Towards a critical-conceptual analysis of ‘research culture’

Abstract

Universities and policymakers increasingly use ‘research culture’ and ‘research environment’ to govern as well as describe research. Both terms help frame who is considered a research actor; how researchers interact with the contexts in which they make knowledge; and what is considered malleable when attempting to improve how research is done. There are very few conceptual-critical analyses of either term, even as each is a complex abstraction with rich and contested histories and usage. I explore both, largely using the example of the United Kingdom (where improving ‘research culture’ is currently prioritised by many funders, and will be assessed by the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2028). Research culture has a close relationship with the concept organisational culture, which emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s and prioritised particular – frequently psychological – constructs that focused on the norms, values, and attitudes of an organisation. ‘Research labour’ – the labour relations that underpin how people work together and shape organisational norms, values, and relational dependencies – tends to drop from view. Geographers have much to offer these debates, given how extensively the discipline has contributed to what culture and environment might mean. Institutional, national, and sectoral policies concerning research culture and environment significantly shape how knowledge-making is understood and intervened on. The processes that ‘research culture’ and ‘research environment’ authorise and foreclose require greater examination.