For Michael Magoulias, three words describe the Social Science Research Network’s work: dissemination, visibility and accessibility. With SSRN offering free online access to research papers and “preprint” drafts, says Magoulias, its commercial director, academic authors can reach new audiences and extend the impact of their research.
In analysis produced by SSRN (see box) for the Financial Times, papers uploaded in the past 12 months are ranked here according to how frequently they have been downloaded by governments, companies and other non-academic users.
This makes it possible to see what topics and forms of research align most closely with societal concerns. “In the past it was purely citations and those are still the most important proxy,” says Magoulias. “But people also want to know they’re changing the public conversation and having an impact in the real world.”
In this year’s analysis, finance and technology dominate the papers downloaded, reflecting the interest from readers including investors, regulators and decision makers in ideas that are topical and have practical applications. Sustainability also features, but more modestly.
Making business school research relevant, plus the top 50 schools; the most cited, downloaded and used studies and teaching cases; ‘altmetrics’, sustainability and policy influence; opinions on engagement with industry and local economies
