RESEARCH ACTIVE POLICY

Date first approved: 6 December 2013	Date of effect: 1 January 2014	Date last amended: (refer Version Control Table) 23 October 2018	Date of Next Review: 1 September 2020
First Approved by:	University Council
Custodian title & e-mail address:	Sharon Martin, Director, Research Services Office sharonma@uow.edu.au
Author:	Professor Tim Marchant, Dean of Research
Responsible Division & Unit:	Research Services Office, Research & Innovation Division
Supporting documents, procedures & forms:	UOW Strategic Plan Research Active Policy: Guidelines for Heads of Schools This policy will inform other relevant UOW Policies including: Academic Performance Framework (APF) and Guidelines Academic Study and Conference Leave Code of Practice Research – Responsible Conduct of Research Performance Enhancement and Career Development Guidelines
Relevant Legislation & External Documents:	Australian Research Council (ARC): Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Australian Research Council (ARC): Engagement and Impact Assessment (REI) Department of Industry, Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) UOW Scholars – Online platform for Academic Staff profiles Australian Business Deans Council, Journal Quality List
Audience:	Public

Contents

• 1 Purpose of Policy 3
• 2 Definitions 4
• 3 Application & Scope 6
• 4 UOW Research Active Definition 7
• 5 UOW Research Active Assessment 7
• 6 Faculty-based Research Active Definitions 8
• 7 Roles & Responsibilities 8
• 8 Appendices 9
• 9 Version Control and Change History 10
• APPENDIX 8A – AIIM: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 11
• APPENDIX 8B – BUSINESS: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 12
• APPENDIX 8C – EIS: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 13
• APPENDIX 8D – LHA: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 15
• APPENDIX 8E – SMAH: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 18
• APPENDIX 8F – SOC: Faculty-Based Research Active definition 21

1 Purpose of Policy

1. As part of the UOW Strategic Plan 2016-20, the University aspires to achieve a ranking within the top 1% of world universities and to build an outstanding research culture and performance, based on:

a. improved research productivity linked to higher citation rates; discipline specific excellence and strong partnerships to assure our research impact, engagement with industry and economic contribution;

b. an increase in highly esteemed researchers; and

c. growing the number of timely Higher Degree Research (HDR) student completions.

2. This Policy aims to support the University Strategic Plan, evaluations of research excellence, engagement and impact and our status in the World University Rankings.

UOW Research Active Definition

3. The UOW Research Active definition specifies minimum levels of research activity for UOW Academic Staff members on Continuing and Fixed Term appointments, excluding those specified at 3.3. All academics should strive to exceed these minimum levels and publish works of the highest quality.

4. It is a condition of employment that all Academic Staff members, with Research defined as a key responsibility in their position description, meet the UOW Research Active definition.

5. Academic Staff members who do not meet the UOW Research Active definition must develop a plan in consultation with their Head of School (or allocated supervisor) as part of their Career Development Interview (CDI) that defines strategies to enable them to meet the minimum UOW expectations within an agreed timeframe.

6. Unless there are special circumstances preventing an Academic Staff member from fulfilling their CDI plan within the agreed timeframe, Academic Staff who do not meet the minimum UOW Research Active definition may be asked to contribute to the University in other ways.

Faculty-based Research Active Definitions

7. In addition to the UOW Research Active Policy, the Faculty-based Research Active definitions provide discipline-specific criteria for Academic Staff to work towards. These definitions offer guidance about the expected research outputs of Academic Staff in their respective discipline(s) and enable them to demonstrate and be recognised for achievements in their field.

8. Academic Staff members who meet the relevant Faculty-based Research Active definition are able to use their Faculty Research Active status as additional evidence of their research performance to support applications for promotions, grants, further training, conference attendance and study leave.

