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This outstanding result, assessing six years of world-leading research, adds to the department’s top ranking for primary care research.
- Professor Richard Hobbs, Head of Department - Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.

Research Excellence Framework (REF) results published this week to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) shows top-ranking for Oxford’s public health, health services, and primary care research.

This return was based on two academic departments in Oxford – the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the Nuffield Department of Population Health - in the REF Unit of Assessment 2 assessing overall research quality including papers, impacts and the research environment. The REF assesses the quality and impact of research submitted by universities across all disciplines.

The results show for UoA2 we are:

  • Top ranked on overall REF research profile (GPA rank) using all quality scores,
  • top ranked overall maximum 4* score (57% of overall assessments considered world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour), with 92% of our overall quality ratings judged 4* or 3*,
  • 90% of research impacts were scored 4* (considered outstanding in terms of their reach and significance), and 10% scored 3*.

Professor Richard Hobbs, Head of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, said:

“Our major contribution to Oxford’s top ranking for UoA2 in the REF 2014 further confirms our leading position in UK for applied clinical science. This outstanding result, assessing six years of world-leading research, adds to the department’s top ranking for primary care research in the 2008, 2001, and 1996 RAEs (the REF precursor) and the 2014 NIHR School for Primary Care Research funding competition.

“We are now one of the largest centres for primary care research in Europe and have been delivering world-leading research in primary care for over 20 years.”

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