science

Research Policy (journal)

Research Policy (journal) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Research Policy (journal) rather than just read about it. In short: Research Policy is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex. It was established by British economist Christopher Freeman in 1971 and is regarded as the leading journal in the field of innovation studies.

Key takeaways

Research Policy (journal) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Research Policy (journal) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Research Policy (journal) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Research Policy is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex. It was established by British economist Christopher Freeman in 1971 and is regarded as the leading journal in the field of innovation studies. It is listed as one of the top 50 journals used by the Financial Times to compile its global business school research rankings.

Content The journal covers a wide range of subjects such as technological change, R&D, management of knowledge, entrepreneurship, science policy, and multiple subfields relating to innovation studies (e.g., innovation economics, innovation management, technology innovation). It is a top-ranked or top-cited journal in the fields of business and economics, management, technology and innovation management (TIM), academic entrepreneurship, and technology assessment.

History Based on research conducted by Joseph Schumpeter, Freeman worked to demonstrate the importance of innovation and R&D for economic development. From 1959 to 1966, Freeman worked at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, where he carried out pioneering studies on industrial research. He played an important role in the development of the OECD's Frascati Manual. In 1966, Freeman founded the Science Policy Research Unit and became its first director. It became a global hub for innovation research and attracted scholars from across the world. Research Policy was established in 1971 with Freeman as editor-in-chief. In 1984, Keith Pavitt succeeded Freeman as the R.M. Phillips Professor of Science Policy and as the main editor of the journal, a post he would hold until his retirement in 2002. Research Policy: X was Research Policy's open access mirror journal that was discontinued in 2021.

Abstracting and indexing The journal is indexed and abstracted in the following bibliographic databases:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2025 impact factor of 8.9.

Notable studies Notable studies published in the journal include:

Krauch, Helmut (1971). "Priorities for research and technological development". Research Policy. 1 (1): 28–39. doi:10.1016/0048-7333(71)90005-9. Martin, Ben R.; Irvine, John (April 1983). "Assessing basic research: Some partial indicators of scientific progress in radio astronomy". Research Policy. 12 (2): 61–90. doi:10.1016/0048-7333(83)90005-7. Narin, Francis; Hamilton, Kimberly S.; Olivastro, Dominic (October 1997). "The increasing linkage between U.S. technology and public science". Research Policy. 26 (3): 317–330. doi:10.1016/S0048-7333(97)00013-9. Martin, Ben R. (February 2016). "Editors' JIF-boosting stratagems – Which are appropriate and which not?" (PDF). Research Policy. 45 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2015.09.001. Levecque, Katia; Anseel, Frederik; De Beuckelaer, Alain; Van der Heyden, Johan; Gisle, Lydia (May 2017). "Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students". Research Policy. 46 (4): 868–879. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2017.02.008. hdl:2066/175885. S2CID 31646576.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Research Policy (journal)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Research Policy (journal) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Research Policy (journal) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Research Policy (journal) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Research Policy (journal)

In research: Research Policy (journal) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Research Policy (journal) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Research Policy (journal) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic journals established in 1971, Business and management journals, Elsevier academic journals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Research Policy (journal) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Research Policy (journal) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Research Policy (journal) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Research Policy (journal) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Research Policy (journal) in simple terms?

Why does Research Policy (journal) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Research Policy (journal)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Research Policy (journal).