2 Definitions

Word/Term	Definition
Academic Staff member	All persons appointed to the academic staff of UOW, whether they hold full-time, part-time or conjoint appointments on a Continuing or Fixed Term basis.
Co-supervisor	An additional supervisor who provides a substantial input into the research project of an HDR student and supports the principal supervisor in the research activities and administration process.
Citation disciplines	Includes Academic Staff in the Faculty of Engineering & Information Sciences (EIS); the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health (SMAH), and the Australian Institute of Innovative Materials (AIIM).
Early Career Researcher	An Early Career Researcher (ECR) is an Academic Staff member who has been awarded a PhD in the last 5 years or commensurate with a period of significant career interruption has been awarded a PhD within the last 8 years. Types of career interruption may include: carer’s responsibility; disruption due to international relocation for international post-doctoral studies not exceeding more than 3 months; illness; maternity or parental leave; and/or unemployment or non-research employment where the work is predominantly non-research (not exceeding three years).
ERA	Excellence in Research for Australia (administered by the Australian Research Council).
Faculty	Each of the five UOW Faculties including: • the Faculty of Business (BUS); • Faculty of Engineering & Information Sciences (EIS); • Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA); • Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC); • Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health (SMAH); and • for the purposes of this Policy, the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM).
Faculty-based Research Active definitions	Definitions created by each Faculty that provide guidance on research performance criteria for Academic Staff members to work towards.
FOR Code	The 2008 Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) Field of Research (FOR) codes allow Research and Development (R&D) activity to be categorised according to the field of research. The categories in the classification include major fields (2 digit level) and related sub-fields of research and emerging areas of study (4 digit level).
HDR Completions	A person who was enrolled as a HDR student and whose body of HDR work (e.g. a research thesis) was examined as part of their HDR candidature at the University.
HDR Student	Higher Degree Research Student
HERDC Research Income Categories	The Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) comprises research income data submitted by universities each year. HERDC Research Income Categories are: • Category 1: Australian Competitive Research Grants • Category 2: Other Public Sector Grants • Category 3: Industry and Other Income • Category 4: Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs)
Named recipient	An Academic Staff member who is a named researcher on a competitive research grant or contract.
Peer review disciplines	Includes Academic Staff in the Faculty of Business (BUS), Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) and the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA).
Principal Supervisor	The supervisor who takes the lead in terms of accountability and research directions of the project of an HDR student.
Publication	The outcome of research, scholarship or academic output that is recorded in a material form, such as a journal article, book or report. A publication may appear in electronic form (e.g. an electronic journal article).
Research	Consistent with the HERDC (2017) definition of Research: “creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humankind, culture and society, and to devise new applications of available knowledge.”
Research Outputs	Traditional research outputs include: • Scholarly books; • Chapters in Research books; and • Refereed journal articles. • Note that conference publications are not included in the UOW Research Active assessment. • Non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) include: • Original creative works; • Live performance of creative works; • Recorded/rendered creative works; • Curated or produced substantial public exhibitions and events; and • Research reports for an external body.
Scopus	A bibliographic database from Elsevier containing abstracts and citation citation data for scholarly publications.
UOW	The University of Wollongong
UOW Research Active definition	See definitions at 4.1 and 4.2.
UOW Research Active Reports	Reports created by the Information Management Unit and the Research Services Office that summarise the Research activity of Academic Staff members based on the UOW Research Active definition.
Web of Science	A bibliographic database from Clarivate Analytics containing abstracts and citation data for scholarly publications.

3 Application & Scope

• 1. This policy applies to all Continuing and Fixed-Term Academic Staff members at UOW for which research is part of their normal duties. Research-only and senior Research and Teaching Academic Staff are expected to produce high quality research outputs that exceed the minimum thresholds defined in this policy.

2. To meet the UOW Research Active definition, Academic Staff members must satisfy at least one of the criteria in their relevant definition, either 4.1 or 4.2. Research publications, Research income and HDR completions from the previous five calendar years will be considered when assessing UOW Research Active status.

3. The relevant Head of School has discretion in determining if an Academic Staff member will meet the UOW Research Active definition. Some of the circumstances that may be taken into account in applying discretion include:

a. Part-time staff, new staff (in the last five years) and staff who have been on leave, or had other career interruptions, will be considered for a pro-rata application of the criteria;

b. Early Career Researchers (ECRs) may satisfy a modified UOW Research Active definition developed in consultation with their Head of School (or allocated supervisor) to reflect their early career status and to enable them to meet the definition once they are no longer deemed an ECR;

c. Academic Staff members undertaking a HDR degree at UOW are not required to meet the criteria but must make satisfactory progress on their degree;

d. Academic Staff with significant governance responsibilities;

e. Academic Staff with less than the standard 40% research component;

f. The selection of definition 4.1 or 4.2, for Academic Staff members that publish across both citation and peer review disciplines; and

g. Academic Staff members who do not satisfy any of the specific minimum levels in the definitions at 4.1 or 4.2 but have produced a quality package of Research publications, Research income and HDR completions.

4. In the event of a disagreement between the Academic Staff member and their Head of School, the Faculty Executive Dean has ultimate discretion in determining the Academic Staff member’s Research Active status.

5. To meet the Faculty-based Research Active definitions, Academic Staff members must satisfy the criteria specified in Appendix 8 for their respective Faculty.

4 UOW Research Active Definition

• 1. The definitions at 4.1 and 4.2 apply to Academic Staff members that typically publish in citation or peer review disciplines respectively.

4.1 Academic Staff publishing in citation disciplines (EIS, SMAH & AIIM)

a. Publish at least five journal publications that are indexed by the Scopus or Web of Science databases and/or;

b. Be a named recipient of at least $150,000 of HERDC Research income to UOW and/or;

c. Be the Principal or Co-supervisor of at least three UOW HDR students that have successfully completed.

4.2 Academic Staff publishing in peer review disciplines (BUS, LHA & SOC)

a. Publish at least one authored/co-authored Research Book, or four Research journal publications or Research book chapters and/or;

b. Produce an equivalent body of non-traditional Research outputs (as determined by the Head of School) and/or;

c. Be a named recipient of at least $100,000 of HERDC Research income to UOW and/or;

d. Be the Principal or Co-supervisor of at least three UOW HDR students that have successfully completed.

