Scandinavian Versus UK Research: The importance of institutional context

This debate outlines some of the institutional aspects of perceived research quality and the potential implications on academic behaviour across Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. In particular the paper discusses the differences in formal measurements of research output quality in the two regions considered. The paper draws upon my personal experiences living and working in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, and as such represents a subjective account. I argue that the formality of the UK Research Assessment Exercise encourages a high degree of academic rigor and potentially discourages the willingness to innovate and expand the academic debate. Conversely, I argue that the relative lack of formality in the Scandinavian context can both encourage innovation and potentially discourage academic rigour. As an example, I highlight the emerging field of mobile informatics.