Metrics 'cannot replace peer review' in the next REF

The findings of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment and Management have been published. The report, 'The Metric Tide', looks at the potential uses and limitations of research metrics and indicators, exploring their use within institutions and across disciplines.

The four UK funding bodies that manage the Research Excellence Framework (REF) - HEFCE, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Scottish Funding Council, and the Department for Employment and Learning (Northern Ireland) - have been told by the independent review that ‘no set of numbers is likely to be able to capture the nuanced judgments that the REF process currently provides’, and that it is not currently feasible to assess research outputs or impacts in the REF using quantitative indicators alone, with no provision for peer review.