5 UOW Research Active Assessment

• 1. Typically, initial discussions about meeting the UOW Research Active definition will occur at the Career Development Interview between the Head of School (or allocated supervisor) and the individual Academic Staff member. The Head of School will report levels of Research activity across their school to the Executive Dean using the previous five calendar years to assess Academic Staff.

2. In assessing Research outputs:

a. multi-authored Research publications count as a full publication for each author;

b. books are deemed to be the equivalent of five journal articles;

c. Principal and Co-supervisors both receive full credit for a HDR completion/supervision;

d. all named recipients on competitive Research grants and commercial Research contracts each receive full credit for the total grant amount;

e. Research grants that are administered by external institutions are only included if UOW receives funding from the grant. Only the income received by UOW is included in the Research Active calculations; and

f. All publications must be affiliated with UOW.

6 Faculty-based Research Active Definitions

• 1. Recognising that research outputs differ among disciplines, each Faculty has developed their own specific Research Active definitions that set criteria for Academic Staff members to work towards.

2. Within these criteria, Academic Staff members are expected to aim for quality outputs in their field including high impact, peer-reviewed journals, national competitive grants and HERDC research income.

3. Heads of School, Associate Deans Research and Executive Deans are responsible for monitoring the Research outputs of their Academic Staff members in relation to their own Faculty-based Research Active definitions.

4. Academic Staff members who are employed in a non-Faculty unit or Division, may align their research outputs with a relevant Faculty-based Research Active Definition, as agreed with their supervisor.

5. For the full set of Faculty-based Research Active definitions, discretionary criteria and calculation methodologies, refer to Appendices 8.1.a to 8.1.f.

7 Roles & Responsibilities

• 1. It is the responsibility of Heads of School (or allocated supervisors) to:

a. include a discussion and assessment of research activity in Academic Staff members’ Career Development Interviews;

b. document whether the Academic Staff member meets the UOW Research Active definition in their Career Development Record based on the information provided in the UOW Research Active reports and the Career Development Interview discussion;

c. determine when and which discretionary factors should be considered in determining if an Academic Staff member meets the UOW Research Active definition; and

d. promote and communicate this Policy within their School.

2. It is the responsibility of both Executive Deans and Associate Deans (Research) to:

a. regularly review levels of research activity in their Faculty, based on both the UOW Research Active definition and the relevant Faculty-based definition;

b. encourage high levels of research productivity above the minimum UOW Research Active thresholds set out in this Policy; and

c. promote and communicate this Policy within their Faculty.

3. It is the responsibility of the Research Services Office and the Information Management Unit to:

a. provide UOW Research Active reports that summarise Research outputs to Executive Deans, Associate Deans Research and Heads of School to enable them to assess levels of Research activity in their Faculty or School, based on the data recorded in UOW Research Information Systems (RIS); and

b. assist recipients with interpretation of the UOW Research Active reports, upon request.

4. It is the responsibility of Academic Staff members to:

a. work efficiently towards meeting individual and School/Faculty/UOW goals;

b. participate in the Career Development Interview process with their Head of School (or allocated supervisor);

c. ensure all their research publications are correctly recorded in RIS, and to provide the Library with a copy of any publications that are not captured for upload into the UOW repository;

d. ensure their UOW Scholars online profile pages are kept up to date; and

e. understand this Policy and the relevant Faculty-based Research Active definitions.

8 Appendices

Faculty-based Research Active definitions:

a. Australian Institute of Innovative Materials (AIIM)

b. Faculty of Business (BUS)

c. Faculty of Engineering & Information Sciences (EIS)

d. Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA)

e. Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC)

f. Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health (SMAH)

9 Version Control and Change History

Version Control	Date Effective	Approved By	Amendment
1	1 January 2014	University Council	First version.
2	20 October 2017	University Council	Revision of policy and introduction of Faculty-based Research Active definitions.
3	23 October 2018	Deputy Vice-Chancellor	Administrative amendment to Appendix D.
4	19 February 2020	Vice-Chancellor	Amendment to Appendix 8B; update to the Faculty of Business Aspirational research Active Definition and Outputs.

APPENDIX 8A – AIIM: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

• Research outputs from the previous THREE (3) calendar years will be considered when applying the definition.

• To be deemed Research Active, Academic Staff must satisfy ALL of the criteria specified below for their career level.

• The “Benchmarking h-index” is not part of the AIIM research active criteria, but provides a guide for academics at different levels to aspire towards.

