policy research

policy research
Social scientific research which has non-university groups as its main intended audience (although the results may in practice also interest academic audiences). For the most part such research attempts to apply social scientific findings to the solution of problems identified by a client. The term ‘applied sociology’ is also given to such exercises. For example, the development of game theory was funded by the US Department of Defence with reference to its relevance to military strategy, but it has also made a fundamental contribution to social science theory.

Policy research may be descriptive, analytical, or deal with causal processes and explanations; it may evaluate a new or existing policy programme, describe examples of best practice, measure social change, develop projections on the basis of large-scale modelling exercises, or consist of large-scale experimental research in real-life settings...

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