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Scholarly Communication: Traditional Research Outputs

Information on Avondale reportable publications.

Book

Book - Authored Research - A1

Definition

An A1 book is a substantial work of scholarship and must meet the definition of research as amplified in the general requirements for research publications:

Eligibility

  • Meets the definition of research
  • Be a major work of scholarship
  • Written either entirely by a single author, or by joint authors sharing responsibility for the whole book
  • Have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
  • Been published by a commercial publisher
  • Author must be affiliated with the claiming institution (Avondale)

Accepted Book Types

  • Original interpretations of historical events
  • Critical scholarly texts (e.g. music, medieval or classical texts)
  • Original ideas or perspectives based on established research findings

Excluded Book Types

  • Textbooks
  • Anthologies
  • Edited books
  • Creative books such as novels
  • Translations (unless they have a sizable demonstrable original research element)
  • Theses (PhD, Masters and Honours)
  • Revisions/new editions
  • Handbooks and manuals

Book - Authored Other - A2

Definition

This refers to books which were written entirely by a single author, or by joint authors who share responsibility for the whole book. Publications in this category must be a substantial work of scholarship.

Eligibility

  • Research monographs published by institution departments
  • Textbooks (consisting mainly of new combinations of existing knowledge or updating of a body of established knowledge to make it more readily accessible) aimed primarily at a higher education audience
  • Books published by private individuals, university departments and privately funded companies, eg "vanity presses" that do not meet the DIISRTE commercial publisher criteria
  • Evaluative and investigative government department publications, e.g. DIISRTE Evaluations and Investigations Program reports
  • Other authored books or monographs not classified in A1 above
  • Annotated anthologies
  • Translations of published books

Exclusions

  • Revisions/new editions
  • Creative works such as novels
  • Institutional departmental Working Papers, Technical Reports, Discussion Papers and the like
  • Textbooks that are primarily aimed at secondary, primary or pre-school students
  • Unpublished reports
  • Edited books

Book - Edited - A3

Definition

This refers to books which must be edited books, monographs or short series of volumes consisting of contributions from a number of authors.

Excluded Book Types

  • Revisions or new editions
  • Editorship of special edition journals (possibly C3)

Book - Revisions/New Editions - A4

Definition

This refers to revised/updated single author works (A1 or A2), or edited books, monographs or short series of volumes consisting of contributions from a number of authors (A3) containing substantial new research/updated chapters.

Book Chapter

Book Chapter - Research - B1

Definition

A B1 book chapter is a contribution, consisting substantially of new material, to an edited compilation in which the material undergoes editorial scrutiny.

Eligibility 

  • Meets the definition of research
  • Has an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
  • Published by a commercial publisher, or if not been peer reviewed.
  • Author must be affiliated with the claiming institution (Avondale)

A book chapter may be included if it has been published previously as long as it constitutes substantial new knowledge and constitutes original research. 

Accepted Chapter Types

  • A scholarly introduction of chapter length to an edited volume, where the introduction reports research and makes a substantial contribution to a defined area of knowledge
  • Critical reviews of recent research.
  • A critical scholarly text of chapter length, e.g. in music, medieval or classical texts

Excluded Chapter Types (unless they meet all inclusion criteria)

  • Anthologies
  • Textbook chapters
  • Forewords
  • Reference book entries
  • Revisions of chapters in edited books
  • Appendices
  • Brief introductions
  • Brief editorials
  • Literary or creative pieces such as collections of short stories; and
  • Translations (unless they have a sizable demonstrable original research element).

Book Chapter - Other - B2

Definition

This category refers to a contribution of a substantial work of scholarship, consisting substantially of new material

Accepted Chapter Types

  • Chapters in textbooks (consisting mainly of new combinations of existing knowledge or updating of a body of established knowledge to make it more readily accessible) aimed primarily at a higher education audience
  • Chapters in books published by private individuals, university departments and privately funded companies, e.g. "vanity presses"
  • Chapters in translations of published books and other authored books or monographs not classified in A1

Excluded Chapter Types

  • Creative works such as novels, depending mainly upon the imagination of the author rather than upon a publicly accessible body of agreed fact (possibly J1)

  • Chapters in textbooks that are primarily aimed at secondary, primary or pre-school students (excluded completely)

Journal Article

Journal Article, Scholarly, Refereed - C1

Definition

A C1 journal article is a substantial work of scholarship published in a scholarly journal following a formal process of peer review.

