ReviewBMC medicine2016
Research impact: a narrative review.
Review in BMC medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What do we want to get out of this? a critical interpretive synthesis of the value of process evaluations, with a practical planning framework.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Pooled it
- A qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis exploring the impacts of clinical academic activity by healthcare professionals outside medicine.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Applying a framework to assess the impact of cardiovascular outcomes improvement research.Health research policy and systems · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluating cancer research impact: lessons and examples from existing reviews on approaches to research impact assessment.Health research policy and systems · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of surgical intervention trials on healthcare: A systematic review of assessment methods, healthcare outcomes, and determinants.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review.Health research policy and systems · 2017Pooled it
- Assessing the impact of healthcare research: A systematic review of methodological frameworks.PLoS medicine · 2017Pooled it
- How to … Maximise Your Clinical Education Research Impact.The clinical teacher · 2026Article
- Getting It Out There: Reflections on the Process and Impact of Public Engagement Activities in a Study on End-of-Life Care Planning With People With Intellectual Disabilities.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Impact assessment of a national research collaboration improving health outcomes for working-age Australians with disability.Health research policy and systems · 2026Article
- A taxonomy of the process in implementation science: the Global Impact Analytics Framework (GIAF).Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Co-design rationales as living documents for reporting the exchange of experiential, professional and scientific perspectives in mental health care innovation.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- The complexities of athlete development in North American professional sport.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Making clinician-scientists visible: methods for identifying clinician research participation and metrics at scale.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Developing health research impact assessment in Italy: the case of the Piedmont Region.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- So what? Elevating the impact of implementation science.Implementation science communications · 2025Article
- Framework development of the social impact of medical research utilization: Fuzzy Delphi approach.Health research policy and systems · 2025Article
- Impact upfront: novel format for Novo Nordisk Foundation funding.Health research policy and systems · 2025Review
- Beyond the Publication-Equivalent: Rethinking research impact metrics.The Indian journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Understanding Barriers to Engagement With a Prostate Cancer Research and Genetic Risk Service Among UK Men of Black African or Black Caribbean Ancestry.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Impact occurs when research generates benefits (health, economic, cultural) in addition to building the academic knowledge base. Its mechanisms are complex and reflect the multiple ways in which knowledge is generated and utilised. Much progress has been made in measuring both the outcomes of research and the processes and activities through which these are achieved, though the measurement of impact is not without its critics. We review the strengths and limitations of six established approaches (Payback, Research Impact Framework, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, monetisation, societal impact assessment, UK Research Excellence Framework) plus recently developed and largely untested ones (including metrics and electronic databases). We conclude that (1) different approaches to impact assessment are appropriate in different circumstances; (2) the most robust and sophisticated approaches are labour-intensive and not always feasible or affordable; (3) whilst most metrics tend to capture direct and proximate impacts, more indirect and diffuse elements of the research-impact link can and should be measured; and (4) research on research impact is a rapidly developing field with new methodologies on the horizon.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.