Research Collection Eligibility
Definition of Research
For the purposes of this collection, the essential characteristic of a research activity is that it leads to publicly verifiable outcomes which are open to peer appraisal.
Research comprises:
Creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications;
Any activity classified as research which is characterized by originality; it should have investigation as a primary objective and should have the potential to produce results that are sufficiently general for humanity's stock of knowledge (theoretical and/or practical) to be recognizably increased. Most higher education research work would qualify as research;
Pure basic research, strategic basic research, applied research and experimental development.
Key Characteristics of Research Publications
For the purposes of this collection, a 'research publication' is either a book, book chapter, journal article or conference publication and is characterised by:
Substantial scholarly activity, as evidenced by discussion of the relevant literature, an awareness of the history and antecedents of work described, and provided in a format which allows a reader to trace sources of the work, including through citations and footnotes;
Originality, that is, it is not a compilation of existing works;
Veracity/validity through a peer validation process or by satisfying the commercial publisher or gallery processes;
Increasing the stock of knowledge; and
Being in a form that enables dissemination of knowledge.
Note: Each research publication must only be counted once – for example, if a conference paper is published in conference proceedings and is subsequently included as a chapter in a book, it can be counted as a chapter or as a conference paper, but not both.
Year of Publication
The research must have been published in 2007 and the date of publication must appear within or on the work being claimed. Items containing a 2006 publication date, which were published after 30th June 2006 may be submitted if accompanied by a letter from the publisher supporting this claim.
Letters from authors, editors, creators etc stating when a work was published, are not acceptable evidence of year of publication. There are two exceptions:
For Journal Articles and/or Conference Publications that are produced on CD Rom or are web-based and no date exists within or on the publication. In these instances, a letter from the editor of the journal or the conference organizer may be accepted to identify the year published. Note: this applies only to journal articles or conference publications where no date exists within or on the work being claimed. A letter from an editor or conference organizer cannot override a date that is displayed within the work.
The date a conference was held may be acceptable evidence of the year of publication, provided no other date exists within or on the conference publication being claimed.
The year of publication is normally the latest of the year indicated as published, printed or the year of copyright. Copyright dates or “date last updated” that appear on web pages do not typically refer to a research publication included on that page. Web page dates should not be used as evidence of the year of publication.
Copies of the pages showing the stated year of publication must be included in verification materials.
Author Affiliation
Institutional affiliation must be identified within or on the work being claimed.
Where institutional affiliation is not identified within a work, evidence that would be sufficient to demonstrate author affiliation should include:
a written statement from the author indicating that he or she undertook the research leading to the publication in his or her capacity as a staff member or student of the University, and either
A statement from the Director of Human Resources or Dean of Students (or equivalent) indicating that the author was an appointee or student of the university in 2007 (or earlier if that was when the research leading to the publication was conducted), or
An extract from the university's staff or student list that lists the author.
Where a publication shows that an author has affiliation to more than one institution (eg. Janet Harvey, Tutor in Economics, University of X ; PhD student, University of Y), each Australian university named in that by-line can claim the publication at full value.
Students, adjunct fellows, honorary staff members and staff on leave are considered affiliated with a university if the university is identified in the by-line.
Commercial Publisher
The concept of a commercial publisher is used as a surrogate test of quality for books and book chapters in place of formal peer review requirement.
A recognized commercial publisher is an entity for which the core business is producing books and distributing them for sale.
If publishing is not the core business of an organization but there is a distinct organizational entity devoted to commercial publication and its publications are not completely paid for or subsidized by the parent organization or a third party, the publisher will be accepted as a commercial publisher.
For the purpose of this data collection, university and other self-supporting higher education institution presses are regarded as commercial publishers, provided that they have responsibility for the distribution of the publication and not only its printing.
A discontinued Register of Commercial Publishers is available on the DEEWR web site. Although DEEWR no longer maintains the Register it remains available for viewing. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all acceptable publishers. Institutions will need to be satisfied that a publisher not on the list satisfies the criteria for a commercial publisher.
Note that many of the books published by professional bodies do not report original research findings but report the results of evaluations, or repackage existing information for the benefit of professionals or practitioners. It is important that institutions assess these publications very carefully against the definition of research and only count those publications which report research activities.
Peer Review
For the purposes of this collection, an acceptable peer review process is one that involves an independent, expert review.
The peer review process must involve assessment of the publication:
- In its entirety – not merely an abstract or extract;
- Before publication, and
- By appropriately independent, qualified experts. Independent in this context means independent of the author.
For journal articles, any of the following are acceptable as evidence of peer review:
- The journal is listed in one of the Institute for Scientific Information indexes (www.isinet.com/journals);
- The journal is classified as 'refereed' in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory (Volume 5 - Refereed Serials) or via Ulrich's web site (www.ulrichsweb.com);
- The journal is included in DEEWR's Register of Refereed Journals.. Although DEEWR no longer maintains the Register it remains available for viewing;
- A statement in the journal which shows that contributions are peer reviewed;
- A statement or acknowledgement from the journal editor which shows that contributions are peer reviewed;
- A copy of a reviewer's assessment relating to the article.
Note:
- A statement from an author that a publication was peer reviewed will not be accepted;
- The existence of a national or international advisory board is not sufficient evidence that all relevant publications are assessed by members of it.
