Research excellence

The Society of Radiographers recognised the importance of research from the outset when the first Council announced it would award two monetary awards, one a diagnostic radiography prize and the other for electrotherapy.1 Throughout the Society’s history it has done much to promote research, via various research committees and through funding for research. This is also evident by the commitment made to our Journal, Radiography, which has one of its key aims as promoting excellence by its commitment to research publication. The journal's purpose is to provide a medium to disseminate findings which are then open to wider study, scrutiny and even challenge. Without this process, practice would stagnate and it would become impossible for practitioners to advance and develop their practice, whether this is in clinical practice or in education. A significant metric of a research finding will be the impact it has on practice, policy and/or the wider community. However, the impact of research can be incredibly difficult to measure but is likely to be a crucial outcome measure in the approaching Research Excellence Framework (REF).