Altbach, P. G., & de Wit, H. (2019). Too much academic research is being published. International Higher Education, (96), 2-3. Web.
The authors of the study are professional researchers and hold leadership positions. Their article suggests the idea that current academic research is too abundant and often undertaken to feed scholarly journals rather than promote and evaluate valuable ideas and hypotheses. According to the authors, “there is a crisis in academic publishing and in the global knowledge distribution system generally” (Altbach & de Wit, 2019, p. 2). The article argues for an ever-increasing number of studies that are conducted for obtaining degrees, grants, and other purposes not directly related to practical value. This work is relevant to comparing applied and academic studies and emphasizes the need for a more careful selection of topics for research activities to reveal more significant problems and the methods of solving them. The source can be utilized as a resource to identify the weaknesses of scholarly research and highlight the need for a thorough assessment of the commercialization of these works to use them in the professional field.
Chubb, J., & Reed, M. S. (2018). The politics of research impact: Academic perceptions of the implications for research funding, motivation and quality. British Politics, 13(3), 295-311. Web.
Associated with the academic environment, the authors have sufficient experience to reason about the constraints and obstacles in this area. In their article, they pay particular attention to factors influencing the research process, the perception of relevant trends, and differences in the assessment of various types of work. In particular, they highlight “‘skewing’ research funding towards a more narrow range of applied research topics with practical relevance at the expense of others” (Chubb & Reed, 2018, p. 301). Searching for alternatives to solve this issue is based on creating a unified system of the research process when there is no division into less and more valuable projects. From the standpoint of theoretical and practical significance, the authors’ approach is adequate and corresponds to the basic idea of the research process, when scholars or professionals work not only for personal material gain but also for other people’s benefits. Therefore, the article’s findings can be applied in the context of justifying the need to minimize the gap between applied and academic research and eliminate inequality.
Fraser, K., Deng, X., Bruno, F., & Rashid, T. A. (2020). Should academic research be relevant and useful to practitioners? The contrasting difference between three applied disciplines. Studies in Higher Education, 45(1), 129-144. Web.
Each of the authors is an expert in one’s field, but they all have the appropriate academic degrees and qualifications to conduct research on the topic presented. Their issue concerns the connection between academic and applied studies from the perspective of the possibility of applying theoretical findings in practice and combining different approaches to the research process. The key gap addressed in this article is the lack of practical rationale for theorists. As the authors argue, “due to a disconnect from the real-world of practice, academic business researchers and business schools become increasingly vulnerable to adverse research funding decisions in the future” (Fraser et al., 2020, p. 129). These findings are crucial and can contribute to reorganizing outdated research methods to increase the relevance of ongoing theoretical activities. For a study on the comparison of applied and academic studies, this article offers useful materials on cases of disagreement between researchers of different profiles and real-life examples that highlight the urgency of the problem.
Fraser, K., Tseng, T. L. B., & Deng, X. (2018). The ongoing education of engineering practitioners: How do they perceive the usefulness of academic research? European Journal of Engineering Education, 43(6), 860-878. Web.
While having distinctive professional backgrounds and occupations, the authors of the article propose to consider a current topic related to the possibility of applying the findings of theoretical research in practice. One of the significant gaps is the inaccessibility of many academic papers due to their application in a narrow environment. According to the outcomes of their study, the authors note that “research articles need to be available outside of academic circles at a reasonable price” (Fraser et al., 2018, p. 874). The value of conceptual findings is lost if they cannot be utilized usefully, and this thesis is the main point of this article. This statement has weight because a wide range of academic works, despite their relevance, are stored in databases with limited access, which reduces the possibility of their successful application in practice. The authors’ findings can be used as evidence and a rationale for the need to integrate research data freely to benefit from both academic and applied studies.
Huggins-Manley, A. C. (2021). Evidence that applied researchers need methodologists. Research in the Schools, 27(1), 54-66.
The author is a professional lecturer and familiar with both applied and academic research concepts. One of the main ideas of her article is that, despite the practical value of professional studies, they are unlikely to be successful if no theoretical aspects from scholarly research are used. As the author states, “applied researchers need methodologists,” and this conclusion is supported by a bibliometric analysis of professional literature (Huggins-Manley, 2021, p. 54). This idea is supported by the reasoning that any professional studies cannot be based on random concepts, and this is essential to borrow proven algorithms for assessing and measuring relevant phenomena from the academic environment. These statements are objective and reflect the interdependence between applied and scholarly research to take into account when conducting a study of any type. The findings of this article can be used to justify the importance of combining different principles for collecting and organizing data to avoid bias or misinterpretation and make as many relevant conclusions as possible.
