Anticipating conclusions. Audiences of research

Anticipating conclusions

When formulating research problems, you must not just consider what to study, where and when, but also anticipate the answer to the question, ‘What do I want to say? ’ This is not to suggest that you can write a final paper or report before carrying out the research. Rather, it is to indicate that there needs to be some anticipation of the kind of conclusion that may be reached and the kind of evidence required to support it. For example, where the aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of the introduction of some form of criminal justice policy (for example, MATAC or the new law of ‘coer- cive control’), it is necessary to formulate research problems and questions in such a way that some conclusion can be reached about the effectiveness of the policy (see Rob White in Chapter 22). There are other ways in which researchers anticipate out- comes when formulating research questions. In a more radical and critical vein, what is sometimes termed standpoint research seeks to pose problems and address them from a particular standpoint (for example, a feminist, or gender-sensitive, perspective) and anticipates reaching conclusions which reflect that standpoint. Such research may be less likely to be concerned with questions about the effectiveness of specific policies and more concerned with addressing fundamental issues such as discrimination, inequality, oppression and justice (see, for example, Walklate et al., 2018).

It is not just about anticipating the conclusions that need some thought from the outset. It is also useful to think through the writing up and presenting of the research findings. Often, the findings will be written up for publication in a journal article and, sometimes, as a manuscript for publication by one of the leading academic book publishers, such as SAGE. During the research process itself, conference papers and

presentations may well be delivered as well, providing a useful opportunity to share initial findings and thoughts and reflections on what the research is starting to uncover. Where the research is for a funding council or an organization that has, for example, funded a piece of evaluation, often a research report will need to be pro- duced. Students will be expected to produce a dissertation or a PhD thesis, and again these may form the basis for further publications, such as journal articles and book chapters. Anticipating these from the outset of the research can help in the process of doing the research itself, a point well made by Alexandra Hall in Chapter 7, who explores the writing up and presentation of criminological research.

Audiences of research

When thinking of your research, you need to pose not just the question ‘What do I want to say? ’ but also ‘To whom do I want to say it? ’ The audiences of research findings include academic supervisors and peers, policy-makers who have commissioned research, practitioners who are interested in applying the findings in their day to day work, pressure groups who want to put forward a particular viewpoint and politicians who want to formulate or justify policies. Increasingly, researchers are building ‘impact’ into their research from the outset. Delivering impacts from research is increasingly important in research bidding and grant applications and in assessments of research excellence. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) define research impact as ‘the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy’ (ESRC 2018). Impact then, is about beneficial changes that will happen in the real world, as a result of research. This can involve academic impact, economic and societal impact or both. Impacts occur through processes of knowledge exchange and the co-production of knowledge. Most researchers and funders tend to focus on instru- mental impacts such as actual changes in policy or practice, though there can also be ‘negative impacts’, such as evidence that prevents the introduction of a new and poten- tially harmful piece of legislation. Conceptual impact is impact that contributes to the understanding of policy issues or refames debates or alters attitudes, whereas capacity building impacts can be achieved through technical and personal skill or training devel- opment. Other types of impact include attitudinal or cultural impacts and enduring connectivity impacts. The former might involve people’s increased willingness to engage in new collaborations. The latter might include follow-on interactions such as collabora- tive workshops, reciprocal visits and joint proposals (Reed, 2016). The nature of the intended audience – and where impact is intended – should be anticipated when formu- lating research problems. The effect on, change or benefit tends to be viewed as impactful if it goes beyond the world of researchers. The likelihood of achieving impact is therefore in part dependent on the way in which we formulate our research questions. There is, therefore, a strong connection between the way in which a research prob- lem is expressed and the types of findings and conclusions which are eventually presented. Different audiences give credibility to evidence and arguments presented

in certain ways. For example, most articles in academic journals are expected to be presented in a very formal way. Further, there is a wealth of experience which indi- cates that policy-makers give greater credence to statistical as opposed to non-quantitative evidence, whereas pressure groups often favour detailed studies of ‘deviant’ cases or causes cé lè bres so as to make maximum impact. There is also some evidence to suggest that research undertaken with overseas collaborators has a bigger potential impact. In Box 1. 2, different types of impact are outlined. The ways in which arguments and conclusions emerge and are presented are very much influenced by early decisions about the nature of the research problem and how it is expressed.