Entry by Lubna Bin Zayyad<\/p>\n
Definition:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Within the realm of ethics, politics, and social justice – accountability plays an important role. Accountability is also a central issue in research and higher education, which can be termed as research accountability. Research can be defined as the process of learning, entering debates, and\/or reexamining our inquiry practices and efforts at \u2018representing\u2019 reality (Romm, 2002). Accountability, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is \u201cthe fact of being responsible for what you do and able to give a satisfactory reason for it or the degree to which this happens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Research accountability refers to a range of concerns, practices, and guidelines related to \u201cthe philosophies, policies, systems, procedures, and standards for analyzing and promoting ethical conduct in research\u201d (Encyclopedia, 2021). The details of <\/span>what constitutes <\/span><\/i>research accountability vary depending on the context but the idea itself is very much applicable to all departments and areas of study within higher education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One method to ensuring research accountability within Britain\u2019s Higher Education, suggests the introduction of \u201can assortment of accountability and monitoring techniques and strategies aimed to overcome all possible sources of inequity, inefficiency, corruption… particularly those arising from the pursuit of self-interest\u201d (Olssen, 2015:133).<\/span><\/p>\n An important aspect of research accountability, in addition to taking onus of responsibility, is trust and trustworthiness. We should aim not simply to increase or restore trust, but also place it and refuse it, which requires judgement, information, evidence and care (O\u2019Neil, 2019). Research accountability is important as a tool for decolonizing the curriculum as it ensures fair representation, understanding, inclusion and reconciliation of minority voices within UK higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n Historical context:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Earlier discussion of research accountability in the literature based on the arguments of positivism and the \u201cdevelopment of empirical scientific approach grounded in observation and experimentation\u201d as an approach to the study of society (Romm, 2002:1). The dialogue between research accountability and higher education follows a similar approach, primarily within the context of the life and medical sciences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, it is now becoming not only more widely discussed, but accepted, that research accountability is also central to the social sciences – particularly in terms of positionality, intersectionality, power relations and even research methods. For example, <\/span>this study on the effects of Hurricane Katrina<\/span><\/a> examines research accountability within the context of researcher-participant collaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n Within a UK context:<\/b><\/p>\n The adoption of neoliberal policies under the Thatcher government is credited with being a catalyst for reforms relating to university and educational restructuring (Olssen, 2015). The majority of these reforms had to do with streamlining and evaluating research funding. Over the last four decades there has been a few systems in place to check research accountability in UK higher education including:<\/span><\/p>\n Some of the criticisms of earlier systems (in particular the RAE and REF), included concerns about:<\/b><\/p>\n Questions to ask:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Suggested readings:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Abelmann, C., & Elmore, R. (1999). <\/span>When accountability knocks, will anyone answer? <\/span>Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania. <\/span>Google Scholar<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n “Accountability in Research .” <\/span>Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics<\/span>. Encyclopedia.com. (June 16, 2021). <\/span>https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/science\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/accountability-research<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Bob Lingard. (2008).\u00a0 <\/span>Globalising research accountabilities<\/span>, Contemporary Issues in Education<\/span> 27:1, 152 – 163. <\/span>https:\/\/pesaagora.com\/access-archive-files\/ACCESSAV27N1N2_152.pdf<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jacob Ohrvik-Stott. (2018). Accountability in the digital age: Imagining an internet regulator, Medium. Available at <\/span>https:\/\/medium.com\/doteveryone\/accountability-in-the-digital-age-imagining-an-internet-regulator-2390e30c5853<\/span><\/a> [Accessed 12 Feb 2022].<\/span><\/p>\n Mark Olssen.\u00a0 (2016). Neoliberal competition in higher education today: research, accountability and impact, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 37:1, 129-148.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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