The CGHE Research on Research project team will share insights from this four-year study of global dynamics of research. The project adopts a multi-layered approach to understanding research ecosystems in six countries and regions and internationally, considering values and discourses; organisational environments and relationships; evaluation and assessment frameworks; policy and funding; individual careers and perspectives; and meta-scholarship. The presentation will encompass both methodological reflections and developing findings from the extensive empirical work conducted. Methodologically, we will discuss how the project has been able to develop a comparative research framework, alongside identifying some of the challenges involved in conducting large-scale, cross-cultural comparative research. We explore insights from the development of the interview protocols, the construction, pre-pilot and testing of a suite of global survey modules, and bibliometric work on department- and domain-level data. Substantively, and drawing in the analysis of the empirical data, we will offer examples of findings on differing interpretations of research, researchers and good research, research assessment policies and practices across different contexts, and emerging work on diverse research cultures in different parts of the world.