Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable

The research assessment framework is an unstable reality in many countries. While few would disagree that there is a need to measure and reward research excellence, there has been little investigation of how assessment mechanisms relate to knowledge itself. With a focus on the arts and humanities an...

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Main Authors: Bennett, Dawn, Franzmann, Majella
Format: Journal Article
Published: SAGE publishing 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5941
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author Bennett, Dawn
Franzmann, Majella
author_facet Bennett, Dawn
Franzmann, Majella
author_sort Bennett, Dawn
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The research assessment framework is an unstable reality in many countries. While few would disagree that there is a need to measure and reward research excellence, there has been little investigation of how assessment mechanisms relate to knowledge itself. With a focus on the arts and humanities and writing from an Australian perspective, this paper draws together discussions of research assessment frameworks and forms of knowledge to consider what can and cannot be measured, and what we might gain from (or lose from not) measuring these things. We argue that the focus on measurable outputs risks a culture that favours effective packages of knowledge at the same time as ignoring the immeasurable, or hidden elements of research and scholarship – elements that Aristotle considered to underpin scholarship itself.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-59412017-09-13T14:41:02Z Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable Bennett, Dawn Franzmann, Majella arts and humanities research assessment creative research higher education ERA The research assessment framework is an unstable reality in many countries. While few would disagree that there is a need to measure and reward research excellence, there has been little investigation of how assessment mechanisms relate to knowledge itself. With a focus on the arts and humanities and writing from an Australian perspective, this paper draws together discussions of research assessment frameworks and forms of knowledge to consider what can and cannot be measured, and what we might gain from (or lose from not) measuring these things. We argue that the focus on measurable outputs risks a culture that favours effective packages of knowledge at the same time as ignoring the immeasurable, or hidden elements of research and scholarship – elements that Aristotle considered to underpin scholarship itself. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5941 10.1177/1474022213492441 SAGE publishing fulltext
spellingShingle arts and humanities
research assessment
creative research
higher education
ERA
Bennett, Dawn
Franzmann, Majella
Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title_full Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title_fullStr Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title_full_unstemmed Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title_short Aristotle and the ERA: Measuring the immeasurable
title_sort aristotle and the era: measuring the immeasurable
topic arts and humanities
research assessment
creative research
higher education
ERA
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5941