Level	Research Publications	AND	Research Income	AND	HDR Supervision		Benchmarking h-Index (Scopus)
A-B	6 publications: including 3 articles in the top 25% of journals	AND	1+ grant application	AND	Supervision of 1 HDR student		5-15
C	7+ publications: including 4 articles in the top 25% of journals	AND	1 externally funded research project 1+ internal grant	AND	1 HDR completion		15-20
D	12+ publications: including 6 articles in the top 25% of journals and 4 Corresponding/1st Author*	AND	2 externally funded research projects awarded at least $100,000 in total	AND	2 HDR completions		20-25
E	18+ publications: including 9 articles in the top 25% of journals and 8 Corresponding/1st Author*	AND	2 externally funded research projects awarded at least $150,000 in total Including 1 industry funded research project	AND	3+ HDR completions		30+

*Corresponding author is usually the senior author who provides the intellectual input and approves the methodology to be followed in the research. This author is usually responsible for communicating with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review and publication process.

Research Opportunity Adjustments and Exemptions

Refer to Section 3.3 of the UOW Research Active Policy for a full list of adjustments and exemptions to account for Research opportunity.

Guidelines for Research Outputs data calculations Refer to Section 5.2 of the UOW Research Active Policy for detailed information on the calculation methodology.

APPENDIX 8B – BUSINESS: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

Aspirational Research Active Policy

The University is committed to generating outstanding research and world-class results (UOW Strategic Plan 2016-2020 p2). UOW’s objective of moving into the top 1% of universities requires both the University and the Faculty to set aspirational goals in order to meet this objective. This definition builds on the UOW Research Active Policy. The Definitions (Section 2), Application and Scope (Section 3) and UOW Research Active Definition (Section 4) outlined in the UOW Research Active Policy apply to this Aspirational Research Active Definition.

The Faculty acknowledges the importance of research engagement and impact and recognises this within the Aspirational Research Active Definition; however this does not negate the responsibility for staff members to meet the other core elements of research activity (publications, research funding applications and income, and HDR supervision.

The Faculty of Business Aspirational Research Active Definition requires that academic staff deliver the outputs as specified in Table 1 over a five-year period. These outputs include a specified number of quality research outputs as well as research engagement and impact outputs.

Table 1: ASPIRATIONAL RESEARCH ACTIVE DEFINITION – OUTPUTS OVER FIVE CALENDAR YEARS

Academic levels	Publications	AND	Research funding applications and income	OR	HDR Supervision	AND	Research Engagement and Impact (REI) Output
Level A	3 peer review journal publications	AND	Competitive internal research funding application submitted	OR	Co-supervision of Honours or HDR students	AND	1 REI output
Level B	4 peer review journal publications or equivalent research book	AND	Competitive internal research funding success and/or being sole applicant or a member of a team applying for /successful in attracting external research funding	OR	1 HDR completion as co- or principal supervisor	AND	2 REI outputs
Level C	61 peer review journal publications or equivalent research books	AND	Named recipient awarded HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income	OR	2 HDR completions as co- or principal supervisor	AND	2 REI outputs
Level D	82 peer review journal publications or equivalent research books	AND	Named recipient awarded at least $100,000 of HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income or be lead applicant on at least 2 HERDC category 1 and 2 applications	OR	3 HDR completions, with at least one completion as principal supervisor	AND	3 REI outputs
Level E	103 peer review journal publications or equivalent research books	AND	Be a named recipient awarded at least $150,000 of HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income or be lead applicant on at least 3 HERDC category 1 and 2 applications	OR	3 HDR completions, with at least two completions as principal supervisor	AND	4 REI outputs

Research Engagement and Impact Outputs

REI outputs should align to those standards as explained and accepted by the Australian Research Council Research Engagement and Impact Submission Guidelines (Appendix F). Though not an exhaustive list, these outputs can include the following:

• Significant community services/activities in advancing the PRME values⁴

• Faculty Working Paper/Industry Report series

• Editorial board membership of peer reviewed journal

• Presentation in key disciplinary conference

• Article published in “The Conversation”, or other similar publications⁵

• Patents granted, PCT applications, triadic patents

• Evidence of sustained non-academic partnerships—e.g. Sydney Health Partners; various global research consortia, OECD, World Bank, World Health Organisation, UN, UNESCO (can include commercial, non-profit or government organisations)

• Serving on external advisory boards

• Consultation with/advice to Government

• Expert witness in court cases

• Contributions/submissions to public enquiries on industry-research related issues

• External public lectures or public seminars (i.e. not part of a Faculty or School seminar series)

• Presentations to practitioner communities

• Contributions to cultural institutions, seminars/workshops, internships and engagement with the public

• Mentoring external research partners (demonstrated by memorandum of understanding or similar)

• Involving users at all stages of the research, including working with user stakeholder and participatory groups

If an activity is not listed, an academic staff member can make a case to the Faculty Research Committee for its inclusion. The Faculty Research Committee will make a determination as to whether the activity meets the threshold to be included.

Please note: Research-only staff are expected to exceed these requirements by at least 50%.

Exceptions and Adjustments

The exceptions and adjustments as listed in Section 3.3 of the University Research Active Policy apply.

Review

This Policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure that it continues to reflect the aspirational goals of the Faculty.

