The Many Meanings of Research Utilization

What does it mean for policy makers to make use of research? Carol Weiss wrote this classic paper after years of extensive work with the US government, and after editing and writing books on the roles of social research in public policy. In the paper, Weiss summarizes seven major ways of thinking about the use of research, arguing that if social scientists understand these approaches, they can improve the policy impact of their work and be less disappointed with the scope of that impact.