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Paper short abstract

This paper examines research metrics through a framework centered on well-being and social justice in Philippine universities. The results highlight discrepancies between citation counts and community impact, suggesting the need for responsive indicators that go beyond the Global North-South divide.

Paper long abstract

A common dilemma the academic community faces is the need to promote a ‘world-class’ academic community while being accountable to the public. This paper argues against the current paradigms of academic research, and promotes well-being and social justice.

Drawing on Fraser's three-dimensional model of justice and decolonization methodologies, a framework is proposed that uses four dimensions of wellbeing: distributive justice (equitable sharing of benefits), recognitional justice (acknowledgment of epistemologies), representational justice (inclusive production of knowledge), and transformative justice (redress of structural injustices). This framework is employed to analyze specific research endeavours undertaken by the University of the Philippines, to project the conflict between traditional measures of excellence and dimensions of well-being.

The implications are crucial, cutting across boundaries of place and disciplinary domains: agricultural research achieving high citation rates while excluding small farmers; health projects prioritizing publication while excluding accessibility; development projects entrenched in epistemic stratification. By comparing with alternatives that are still evolving and by embracing research that involves participation and the co-production of knowledge, the study highlights pathways towards impactful research.

This cross-contextual analysis seeks to problematize the Global North-South dichotomy inherent in frameworks of excellence, offering, instead, context-sensitive indicators that balance global recognition and localized impact.