present at. In terms of LSAY as a data source, outlook conferences such as HILDA does can help to bring it to the notice of more people, especially as such conferences get attention in the press as well. know it is there. They suggested targeting societies like the Australian Psychological Society and early career researchers searching for resources to help them explore their research questions. topics that LSAY might be relevant to, or to similarly approach professional groups. From a government department perspective, she said you could similarly target research areas within govt depts. networks (careers advisers and the like) need to be jacks of all trades – they’re not strong data people for the most part but it is useful to know a little bit. lines of “Have you seen .....” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Are you aware of any other outputs from this research project/event e.g. websites, good practice guides etc? No Just the reports coming out based on the presentations at the forum. - No. No No - Not particularly – just the publications. Capacity building / informing future research Are you aware of the research/event having had any staff development or other educational benefits? The authors are now much more aware of LSAY than they were before; they have learnt what can be done with it so may do more in the future. As mentioned above, the forum gave them an exposure to a range of approaches to conceptualising research into youth transitions, and some interdisciplinary perspectives. The forum also led her to meet people who work with the LSAY data, so she made some connections with people she could go to for help with data issues. Yes – they came back and shared the findings with the senior management group. They also encouraged someone from their area to apply for the CoP scholarship, which had development benefits in terms of research skills. The forum did give a bit of an idea about how people use what’s in LSAY – The workshop was only of indirect benefit. No The outcomes of research were surprising, so in that sense people learnt something new from hearing about them. There has been an increase in knowledge generally. They do download most publications and while they are not read cover to cover, they are flicked through and relevant information passed on to others in the LLEN or broader stakeholders. Yes, particularly for staff who have come to the LLEN from other sectors such as the school sector. It has supported the professional development of staff, and many now subscribe to the email alerts in their own right.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Have there been any benefits in terms of developing networks or partnerships? The researchers would have built relationships with NCVER staff. Only informal contacts, especially as it’s no longer part of her work. But, if they had stayed in Australia maybe something more formal might have sprung up. No – talked to people at the forum but didn’t follow any up, but they have since moved out of the youth transitions area. There could have been, but that they didn’t really approach anyone as it was only a short-term unit. They would have tried to build connections with others if it was ongoing. No Yes, a wide group of people that would not regularly come together attended the presentation and had opportunities to network. No, probably not. Yes, it has definitely provided useful discussion material amongst the networks and in building partnerships. For example, as part of their role on the Principals board for the region they would champion the research amongst other networks, particularly highlighting the relevance of the research – almost acting as a ‘sieve for certain markets’. More specifically outcomes are written into the KPI’s of school principals in Victoria, so the research on low performers and trying to raise outcomes was useful for them. Did the research/event lead you to make use of LSAY data or other LSAY products (research, briefing papers, cohort reports) Was already making heavy use of LSAY. Was already using the data and other products. Yes –wasn’t very aware of LSAY beforehand, except that her daughter was in one of the cohorts. But since the event she has accessed research reports on the website and used the cohort reports. She still gets e-mails It made them aware of some of the sorts of things out there, but she had already been using the LSAY reports. They would have investigated to see if any of it was applicable but can’t recall using anything. Was already making use of LSAY research. Where the findings are of use, they table the research at quarterly meetings she holds with schools. Yes, to provide a broad context for the issues the LLEN deals with. They have definitely used the briefing papers, and find it particularly useful when somebody else has done the ‘summarising’ for them. It is always a case of wishing there was more time to delve deeply into the
