Future UK RAEs to be Metrics-Based

[Loet Leydesdorff]

> To repeat: The RAE itself is a predictor, in want of
> validation. Prior funding correlates 0.98 with this predictor
> (in some fields, and is hence virtually identical with it),
> but is itself in want of validation.

Do you wish to say that both the RAE and the multivariate regression method
correlate highly with prior funding. Is the latter perhaps causal for
research quality, in your opinion?

The policy conclusion would then be that both indicators are very
conservative. Perhaps, that is not a bad thing, but one may wish to state it
straightforwardly.

With best wishes,


Loet
________________________________
Loet Leydesdorff
Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR),
Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam.
Tel.: +31-20- 525 6598; fax: +31-20- 525 3681;
loet at leydesdorff.net ; http://www.leydesdorff.net/