Kwiek, M. (2019). Social stratification in Higher Education: What it means at the micro‐level of the individual academic scientist. Higher Education Quarterly, 73(4), 419-444. Web.
As a professor and chairholder, Kwiek examines the current issue of social stratification in higher education by assessing different types of studies and their credibility and value. The author pays particular attention to the differences between applied and academic research and argues that the first type is more highly paid and in-demand than the second one. As the researcher states, “recent evidence suggests that freedom to pursue one’s own research ‘compensates for much lower monetary rewards in academe’” (Kwiek, 2019, p. 423). Therefore, the material aspect is an important criterion that determines the current trends in research practice and emphasizes relevant interests in different areas. The article’s findings are essential because they reflect researchers’ distinctive incentives and views on the mechanisms of scholarly work. For conducting research comparing applied and academic studies, this article is a useful resource that argues for each of the types, including their benefits and omissions with regard to current trends in higher education.
Neves, M., & Franco, M. (2018). Academic spin‐off creation: Barriers and how to overcome them. R&D Management, 48(5), 505-518. Web.
Due to their work in the research field, the authors have justifications for assessing the barriers academics face in the process of research practices. In particular, they note controversy regarding materials to use in lecture sessions because some scholars reject the idea that professional studies can be applied as a credible academic base. The authors’ main conclusion is as follows: “applied research should be valued in assessing lecturers, as it contributes, not only to the link with industry, and therefore to regional development, but also to universities’ sustainability” (Neves & Franco, 2018, p. 505). The interaction among different stakeholders, such as policymakers and academics, is seen as a good prospect since it has potential benefits for both academic and professional environments. These conclusions are adequate because the modern studies include many approaches, and their combination can enhance the value of the research process. The ideas of the article can be used with benefit in the work devoted to comparing the principles of applied and academic research, as well as the limitations they have.
Scandura, A., & Iammarino, S. (2021). Academic engagement with industry: The role of research quality and experience. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 1-37. Web.
With sufficient professional experience in the research field, both authors agree that differences in the application of applied and academic studies can be the cause of conflict situations due to stakeholders’ distinctive aspirations and objectives. However, they emphasize the close relationship between the two types and highlight professional research as a field that cannot fully exist without scholarly findings. As the authors note, “while the exploration of new research lines is aligned to basic research, product development involves applied research building on the results of basic research” (Scandura & Iammarino, 2021, p. 4). The transfer of knowledge is seen as a valuable prospect to realize in order to avoid conflict situations and disagreements about the credibility of the data. This conclusion is relevant both for the academic environment that aims to study various topics theoretically and the professional one, where conceptual findings are also crucial. The findings of the article can be useful in comparing the two research types and substantiating the idea of their connection.
van Winkel, M. A., Van Der Rijst, R. M., Poell, R. F., & van Driel, J. H. (2018). Identities of research-active academics in new universities: Towards a complete academic profession cross-cutting different worlds of practice. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(4), 539-555. Web.
As specialists in the field of business management, the authors consider the issue of building an academic identity by modern scholars, particularly their views on the types and approaches to the research process. With regard to the idea of the article, many academics apply different methods in their practice. According to the results of the assessment, “most academics undertook a mixture of both basic and applied research” (van Winkel et al., 2018, p. 540). By conducting interviews with the participants involved, the authors identify the relevant preferences of the target audience and their views on what the optimal research process should be. This assessment algorithm is credible and allows implementing the task objectively since each participant expresses an individual position on the issue under consideration. Using the findings of this study can be valuable in analyzing the characteristics of applied and academic research. Moreover, the article offers a convenient conceptual framework based on the assessment of personal preferences, which also enhances the source’s practical value.
Wilkinson, C. (2019). Evidencing impact: A case study of UK academic perspectives on evidencing research impact. Studies in Higher Education, 44(1), 72-85. Web.
As a specialist in the science communication field, the author is well aware of the importance of the research process not only for the academic community but also for the whole society. According to the findings of the article, the British scholarly community has had a significant influence on the formation of cultural, political, and other aspects. The author mentions “the value and contribution of academic research” in the context of contributions to different industries (Wilkinson, 2019, p. 72). At the same time, the scholar also pays attention to the relevance of applied research and provides respondents’ opinions on the value of such studies for government organizations, business participants, and other stakeholders. The central focus of this study is on academic research and its importance, and the author’s reasoning is logical, which is justified by statistical results and empirical data. Therefore, these findings can be applied in future work to assess the strengths of scholarly studies and their role in different aspects of life.