Introductory Course to Responsible Research Assessment

The DORA introductory course on responsible research assessment

The introductory responsible research assessment (RRA) course aims to empower anyone to challenge existing assumptions around research quality and impact, by introducing them to the concept of responsible research assessment, its foundational principles, and how RRA aims to improve evaluation practices.

This course is free, self-paced, and designed for you to pick and choose which lessons are most relevant and useful. Each lesson includes a glossary of key terms and an annotated bibliography to help guide you if you wish to dive more deeply into different topics touched on during the lesson.

Who is this course for? This is an introductory course open to anyone, regardless of career level or discipline, seeking to learn about RRA. This course is designed for anyone working in research, research administration or leadership, research funding or policy, scholarly publishing or communication, or metrics providers who seek to drive positive change in the research system. Given that this topic is focused on those in the academic space, a familiarity with academia or higher education, research policy, and/or academic publishing is highly recommended.

What will you gain? Build a foundational understanding of RRA, gain insights into innovative tools and approaches such as Narrative CVs, and be inspired from real-world examples of successful RRA implementation from institutions worldwide.

Course content

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• understand the definition of RRA
• identify the limitations of traditional research assessment methods
• describe examples of how RRA can be applied
• identify the key actors within the scholarly system that impact research assessment. 

Disclaimer: Please note that this course uses the term “staff” when referring to anyone who is employed by an organization. In the case of research performing organizations, this term includes faculty, lab technicians, data stewards, etc.

This course was created by the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a nonprofit initiative working to advocate for and support responsible research assessment (RRA). Unless otherwise indicated, this content is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0). Logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective organizations and may not be reused or reproduced without permission.