Drug Policy Modelling Program, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Int J Drug Policy. 2013 Jan;24(1):30-7. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.02.005. Epub 2012 Apr 13.
Assessing the extent to which drug research influences and impacts upon policy decision-making needs to go beyond bibliometric analysis of academic citations. Policy makers do not necessarily access the academic literature, and policy processes are largely iterative and rely on interactions and relationships. Furthermore, media representation of research contributes to public opinion and can influence policy uptake. In this context, assessing research influence involves examining the extent to which a research project is taken up in policy documents, used within policy processes, and disseminated via the media.
This three component approach is demonstrated using a case example of two ongoing illicit drug monitoring systems: the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the Ecstasy and related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS). Systematic searches for reference to the IDRS and/or EDRS within policy documents, across multiple policy processes (such as parliamentary inquiries) and in the media, in conjunction with analysis of the types of mentions in these three sources, enables an analysis of policy influence. The context for the research is also described as the foundation for the approach.
The application of the three component approach to the case study demonstrates a practical and systematic retrospective approach to measure drug research influence. For example, the ways in which the IDRS and EDRS were mentioned in policy documents demonstrated research utilisation. Policy processes were inclusive of IDRS and EDRS findings, while the media analysis revealed only a small contribution in the context of wider media reporting.
Consistent with theories of policy processes, assessing the extent of research influence requires a systematic analysis of policy documents and processes. Development of such analyses and associated methods will better equip researchers to evaluate the impact of research.
评估药物研究对政策决策的影响和作用程度，需要超越对学术引文的文献计量分析。政策制定者不一定会查阅学术文献，而且政策过程在很大程度上是迭代的，依赖于互动和关系。此外，对研究的媒体报道有助于公众舆论，并可能影响政策的采用。在这种情况下，评估研究影响力涉及考察研究项目在政策文件中的采用程度、在政策过程中的使用程度以及通过媒体传播的程度。
本研究采用了一个正在进行的非法药物监测系统的案例研究，即非法药物报告系统（IDRS）和摇头丸及相关毒品报告系统（EDRS），展示了这种三部分方法。对政策文件、多个政策过程（如议会调查）和媒体中对 IDRS 和/或 EDRS 的参考进行系统搜索，并结合对这三个来源中提及类型的分析，从而可以分析政策影响力。研究背景也被描述为该方法的基础。
将三部分方法应用于案例研究，展示了一种实用的、系统的回顾性方法，用于衡量药物研究的影响力。例如，IDRS 和 EDRS 在政策文件中的提及方式表明了研究的利用情况。政策过程包含了 IDRS 和 EDRS 的发现，而媒体分析显示，在更广泛的媒体报道背景下，只做出了很小的贡献。
与政策过程理论一致，评估研究影响的程度需要对政策文件和过程进行系统分析。开发这种分析和相关方法将使研究人员更好地评估研究的影响。