Eligibility

  • Meets the definition of research
  • Been peer reviewed in full
  • Published in a scholarly journal
  • Have an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
  • Have at least one author affiliated with the claiming institution (Avondale)

Accepted Article Types

  • Articles in journals targeted to both scholars and professionals
  • Commentaries and communications of original research
  • Articles reviewing multiple works or an entire field of research
  • Letters to journals, provided that the letter satisfies the definition of research and the requirements for journal articles
  • Research notes
  • Critical scholarly texts which appear in article form
  • Invited papers in journals
  • Articles in a stand-alone series

Excluded Article Types

  • Case studies
  • Editorials
  • Articles designed to inform practitioners on existing knowledge in a professional field
  • Articles in newspapers and popular magazines
  • Letters to the editor
  • Brief commentaries and communications of original research
  • Reviews of art exhibitions, concerts, theatre productions.
  • Book reviews

Journal Article - Other Refereed - C2

Definition

This refers to refereed works of scholarship published in a scholarly or professional journal controlled by an editorial board.

Accepted Article Types

  • Editorials
  • Systematic review protocols and study protocols
  • Refereed and non-refereed letters, notes, book reviews and abstracts
  • Articles that are sets of guidelines, commentaries, or summaries of the state of knowledge in an area, generally intended to inform practitioners in a professional field
  • Review of an art exhibition, a concert, or a theatre production
  • Medical case histories

Excluded Article Types

  • Non-scholarly, non-research articles (excluded completely)
  • Articles in newspapers and popular magazines (excluded completely)

Journal Article - Non-Refereed, Scholarly - C3

Definition

This refers to non refereed works of scholarship including full articles and reviews of an entire field of study published in a scholarly journal controlled by an editorial board.

Accepted Article Types

  • Non-refereed article in a scholarly journal
  • Non-refereed full articles and reviews of an entire field of study

Excluded Article Types

  • Non-scholarly, non-research articles (excluded completely)

Conference Publication

Conference Paper - Scholarly, Refereed - E1

Definition

An E1 conference publication is a paper published in full which has been peer reviewed and presented at a conference, workshop or seminar of national or international significance.

Eligibility

A conference paper can only be counted once, regardless of how many times it has been published in different formats.

  • Meets the definition of research
  • Entire paper must be peer reviewed
  • Published in full. The papers may appear in any format, e.g. a volume of proceedings, a special edition of a journal, a normal issue of a journal, a book or a monograph, CD or conference or organisational website
  • Presented at a workshop, conference, or seminar of national or international significance
  • Have at least one author affiliated with the claiming institution (Avondale)

Excluded Conference Publication Types

  • Papers that appear only in a volume handed out to conference participants
  • Poster presentations
  • Plenary addresses
  • Abstracts of conference publications
  • Keynote addresses

Conference papers published in books that meet all the criteria for category B1, as well as E1, or in journals that meet all the criteria for category C1, as well as E1, may be counted in either category but not both.

Conference Paper - Full Paper, Non-Refereed - E2

Definition

Refers to written versions of conference presentations subsequently published but not subject to peer review or formal assessment by an editorial board.

Eligibility

  • Full written paper - non-refereed
  • Include papers that do not meet the refereeing requirements of E1

Excluded Conference Publication Types

  • Conference papers that are not made available for international circulation e.g. appearing only in a volume sold or handed out to conference participants (excluded completely)
  • Conference papers presented at minor conferences, workshops or seminars that are not regarded as having national or international significance (excluded completely)
  • One page abstracts of summaries of poster presentations (see E5)

Conference Abstract - Published

Definition

Refers to abstracts, synopses (or posters) of conference papers subsequently published, which could be either refereed or non-refereed.