get circulated to careers advisors in secondary schools. However again this is more for information to have in the back of the mind when advising students, rather than directly affecting practice. research also had practical implications for supporting students and for how they set up vocational education in schools. teachers etc, but it tends to be one-way communication, they don’t report back. captures their attention because they are working in that space. However – it takes time for the data and research to come out – while it is interesting it is a bit late, and they are of the view that ‘we are already aware of that and are taking measures to address it’. of eight trial sites in this project. They used one of the research briefing papers about youth vulnerability to underpin the development of the project. In particular it was used to help with the ‘definition’ of vulnerability, in addition to looking at other references. The LSAY research was used to inform specific project development – and this will be referenced in project evaluations and outcomes. They are aware generally of the LSAY work being referenced in numerous publications, for example those coming out of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria and other VET publications. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Are you aware of whether the research has led to any improvements in education, career development or youth transitions practice? Can you suggest any documentary sources which may provide evidence of impact - - Not aware – retention rates of young people have improved in Tasmania recently, but a range of factors will have contributed to that. - - - Significant changes are occurring in career development – accredited practitioners are one example. The talk around youth transitions is increasing. The research is a contributing or -
influencing factor, but it is hard to show where the changes in policy or practice are as a direct result of the research. They can recall reading several documents where LSAY data and research has been used and referenced, but not able to provide specific examples. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 General Do you think that the research/event is continuing to make an impact now? Into the future? If so, how? Yes, as it provides a sort of knowledge base. The LSAY RIEF work provides a solid base of information that people will delve into and keep using – it will continue to be relevant. Yes, as the some of the work presented at the forum was only in developmental stages then, and is just now coming to fruition. Yes, the research is still relevant, and they are still drawing on its findings now. No longer works in that area. No Yes, the findings are of enduring relevance. Yes, absolutely. Yes. We are dealing with constant change so it is important to update and review various types of influences. Have there been any other impacts of the research/event not covered by the previous questions? Do you have any opinions on how to increase the impact of a source of data such as LSAY? Do you have any other opinions on research impact in a more broad sense? - - The key is identifying groups of people who do not seem to be making as much use of it as they could and targeting those groups specifically. They thought a great strategy was to have What was most important was whether the research answers the question that policy people are trying to answer at the time – ie is the topic relevant/timely more so than how it is For research to have the best impact, it needs to be more timely and published more quickly as it dates rapidly. It often takes too long, and policy can change within that time frame. They read the e-mail to see if it seems relevant, and if so they read the executive summary – they emphasised these were very important – and then they summarise the Reminder email updates around the data sources and current research – what is about to be released – might be useful. It would serve as a highlight of what data can be Yes. The North Central LLEN is doing interesting work around the data for their LLEN and comparing it to national data. This is a useful way to question the
a presence at things (events) where you’ll access a different group of people to who would normally see LSAY stuff. It’s important for research to be condensed to something in plain English, accessible to a broad range of people, and focusing on practical outcomes. disseminated. reports again for the teachers and pass this information on. They in fact play a key role in increasing research impact, by filtering and helping to tailor findings to increase their relevance and accessibility to a particular audience. accessed, and could be extended to pointers on ‘how’ the data and research can be used – a email rather than just alerts to the latest published research. improvements that have been made or to celebrate their successes. Given the amount of information available they want to see things “quickly” and “visually”. It would be good for NCVER to consider taking survey results and embedding them in a visual / graphical representation to allow for easier comparisons.
Returns from education: an occupational status approach Unique pageviews Publication summary page (LSAY & NCVER websites) LSAY website NCVER website 515 405 110 PDF file (LSAY & NCVER websites) LSAY website NCVER website 215 173 42 Word file (LSAY & NCVER websites) LSAY website NCVER website 51 36 15 Segmented by member groups viewing PDF Guest 86 Research organisation or university 41 Government 32 Other 18 Industry 10 TAFE institute or college 7 School 6 Private or other non-TAFE training provider 3 Media 1 Union 0 Total 204 Segmented by member groups viewing Word Guest 13 School 10 Government 8 Research organisation or university 8 Other 6 Private or other non-TAFE training provider 3 TAFE institute or college 2 Industry 0 Media 0 Union 0 Total 50 Member groups by country Users accessing this report were from 24 countries 78% of users were from Australia