Writing impact case studies: a comparative study of high-scoring and low-scoring case studies from REF2014

This paper reports on two studies that used qualitative thematic and quantitative linguistic analysis to assess the content and language of research impact case studies from the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF). The study found statistically significant linguistic differences between high- and low-scoring case studies, suggesting that implicit rules linked to written style influenced scores. High-scoring case studies provided more specific and high-magnitude articulations of significance and reach, used attributional phrases to attribute research and/or pathways to impact, and were written more coherently. They conformed to a clear and direct writing style, simplifying causality and minimizing uncertainty. High-scoring case studies in two Main Panels were significantly easier to read. The findings provide insights for authors to improve the effectiveness of their impact case studies.

Bella Reichard, Mark S Reed, Jenn Chubb, Ged Hall, Lucy Jowett, Alisha Peart, Andrea Whittle