Eligibility

  • Refereed and non-refereed extracts, abstracts and posters

Excluded Conference Publication Types 

  • Abstracts and poster presentation summaries that are not made available for international circulation e.g. appearing only in a volume sold or handed out to conference participants. (excluded completely)
  • Abstracts and poster presentation summaries that appear on a temporary website
  • Abstracts and poster presentation summaries presented at minor conferences, workshops or seminars that are not regarded as having national or international significance (excluded completely)

Reference Works

Reference Works - D1

Definition

Research contributions to publications such as dictionaries or encyclopedias.

Eligible Types of Reference Works

  • Entire reference works written solely by the author/s
  • Single author/s contribution to an edited reference work
  • Series of contributions to different sections of an edited reference work
  • Revisions/editions of previously published reference works

WARP and Research Points

Weighted Average Research Publication (WARP)

A WARP rate is calculated by the average of research points over a 3-year period. An academic will therefore have a 3-year WARP.


The use of a WARP must state it is 3-year WARP and the last year of reference used in calculating the said WARP e.g. a 2013 3-year WARP of 2.0

WARPs contribute to the research active status of academic staff at Avondale. The strategic target for academic staff is a 3-year WARP of 2.0.
 

Research Points

The research points are allocated to the following HERDC/ERA research outputs.

A1 Book – authored research (5 points)
B1 Book Chapter – research (1 point)
C1 Journal Article – refereed scholarly journal (1 point)
E1 Conference Publication – full refereed paper (1 point)
J  Creative works – non-traditional research outputs (1 point)

Where there are multiple authors, each author receives the full point value for that output.

What is peer review?

To be eligible for reporting purposes, an acceptable peer review process needs to involve an impartial, independent of the author assessment or review of the entire research publication prior to being published, conducted by qualified experts.

Peer reviews are required for the below 3 types of research publications, and acceptable evidence of a peer review can include the following:

Journal articles

  • Statement or acknowledgement from the journal editor indicating that contributions are peer reviewed
  • A listing on the ARC's Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) latest available peer reviewed journal list
  • Copy of a reviewer’s assessment on the article.
  • A listing in Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge Master Journal List
  • Statement in the journal indicating contributions are peer reviewed

Conference publications

  • Statement or acknowledgement from the conference proceedings editor which shows that contributions are peer reviewed
  • Statement in the conference proceedings which shows that contributions are peer reviewed
  • Copy of a reviewer’s assessment relating to the conference paper.

Books and book chapters not published by a commercial publisher

  • Statement in the book indicating contributions are peer reviewed, and in the case of book chapters, indicates which chapters are peer reviewed if this does not apply to all content
  • Copy of a reviewer’s assessment on the book or book chapter.
  • Statement or acknowledgement from the publisher or editor showing contributions are peer reviewed

Note: A statement from an author that a publication was peer reviewed is not acceptable.  The existence of a national or international advisory board is also not sufficient evidence that all relevant publications were assessed by members of it.

What is a commercial publisher?

For the purpose of reporting eligibility, authored books and book chapters must be published by a commercial publisher. The requirement for a commercial publisher takes the place of a formal peer review as required for journal articles and conference papers.

Exceptions:

  • Conference proceedings.
  • Authored books and book chapters can still be eligible with evidence of a peer review process.

Commercial Publisher Definition: An entity whose core business is producing books and distributing them for sale. 

Eligible Publishers:

  • Universities and other self-supporting university presses, provided that they have responsibility for the distribution of the publication, in addition to its printing.
  • If they have a distinct organisational entity devoted to commercial publication and their publications are not completely paid for or subsidised by the parent organisation or a third party.

Non-Eligible Publishers:

  • Clearinghouses;
  • Companies that publish books but sub-contract printing and/or distribution thus having no responsibility for the entire publishing process;
  • Publishing units within faculties in universities (note the official publishing arm of a university, such as University X Press is usually eligible, but the publishing arm within a faculty in University X may not be eligible);
  • “Vanity presses” which is a publishing house is which authors pay to have their books published.
  • Companies hired only to print or distribute a book, but have no responsibility for the editing process or risk in choosing to publish;
  • Publishing arms of museums or galleries;

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