What is local research? Towards a multidimensional framework linking theory and methods

In this research article, we propose a framework of local research, a concept of growing importance due to its far-reaching implications for public policy. Despite being increasingly mentioned in scientific publications and policy documents, there seems to be little agreement on what the concept means and on which phenomena it covers. A clear understanding of it is crucial for informed decision-making when setting research agendas, allocating funds, and evaluating and rewarding scientists. Our goal is to determine how the concept of local research relates to its measurement, highlighting the nuances involved in its theoretical depiction and the risks of applying different empirical methods indiscriminately across regional and disciplinary contexts. We first explore various ideas and approaches to local research found in the literature. Then, we synthesize them into three dimensions – locally situated, informed, and relevant research – and test six approaches – Toponyms, Languages, Authors, Databases, References, and Citations – in 10 million publications from the Dimensions database. Our findings suggest divergences across regional and disciplinary settings. The operational approaches to identify local research operate differently across both the disciplinary landscape and the Global North-South divide. In addition, we observe no complete alignment between theory and practice. This article highlights the complex, multifaceted nature of local research. We propose a framework to facilitate the study of its different dimensions and their intersections, to help mitigate many of the barriers current research evaluation systems face when assessing and supporting local research.