APPENDIX 8C – EIS: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

The Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences (EIS) has formulated an aspirational research-active definition specific to each of the research clusters represented in the Faculty. In view of the variability of individual circumstances and the expertise of Heads of School, we recommend discretion is exercised near the borderline by the Head of School in all cases.

Definition: The research active definitions for the 01 and 02 research clusters refer to the following weighted average Q computed using research outputs for a given researcher over the preceding 5 academic years (only Scopus-indexed journals and conferences are counted). Each paper, income quantum or PhD completion counts as 1, regardless of number of authors/CIs/supervisors.

Q = ((#Journals + #Conferences + #Research-book chapters + 5*#Research Books)/5

+ (Total CAT1-4 research income)/150,000

+ (#PhD completions)/3)

01 Research Cluster (Mathematical Sciences)

An Academic Staff member shall be considered research active if Q ≥ 1.

ECRs and part-time Academic Staff shall be considered on a pro-rata basis.

02 Research Cluster (Physics)

An Academic Staff member shall be considered research active if Q ≥ 1.2.

ECRs and part-time Academic Staff shall be considered on a pro-rata basis.

08 Research Cluster (Information and Computing Sciences)

As the 08 FoR code is peer-reviewed rather than based on citation analysis, the formula Q above is replaced with the formula Q’ below for 08 Academic Staff (Scopus-indexed journals/ conferences only):

Q’ = ((#Journals + #Conferences + #Research-book chapters + 5*#Research Books)

+ (Total CAT1-4 research income)/100,000

+ (#PhD completions)/3)/4

An Academic Staff member in the 08 cluster shall be considered research active if the following criteria are met. ECRs and part-time Academic Staff shall be considered on a pro-rata basis.

Level A or B: Q’ ≥ 1.

Level C: Q’ ≥ 1.2.

Level D: Q’ ≥ 1.4.

Level E: Q’ ≥ 1.6.

09 Research Cluster (Engineering)

The Engineering cluster recognises that improvements in ERA rankings for 09 will be achieved by increasing the quality profile, rather than the quantity, of research output. In recognition of this, research activity in 09 includes measures of journal quality.

EIS Research Active Definition

To be deemed research active, a full time Teaching/Research Academic Staff member shall have a Q* value greater or equal to 1 (). The Q* value is a weighted average of research outputs and income computed pro rata over the preceding 5 academic year period: Q* = (Publication points + HDR points + Funding points)/5 • Publication points are calculated using the weightings in rows 1-7 of the table below applied to each publication in the 5-year window. Only the (up to) 5 highest-scoring conference publications and only the (up to) 5 highest-scoring book chapters are counted. • HDR points are calculated using the weightings in rows 8-11 of the table below applied to each HDR completion in the 5-year window. • Funding points are calculated using the weightings in rows 12-13 of the table below:
Research Output		Weighting	Limit	Comments
1	Journal article (top 15%)	2.5	–	WoS Journal, Scopus or Google Scholar ranking
2	Journal article (top 30% )	2	–	WoS Journal, Scopus or Google Scholar ranking
3	Journal article (top 50%)	1.5	–	WoS Journal, Scopus or Google Scholar ranking
4	Journal article	1	–	Indexed in WoS or Scopus
5	Paper in refereed conference proceedings	0.5	2.5	Maximum 2.5 points for conferences indexed in Scopus, IEEE, or other major citation indices
6	Scholarly Book Chapter	0.5	2.5	Maximum of 2.5 points for a scholarly book chapter
7	Research Book	2.5	–	Scholarly books only—no text books
8	PhD completion – PS	2	–	PS = Principal Supervisor
9	PhD completion – CS	1	–	CS = Co-supervisor
10	MS completion – PS	1	–	PS = Principal Supervisor
11	MS completion – CS	0.5	–	CS = Co-supervisor
12	NCG income – $20k	1	–	Category 1—National Competitive Grant income
13	Research income – $30k	1	–	Categories 2, 3 and 4 research income
Notes: 1. Publications and research income are counted on a pro rata basis, according to the number of authors or chief investigators. 2. For an ECR, who has less than 5 years since graduation, the total number of points should be averaged over the number of years since graduation. 3. For an Academic Staff member appointed on a part-time basis, the research active threshold should be adjusted accordingly. 4. Journal ranking is relative to the discipline, as defined by the four-digit FoR code.

APPENDIX 8D – LHA: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

Background

The LHA Research Active Definition aims to set aspirational criteria for Academic Staff to work towards. Within these criteria, it is expected that Academic Staff aim for high quality outputs in their field including high impact journals, reputable publishers and creative output venues with peer review processes, as well as national competitive and other external funding such as HERDC income and the Australia Council grants.

Application & Scope

Research outputs from the previous five calendar years will be considered when applying the definition.

This definition applies to all Academic Staff in LHA who have a research component in their workload. It is based on the typical pattern of academic workload of 40% research, 40% teaching and 20% governance and service.

Research-only Academics Staff are expected to exceed these targets.

