Am I REF-able? This is a question that plagues UK-based academics, giving rise to numerous myths and half-myths about what will be valued highly in the REF, the UK’s research assessment exercise.
Myths about the research assessment process were so prominent that in 2018 the REF 2021 Director wrote a Wonkhe article to dispel them. In the article’s comments, however, were numerous discussions of REF implementation that was quite different to the official rules. In my PhD research on UK university audit processes (2013-2018) I found something similar; REF myths became REF rules in some departments and universities, complicating the question of what or who is ‘REF-able’ in practice.
