QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE FEDERAL RESEARCH IMPACT EVALUATION PRACTICES

This paper describes the quantitative and qualitative practice of fede ral research impact evaluation. Evaluation of research impact is descr ibed for three cases: Research selection, where the work has not yet b een performed; research review, where work and results are ongoing; an d ex-post research assessment, where research has been completed and r esults can be tracked. Qualitative methods (such as peer review) and q uantitative methods (such as cost-benefit analysis and bibliometrics) are described. Although peer review in its broadest sense is the most widely used method in research selection, review, and ex-post assessme nt, it has its deficiencies, and there is no single method that provid es a complete impact evaluation.