Home >>

Research & Development Management

Frequently Asked Questions

Definition of Research:

For the purposes of this collection, the essential characteristic of research activity is that it leads to publicly verifiable outcomes which are open to peer appraisal.

Research and experimental development comprises:

• creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications

•  any activity classified as research which is characterised 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 recognisably 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 characterised by:

• substantial scholarly activity, as evidenced by discussion of the relevant literature, an awareness of the history and antecedents of work described, and a format which allows a reader to trace sources of the work through citations, footnotes etc;
• originality, that is, it is not a compilation of existing works;
• veracity/validity through a peer validation processes or by satisfying the commercial publisher or gallery processes;
• increasing the stock of knowledge; and
• being in a form that enables dissemination of knowledge.

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:

• 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 DEST’s Register of Refereed Journals ;
• there is a statement in the journal which shows that contributions are peer reviewed;
• there is a statement or acknowledgement from the journal editor which shows that contributions are peer reviewed; or
• 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.

Author Affiliation:

Institutional affiliation must be identified either:
within or on the work being claimed; or

• where institutional affiliation is not identified within a work, the university must obtain a 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 2002 (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.
  Advice via email would be sufficient to demonstrate author affiliation.

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.

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 quality test for books and book chapters in place of any formal peer review requirement.

A recognised 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 organisation but there is a distinct organisational entity devoted to commercial publication and its publications are not completely paid for or subsidised by the parent organisation 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 register of acceptable commercial publishers is available at http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/research_sector/online_forms_services/higher_education_research_data_collection.htm . 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 provided in section 1.2 and only count those publications which report research activities.

Are the terms ‘blind reviewed’ or ‘external reviewed’ acceptable as proof of refereeing on a journal article?

No these are generally not acceptable to DEST. For the purposes of the collection DEST regards “refereeing” and “peer review” as interchangeable terms but note that “reviewed” without the word “peer” before it is not sufficient.

I have a publication that has been included in a conference proceedings publication as well as a chapter in a book. Both were published in 2007. Can I count both of these?

No, each publication must cover original work and can only be counted once. In this case, the publication can be counted as a conference publication or a book chapter, but not both.

I have a publication in a journal. The by-line states two Universities (Murdoch and one other). Can I claim this publication with both Universities?

Yes, as long as the by-line clearly shows that the author has affiliation to more than one institution, each Australian University named in that by-line can claim the publication at full value.

I have a publication in a journal, however there is no institution mentioned in the by-line. I undertook research while at Murdoch. Can I still count this publication?

Yes but there must either be a footnote or statement in the publication stating that research leading to the publication was undertaken in your capacity as a staff member or student of the University.

Otherwise, you will need to sign a statement that confirms you undertook the research leading to the publication in your capacity as a staff member or student of Murdoch University. In addition you must be on the University’s 2007 staff/student lists or have a statement from the HR or Student Services Director (or more senior officer of the university).

If you have any questions that are not answered above, and are not answered in any DEST specification documents, please contact your Publications Coordinator.