The definition will be applied in the Career Development Interview (CDI). Heads of Schools and/or Supervisors will discuss the staff member’s current research performance and use this when developing future research plans. This may include identifying supports and strategies to assist the staff member in working towards the aspirational targets.

During CDI discussions outputs of exceptional quality should be identified and may receive additional points.

Research Opportunity Adjustments and Exemptions

Refer to Section 3.3 of the UOW Research Active Policy for a full list of adjustments and exemptions to account for Research opportunity.

LHA Faculty-Based Research Active Definition

The following table outlines the aspirational research targets for a five (5) calendar year period.

Required						Additional, to be determined by the Researcher6		Total Minimum Points required by Level
Academic levels	(A) Publications & Creative Outputs7	AND Either	(B) Research Income 8	OR	(C) HDR Completions9	AND	(D) Edited Book or special issue of a Journal (E) Additional Publication/Creative Outputs (F) High impact research activity (G) Application for Competitive Funding
Level A	At least 3 points	AND	At least 1 competitive internal research grant application	OR	Supervising Honours or HDR students	At least 1 point from:		5
Level B	At least 4 points	AND	At least 1 point	OR	At least 1 point	At least 2 points from:		7
Level C	At least 4 points	AND	At least 1 point	OR	At least 1 points	At least 3 points from:		8
Level D	At least 5 points	AND	At least 2 points	OR	At least 2 points	At least 3 points from:		10
Level E	At least 5 points	AND	At least 3 points	OR	At least 3 points	At least 4 points from:		12

Point definitions

(A) Publications/Creative Outputs (B) (based on ERA definitions)10	(B) Research Income including external grants and consultancies (excludes internal funding)	(C) HDR Completions	(D) Edited Book or special issue of a Journal	(E) Additional Publication/ Creative Outputs	(F) High Impact Research Activity	(G) Application for Competitive Funding
A1 (Research Book): 5 Points B1 (Research Book Chapter): 1 point C1 (Refereed Journal Article): 1 point *Note Journal articles that are indexed in Scopus/Web of Science or are substantial in volume (over 6,000 words) may be awarded up to 2 points. J6 (Minor Original Creative Works): 0.5 Points J11 & J12 (Major Original Creative Works): 2-5 points J13 (Major Curated Individual Exhibitions of Original Art): 2-5 Points P1 & P2 (Minor and Major Performances of Creative works): 0.5 - 2 points **Exceptional quality, high impact outputs may receive additional points in discussion with HOS	$1,000-$20,000: 1 point $20,001-$50,000: 2 points $50,001-$100,000: 3 points $100,001+: 4 points Applying for a national competitive grant/ consultancy: 1 point (for Level A and B only)	HDR Completion: 1 Point HDR Supervision (for Level A only): 0.5 Points. Part Time supervisions to be considered.	Edited Book: 1 point Special Issue of an indexed Journal: 1 point	See (A) Publications & Creative Outputs	Activity leading to high impact such as: substantial written submission to Government, international or regional organisations, “Conversation” articles, expert witness, membership of tribunal: 0.5 - 1 point. To be discussed with HOS.	Applying for national competitive grants (Cat 1), Australia Council or other competitive external funding or commercial consultancies: 1 point Application to be based at UOW or if external, include income contribution to Faculty.

APPENDIX 8E – SMAH: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

The SMAH Research Active Definition will be applied to all Academic Staff. For those in positions with a < 40% research component, research active status may be negotiated with the Head of School/Discipline.

There are two pathways to assessment as ‘SMAH Research Active’:

• 1. Research Active by Performance

2. Research Active by Definition

Research Active by Performance

There are two bands of research activity by performance (A and B). Research activity Band A (Table 1) provides a basis for all Academic Staff in SMAH and describes minimum research performance that may be demonstrated towards meeting Levels 1 and 2 of the Performance Evidence for Research in UOW’s Academic Performance Framework (APF). Research activity Band B (Table 2) describes minimum research performance towards meeting the Performance Evidence for Research for Level 3 of the APF.

These Research Active definitions provide a basis for career development and aspirations, but are not to be considered in isolation from research quality indicators, and other research and academic activities. For consideration for promotion, attention needs to be given to overall performance, the APF in its entirety, and must involve considerations of overall research quality, impact, engagement, sustained performance and positive trajectory, and particularly for Levels 3 and 4, leadership, and national and international recognition.

Research outputs from the previous five (5) calendar years will be considered when applying the definition.

Outputs from additional years may also be included (see Research Opportunity Adjustments below).

To be deemed research active by performance, academic staff must satisfy:

• • For Band A - AT LEAST ONE OF THE CRITERIA (Outputs or Funding or Training) listed in Table 1 below.
• • For Band B - AT LEAST TWO OF THE CRITERIA1 (Outputs, Funding, Training) listed in Table 2 below.

