In light of this, scholars have started to debate the relevance of their research in various and different disciplines (de Jong, Barker, Cox, Sveinsdottir, & Van den Besselaar, 2014; Hammerfelt, 2014; Holbrook, 2010; Mostert, Ellenbroek, Meijer, van Ark, & Klasen, 2010; Paolini & Quagli, 2013; Quagli, Avallone, & Ramassa, 2016; Tucker & Parker, 2014). In some cases, the debate on relevance is still at an initial stage and it is mainly focused on what determines its achievement or, on the contrary, on the underlying causes of its loss, in an attempt to find solutions aimed to increase the relevance of scientific research. In other cases, the debate has evolved, leading to the design of methods aimed to ensure a reliable assessment of the impact that scientific research can have on society. This is the case for studies in the field of medicine which have advanced very quickly towards the elaboration of models, such as the Payback Framework, the Canadian Academy of Health Science Impact Framework, or the Economic Value of Medical Research, that aim to provide a reliable assessment of the impact of scientific research (Banzi, Moja, Pistotti, Facchini, & Liberati, 2011; Buxton & Hanney, 1994, 1996, 1998; Donovan and Hanney, 2011; Frank & Nason, 2009; Murphy & Topel, 2 003).
The fact that academic disciplines have progressed toward different stages along that arduous process which leads to the measurement of the impact of scientific research should not be understood as a “delay” of some with respect to others. Rather, it is the consequence of their main distinctive features which can deeply impact the process of problematizing the relevance of scientific research. When scientific research deals with societal issues, that is, when there is a strong link between the object of research and a perceived need of society or, broadly speaking, a societal issue, the abovementioned problematisation process is activated very quickly and it is mainly directed towards the development of measurement systems able to ensure a reliable assessment of the impact of research. This is due to the fact that the closeness of the link between the object of research and its usefulness for society is explicit; that is to say, it does not need to be debated and it is often a taken-for-granted assumption. In other words, the usefulness does not “deserve” to be demonstrated; rather, it should be quantified.
