research.

Examples of outputs:  

• artefacts, exhibitions, performances, compositions, design, digital or visual media
• architectural designs or urban masterplans or public policies and practices addressing socio-environmental dilemmas
• engineering toolkits or devices developed via R&D 
• artistic installations  
• care guidance
• creative writing (novels, poetry, screenplays, creative non-fiction)
• clinical decision-making tools 
• custom software demonstrating new research methodologies  

Meta-research and research ethics  

Research that investigates the research process itself — including questions of knowledge production, academic labour and research ethics.  

Examples of outputs:  

• research reports on the research assessment system (for example, REF critiques)  
• visualisations of authorship, citations, reviews and collaboration networks
• research ethics frameworks  
• analytics infrastructures or platforms
• meta-analyses
• ethnographies of academic labour  

Replication research and research synthesis

Research undertaking and enabling the systematic reproduction and/or synthesis of existing studies, with the aim of validation, transparency and cumulative knowledge building.  

Examples of outputs:

• multisite replication dataset testing robustness across populations, context or laboratories 
• re-analysis of legacy dataset using updated statistical or computational methods 
• benchmarking study replicating and comparing performance claims across multiple models or systems 
• systematic review
• meta-analysis report
• meta-ethnography

Societal challenge-driven research 

Research explicitly responding to big societal challenges. Outputs may blend activism, science communication and academic work.  

Examples of outputs:

• research outputs embedded in sociological restoration projects  
• carbon accounting frameworks for cultural institutions  
• a documentary
• regenerative design blueprints or demonstration systems

Theoretical, basic or discovery research  

Fundamental research advancing theoretical frameworks or core knowledge. May be abstract or exploratory without immediate application.  

Examples of outputs:

• new mathematical proofs or models  
• philosophical treatises with original argumentation  
• linguistic corpora supporting theory development  
• theoretical AI or logic programming documentation