Table 1: Evidence for Band A Research Active Definition by Performance (one criterion required)

RESEARCH OUTPUTS OR	At least eight (8) output POINTS in the assessment period: • 1 point for each journal publication indexed in Scopus or Web of Science; book chapter; patent; expert committee report; commercial research report; Cochrane report. • 3 points for each edited book. • 5 points for each authored book.
RESEARCH FUNDING OR	A total of at least $150,000 of HERDC research funding (either awarded or received in the assessment period). OR Two (2) grants/contracts awarded in any HERDC Category in the assessment period.
RESEARCH TRAINING	At least three (3) active HDR students during the assessment period (as Principal Supervisor or Co-supervisor).

Table 2: Evidence for Band B Research Active Definition by Performance (two criteria required)

RESEARCH OUTPUTS	At least ten (10) output POINTS in the assessment period: • 1 point for each journal publication indexed in Scopus or Web of Science; book chapter; patent; expert committee report; commercial research report; Cochrane report. • 3 points for each edited book. • 5 points for each authored book.
RESEARCH FUNDING	A total of at least $150,000 of HERDC research funding (either awarded or received in the assessment period). OR Two (2) grants/contracts awarded in any HERDC Category in the assessment period.
RESEARCH TRAINING	At least three (3) active HDR students during the assessment period (at least one (1) as Principal Supervisor and at least one (1) completion).

Interpretation of the weighting/combinations of the criteria above should be considered in the context of an individual’s career. For example, fewer research outputs or lower research funding in combination with a substantially greater number (>3) of successfully-supervised, active PhD students may be considered favourably.

Guidelines for Research Outputs data calculations

Refer to Section 5.2 of the UOW Research Active Policy for detailed information on the calculation methodology.

Research Opportunity Adjustments and Exemptions

When assessing research activity of Academic Staff whose FTE is less than 5.0 in the five-year assessment period, additional outputs data can be considered, as detailed below.

• 1. New appointment to UOW in last 5 years:

• Research outputs from prior role/s can be added to UOW outputs (up to 5 years in total) if details are provided by the Academic staff member.

2. Part-time appointments, extended leave, career interruptions:

• Extra years’ data equivalent to ‘missed’ FTE can be added where academic outputs were not possible due to career interruption (e.g. parental/carer’s/sick leave, academic career break, part-time work arrangements). For missed FTE in the current 5 year assessment period (rounded to the nearest whole number) outputs from an equivalent number of full calendar years prior to the assessment period will also be considered.

• a staff member who has worked 3.5FTE in the 5-year assessment period as a result of a combination of parental leave and part-time arrangements (i.e. ‘missed’ 1.5 FTE, rounded to 2.0FTE) will be able to include outputs from an additional two calendar years in their assessment period (i.e. the last 7 years will be considered).

The following Academic Staff members can be exempted from assessment:

• 1. New appointments to UOW in the last 5 years whose prior role/s did not support academic outputs in the staff member’s own right, e.g. government or private sector roles, teaching-only roles.

2. Early Career Researchers (PhD awarded ≤ 5 years ago).

3. Staff who have had part-time appointments, extended leave, career interruptions, etc. and do not have sufficient years of research outputs beyond the 5 year assessment period.

Research Active by Definition

Academic staff in the following circumstances at the time of assessment will be considered SMAH Research Active by definition of their current role or candidature status:

• PhD Candidates
Academic staff who are currently undertaking, and actively enrolled in, a PhD course either at UOW or elsewhere (Masters-level courses are not included).

• Postdoctoral Research Associates (competitively selected)
Research-intensive academic staff who are competitively selected as research associates on externally-funded research grants.

• Fellowship Holders
Academic staff who have been awarded an external research Fellowship (VC’s Postdoctoral Fellowships are included).

APPENDIX 8F – SOC: Faculty-Based Research Active definition

Background

The criteria used to define ‘Research Active’ in the Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) are largely quantitative. They mark a threshold for Academic Staff to aspire to at different academic levels. They will be formally linked to Career Development Interviews and, thereby, factor in the UOW promotions process. They have been devised by examining the current publication performance of the many Academic staff in the Faculty who comfortably surpass the UOW Research Active definition.

Application and Scope

This definition sets aspirational research expectations for all teaching and research Academic Staff in the period of five calendar years. All staff should strive to publish in high impact journals in their discipline or in relevant multidisciplinary fields. Research-only academics are expected to exceed these requirements by at least 40%.

Research Active status will be reported once a year using a pro-forma to be completed by the Academic Staff member prior to the Career Development Interview (CDI). Heads of School and/or Supervisors will discuss the Academic staff member’s current research performance and use this when developing future research plans. This may include identifying supports and strategies to assist the Academic staff member in working towards the aspirational targets. Not meeting the Research Active criteria in any given year should not be taken as evidence of a person being research inactive.

The SOC Research Active Definition (RAD) will be effective prospectively not retrospectively. This means that the first 5 year period for assessing RA status will not end until 2023. Only in that year will the status of Faculty Academic staff relative to the definition be clear and complete.

