So what if housing research is thriving? Researchers' perceptions of the use of housing studies

• Published in: Journal of housing and the built environment 2003, Vol.18 (2), p.183-199
• Main Author: VAN VLIET, WILLEM
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Architects; Architecture; Built environment; Built environments; City planning; Collaboration; Economic research; Funding; Housing; Housing policy; Knowledge management; Organization of research; Perceptions; Policy and practice; Policy making; Policy research; Polls & surveys; Race relations; Research methods; Research workers; Researchers; Science; Social research; Social sciences; Sociology; Sociology of knowledge; Statistical analysis; Studies; Universities; Urban studies
• ISSN: 1566-4910; 1573-7772
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1023963507281

By various indicators of scholarly viability, housing research is thriving. Its relevance, however, is unclear. This paper addresses questions concerning the practical significance of housing research. Is anyone actually using the findings? If so, who, how, and to which ends? A survey of 41 authors of articles, published in this journal from 1996 to 1999, provides insights into perceptions by housing researchers of how practitioners and policymakers use their work. Most respondents think that their studies have practical significance. However, they often see the responses to research recommendations as inadequate because of ineffective communication and presentation of findings, lack of time and interest on the part of policymakers, disjointed professional networks, and competing policy goals. The results of this study bring into focus several issues meriting further research, including the apparent lack of effective policy engagement by researchers, the political and economic context of research, the perspectives of policymakers and practitioners, and the role of comparative research in knowledge transfer.