Research to inform policy

Social science is concerned with the study of society and the individuals within it. Policy is the articulation of aims and principles for action, and is used particularly for organisations with remits to undertake action, such as local and central governments. As policies are often concerned with societal and individual issues, social science may provide insights and research results to inform such policies. This chapter is concerned with systematic methods for bringing together in a rigorous and transparent way (systematic reviews) the findings of that research to inform policy and practice decision-making.

Over the last 20 years, there has been an increasing concern, both in the UK and internationally, to ensure that research evidence is used to improve the design and outcomes of public services. This has led to the rapid growth of systematic reviews in many areas of public policy. The systematic identification, mapping and synthesis of research not only tells us what we know from existing research, but also focuses our minds on what we do not know and what more we might want to know from research. Systematic reviews of research are therefore a crucial component of the knowledge-to-action cycle (Graham et al, 2006; Best and Holmes, 2010).

The core of this chapter introduces the common principles and overarching approach of systematic reviews, including what they involve in practice. The purpose is to briefly outline the methods rather than to provide detailed explanations of procedures, which are elaborated elsewhere (eg Gough et al, 2017). In the final section, consideration is given to the multiple overlapping and interrelated roles of social science in understanding and enabling the use of research evidence in decision-making, roles in which systematic reviews are central.

The need for systematic reviews

Research is an industry providing careers for many research staff. It is challenging for researchers to keep abreast of all the research in an area, and thus even more difficult for others who are less likely to have the skills, experience or background knowledge to access, appraise and contextualise research evidence. So, how do policymakers and other non-academic users of research access research knowledge?