Research Opportunity Adjustments and Exemptions

Refer to Section 3.3 of the UOW Research Active Policy for a full list of adjustments and exemptions to account for Research opportunity.

Research Quality and Impact

The criteria should be understood in relation to the research quality criteria applicable in the disciplinary and/or multi-disciplinary domains in which academic researchers in the Faculty operate. There is a range of ways to define quality. For publications, familiar measures are the proportion of a researcher’s publications that appear in high citation impact journals in their field/s (top quartile and top 10%); the proportion of publications attracting citations over a 5 year period; for authored books, the reputation of the publisher within the field; for all publications the field-weighted citation impact over a 5 year period (e.g. as calculated in SciVal). Quality is discipline and context specific and all publications should be assessed holistically to determine their quality.

‘Research engagement and impact’ are not covered in these guidelines but are increasingly important elements of what we do in the Faculty and, when done well, deserve parity of esteem with more traditional measures of research success. In due course, the SOC Research Active Definition may be modified to incorporate research impact and engagement. For now, it covers ‘traditional’ research activities. This should not be taken to imply any discouragement of research leading to ‘real world’ impact; on the contrary.

Guidelines for Research Outputs data calculations

Refer to Section 5.2 of the UOW Research Active Policy for detailed information on the calculation methodology.

SOC Faculty-Based Research Active Definition

In the criteria detailed below, staff should aim to meet the relevant publication aspirations PLUS at least ONE of the aspirations detailed in the other 3 columns. In exceptional cases, activity across the 3 and/or areas can be ‘amalgamated’ to demonstrate an individual’s overall weight of activity if they are not meeting criteria in any one of the 3 areas beyond publications.

Academic levels11	Publications	AND	Grant applications and income	OR	HDR Supervision	OR	Other
Level A	3 peer review journal publications published in the past 5 years	AND	Competitive internal research grant application	OR	Being a co-supervisor of Honours or HDR students	OR	1 additional publication point12
Level B	4 peer review journal publications or a research book equivalent published in past 5 years	AND	Competitive internal research grant success and/or being sole applicant or a member of a team applying /successful for external research grants	OR	1 HDR completion in past 5 years as Principal or Co-supervisor	OR	2 additional publications points
Level C	6 peer review journal publications or a research book equivalent published in past 5 years	AND	Be a named recipient awarded HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income	OR	2 HDR completions in past 5 years as Principal or Co-supervisor	OR	2 additional publication points
Level D	8 peer review journal publications or a research book equivalent published in past 5 years	AND	Be a named recipient awarded at least $100,000 of HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income or be lead applicant on at least 2 HERDC Category 1 and 2 applications	OR	3 HDR completions in past 5 years, as Principal supervisor in at least 1 case	OR	3 additional publication points
Level E	10 peer review journal publications or a research book equivalent published in past 5 years	AND	Be a named recipient awarded at least $150,000 of HERDC Categories 1, 2, 3 research income or be lead applicant on at least 3 HERDC Category 1 and 2 applications	OR	3 HDR completions in past 5 years, as Principal supervisor in at least 2 cases	OR	4 additional publication points

¹ Minimum total of three publications ranked A or A* on the ABDC journal ranking list (or equivalent as determined by the Faculty Research Committee)

² Minimum one publication ranked A* on the ABDC journal ranking list, minimum total of four publications ranked A or A* on the ABDC journal ranking list (or equivalent as determined by the Faculty Research Committee)

³ Minimum two publications ranked A* on the ABDC journal ranking list, minimum total of five publications ranked A or A* on the ABDC journal ranking list (or equivalent as determined by the Faculty Research Committee)

⁴ As assessed by the Faculty Research Committee

⁵ As assessed by the Faculty Research Committee

⁶ If total Points achieved in “Required” categories then no “Additional” points are needed.

⁷ Multi-authored research outputs count as a full output for each author.

⁸ Multiple named recipients on competitive grants and commercial contacts each receive full credit for the total grant amount.

⁹ Principal Supervisors and Co-supervisors receive full credit for a HDR completion.

¹⁰ Publications and Creative Outputs with a range of points will be negotiated with the Head of School.

¹¹ Refer to “Research Opportunity Adjustments and Exemptions” for further information.

¹² Please note that conference proceedings are not normally included for purposes of this definition (except when blind peer reviewed and only then for level A and B staff). Neither are degree student-focussed publications, like introductory textbooks. Refereed journal articles should normally appear in journals indexed by Scopus or Web of Science. Publications points are calculated as: Research book = 8 points, 6 points if multi-authored; refereed journal article = 2 points; research book chapter = 1 point. Book chapters are weighted at 50% of journal articles because (i) peer review is often less rigorous, (ii) many chapters are not well captured in citation measurement systems, and (iii) many chapters appear in books that lack exposure to potential readers when compared to many journal articles. Additionally, chapters in student-focussed books or reference works do not attract points, and neither do prefaces, short introductions, section introductions, after words or appendices. It is expected that research books are much more likely to be published by people at level C and above.