In this presentation the impact of science is analyzed. The central concept is that of solving problems. The tensions of science debate are pointed out: academic freedom vs. demands of society.

1. Internal and external evaluation of
scientific research
Presentation at Hanken, Helsinki 22.4.2016
PhD Antti Hautamäki
Research professor (emeritus), University of Jyväskylä
Adjunct professor, University of Helsinki
Consulting Sustainable Innovation

2. Basic research and its impact
• Science is systematic research which produces new
knowledge (results)
• To be effective science must follow its own interests
and methods
• The way from research results to practical
applications is long and indirect
• A major problem is how to stimulate impact
effectively and maintain a consistent high quality of
the research

3. Tensions in science debate
• Truth vs. practice
• Pure science vs. usefulness
• Basic science vs. applied science
• Quality vs. relevance
• Autonomy vs. external steering
• Collegiality vs. managerialism
• Budgetary funding vs. competed funding
• Science logic vs. market logic

4. Scientific method (ideal, Ch. Peirce)
• The scientific method
• Is fallible
• Purposely tests itself
• Criticizes itself
• Corrects itself
• Improves itself
• Other “methods” are based on tenacity,
authority, or a priori assumptions

5. Basic elements of scientific method
• PROBLEMS: identification and classification
of problems
• DATA: systematic observation,
measurement, and experiment
• HYPOTHESES: formulation, testing, and
modification of hypotheses
• EVALUATION: iteration, replication, peer
review, open data

6. Qualitative research
• Differs from standard hypothetic-deductive method,
where hypotheses are tested by their deductive
consequences and predictions
• Target is more to understand phenomena (meanings)
than to explain them
• A variety of methods: action theory, grounded theory,
ethnography, hermeneutics, narrative analysis,
observation, phenomenology etc.
• Challenges: generalization, objectivity, sampling

7. Progress of science
(L. Laudan: Progress and Its Problems, 1977)
• Progressiveness of a theory or an approach is related
to its problem solving effectiveness
• Empirical problems are often wh-questions related to
the world around us: what, why, when, how,..
• Conceptual problems are a) internal related to
theoretical difficulties (concepts, methods) or b)
external rising from conflicts between different
theories
• Anomalous problems for a theory are empirical
problems which a competitor has solved

8. Measure of progress
• The aim of science is to maximize the scope of
solved empirical problems, while minimizing the
scope of anomalous and conceptual problems
• Theories are produced in research traditions
(schools), which are sets of general assumptions
about the entities and processes in a domain of study
• The central cognitive test for any theory is
whether it provides satisfactory solutions to
important problems

9. Instrumentalism in science
• According to instrumentalism science is first of all
providing workable solutions to practical problems
(vs. realism = uncovering the reality)
• Solutions might be formulated as “technical norms”:
• If you perform action A, then you will get result B
• Technical norms are “value-neutral”
• But values are involved in selecting which problems
are worth to solve!

10. Humboldtian university
• Humboldt University in Berlin (est. 1810) was the
model of modern large-scale universities
• W. von Humboldt's model was based on two ideas of
the Enlightenment: the individual and the world
citizen
• Principles:
• Academic freedom and autonomy of universities
• The pursuit of knowledge as a base for culture,
civilization and education (German “Bildung”)
• The unity of teaching and research

11. Neo-humboldtian university
(A.Hautamäki & P. Ståhle, Ristiriitainen tiedepolitiikkamme, 2012)
• Bias of Humboldtian university: the pursuit of truth
without paying attention to societal and economic
issues and challenges
• In Neo-humboldtian university wicked problems are
taken to be an organizing principle for research,
education and problem solving
• Wicked problems are the grand challenges of
contemporary world such as climate change, health
and food issues, polarization, and security
• They are complex and difficult to solve

12. Impact analysis
Human and
financial
resources
Activities
Processes
Goods and
services
produced
Initial
impact
Longer-term
impact

13. Impact of science
• Scientific impact
• Cumulation and growth of knowledge
• Citation impact quantifies the citation usage of
scholarly works; Impact factor measures the
citation impact of an academic journal
• Societal impact
• Our society is increasingly focused on requiring
justification for the investments made in scientific
research: need for societal impact of science

14. Scientific impact
• Academic publications in journals with high impact
factors
• Quality as measured by citation
• Peer review is central in journals and funding
decisions
• Bias: support “normal science”, not open to radical
openings, innovative approaches or interdisciplinary
research
• Societal impact is neglected

15. Societal impact
• Some dimensions of impact:
• Development of skills and knowledge for
employment
• Business–university collaboration in research and
innovation
• Graduate recruitment: the interface between
students, universities and employers
• Universities in their local communities: enabling
economic growth
• How to measure impact, what are good indicators?
• Case Finland (next two slides)

16. Universities core funding 2013-2016 in Finland (and changes for 2017-
2020)
+ 2%
-2%
-1%
1 % = 16 m€
+1%

17. Strategic Research Council
Academy of Finland
• New funding for strategic research (55 m€ /y)
• “The SRC funds high-quality research that has great societal
impact. The research should seek to find concrete solutions to
grand challenges that require multidisciplinary approaches. An
important element of such research is active collaboration
between those who produce new knowledge and those who use
it.”
• “The Government determines the research needs and decides
the final themes, which the SRC then formulates into research
programmes and funding calls.”
• SRC programmes run for 3–6 years

18. Readings
• Berman R.P. (2012). Creating the Market University, How Academic Science Became an
Economic Engine. Princeton & Oxford: Yale University Press.
• Geiger R.L. (2004) Knowledge and Money, Research Universities and the Paradox of
Marketplace. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Hautamäki A. (2010). Sustainable innovation. A New Age of Innovation and Finland’s
Innovation Policy. Sitra Reports 87. Helsinki.
• Hautamäki Antti ja Ståhle Pirjo: Ristiriitainen tiedepolitiikkamme, Suuntana innovaatiot vai
sivistys? Helsinki: Gaudeamus 2012
• Hautamäki Antti, Ståhle Pirjo, Oksanen Kaisa ja Tukiainen Taina (2016). Vaikuttavaa
tutkimusta – Kokeiluehdotuksia tutkimuksen vaikuttavuuden ja kaupallistamisen
edistämiseksi. Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön julkaisuja 2/2016.
• Oksanen Kaisa ja Hautamäki Antti (2014): “Uushumboldtilainen yliopisto – suomalainen
ratkaisu yliopistojen kehittämiseen.” Tiedepolitiikka 1/2014, 46-52.