REF Working Group Report on Definitions of Rigour in Research

The REF criteria for research quality focuses on three dimensions, originality,
significance and rigour, with the last of these typically taken as central to decisions on overall rating for outputs on the 1* to 4* scale – without good rigour, significance is reduced even where originality is good. Despite this, rigour frequently seems to be the aspect of the REF criteria that people find most opaque and difficult to assess. The BPS Research Board has been attempting to build some shared perspectives on this over the last two years, and following discussion at the October 2022 Research Board meeting, it was decided to set up a small working group to look at definitions of rigour and how these might apply across different aspects and methods of psychological research. The aim of the working group was to generate concise, headline guidance on definitions and issues relating to rigour that researchers (both those being judged and those doing the judging) will hopefully find helpful in
developing and evaluating publications ahead of the next REF.