Abstract
A massive exercise in the measurement of the level of research on a five-point scale within 72 subject areas or units of assessment and within 172 higher education institutions was carried out in 1992 throughout the UK by the Universities Funding Council. This provides the most comprehensive information to date on the research strengths of these institutions among the many subject areas. It is convenient to separate the units of assessment into those which broadly come within science, engineering, social science and humanities and to separate the institutions into old universities, new universities (the former polytechnics), other higher education institutions and medical colleges/schools. Whereas the ratings are evenly distributed among all subject areas in the old university sector, the ratings in the new universities and other institutions are skewed towards the humanities. The reasons for this are the subject of some analysis.
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