Data-Driven Knowledge for Impact in Quality of Life Research

This study presents a systematic review of methodological approaches published in Applied Research in Quality of Life (ARQOL) from 2006 onward, focusing on quantitative analyses and the methodological approaches used to assess quality of life (QoL) through social indicators and scale development. Sixty-five eligible articles containing keywords such as “index,” “scale,” “measurement,” and “quality of life” were analyzed to trace methodological and thematic trends. ARQOL has become a pivotal venue for methodological, empirical, and conceptual advances in measuring QoL. Our results demonstrate that ARQOL’s contributions are broadly distributed, with the most significant portion of articles in four areas: (1) health & aging (14%), (2) measurement development (16%), (3) work and organizations, and (4) macro and cross-national (each 11%). Methodologically, psychometric scale studies (37) and large-scale survey analyses (34) dominate, while global-level social indicator work (3) remains limited. A central focus of our study is the call for ARQOL research to move beyond national and regional boundaries. We argue that integrating social indicators can foster cross-national perspectives that acknowledge the social, cultural, and economic diversity shaping QoL worldwide. Nonetheless, over the past two decades, ARQOL articles have revealed increasing methodological sophistication (including composite indicator design, multilevel and structural modeling, and cross-cultural validation). We synthesize these developments in the IMPACT framework, highlighting the integrative measurement of multiple indicators and policy-relevant frameworks of ARQOL research that continue to shape the empirical science of QoL.