Frequently Asked Questions: ERA

The purpose of these FAQs is to give an overview of ERA. Please check documents and web pages on the ARC web site for definitive information or contact cro@csu.edu.au with other questions or for clarification.

What is ERA (Excellence in Research in Australia)?

ERA is a research assessment exercise being conducted from 2010 by the Australian Research Council (ARC). It will evaluate the entire research output of Australian Universities, evaluating published work – journal articles, conference papers, books and book chapters and creative works. The principle of what constitutes research coincides with the criteria for the annual Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC). The research output records submitted for HERDC (via CRO) will form the bulk of information uploaded to ERA.

Field of Research (FoR) based discipline clusters are being used to group outputs. Trials of two of these clusters, PCE – Physical Chemical and Earth Sciences and HCA – Humanities and Creative Arts have been completed in 2009.

Full ERA will commence in early 2010, and will include ALL clusters. It is imperative therefore that during 2009 all records on CRO are reviewed, checked and fixed so that when full ERA occurs the information is as accurate as possible.

Further information can be found on the ERA website.

What is required of academics at CSU?

For CSU’s ERA submission we need all research outputs by CSU researchers since 2003 to be on CRO – regardless of where the output was produced. Most of these will be there already for staff who have been at CSU since that time, but staff who have joined CSU since 2003 will need to add their older, pre-CSU publications. Please check the records you already have on CRO before adding new ones, to prevent duplication of records.

To check your records, follow these steps:

More information about checking FoR codes can be found on the 'Checking FoR Codes on CRO' page.

How is the research being evaluated?

This information is extensively explained on the ERA website.

What are FoR codes and how do the fit into ERA?

Field of Research (FoR) codes are the basis for the ‘disciplines’ that ERA will use for evaluation. The 2008 ANZSRC FOR classification allows R&D activity to be categorised according to the field of research. In this respect, it is the methodology used in the R&D that is being considered.

The categories in the classification include major fields and related sub-fields of research and emerging areas of study investigated by businesses, universities, tertiary institutions, national research institutions and other organisations.

FOR Classifications and definitions by Division, 2008 (ABS Page)
The clusters are listed on the 'FoR Discipline Clusters for ERA' page.

How are FoR codes allocated?

Researcher FoRs: these are reviewed with reference to output FoR’s and key research activity. Final determination is made by Dean/Sub-Deans, Centre Directors, or their nominees.

Journal article FoRs: FoR’s are allocated to the journal by the ARC. This overrides any other FoR specified by the author. (Note that we still need authors to allocate FoRs when submitting articles for CSU administrative processes.)

Conference Papers, Books, Book Chapters, Creative Works: At this stage there are no ranked publication outlets other than journals, so author allocated FoRs are required. Existing records on CRO have an FoR code that is converted from the (old) RFCD code. These are not reliable and should be checked. Any inaccuracies and amendments should be reported to CRO administrators: cro@csu.edu.au

How does CRO relate to ERA?

CRO will be used to source all the research outputs for ERA. In order for our ERA submission to be complete and accurate, the following CRO fields are especially important:

How do I submit publications for ERA?

In general, submitting your publications for ERA is the same as submitting publications for the annual HERDC collection. Guidelines for submitting for HERDC can be found on the 'Add Publications to CRO' page.

If you are submitting a publication which is not eligible for the current HERDC collection at CSU, but was deemed eligible for inclusion in HERDC at another institution, and may still be counted for ERA:

What about Creative works?

The Creative Works section of ERA is an acknowledgement that research can take forms beyond the scope currently captured by the HERDC. This area of assessment is new and will evolve at the ARC and within CSU. If you feel you have creative works that are suitable to be included in ERA, you need to: a) fill out the relevant form on CRO; b) produce and attach a research statement (*Length to be advised) to support your claim to research; and c) upload digitized evidence of the work that can be loaded into CRO.

Note: As was the case in the Trial, it is possible that creative works will be peer reviewed by external ERA assessors. Supporting documentation and evidence of output is therefore vital.

Further detailed information about Creative Works is available on the FAQ’s: Creative Works page.

What is peer review in relation to ERA?

Some of the clusters will use peer review to assess the research. For the purposes of ERA, the ARC will appoint peer reviewers to assist Research Evaluation Committees (REC). Peer reviewers will only have access to a sample of outputs. Members of a REC may also undertake an evaluation of a sample of outputs.

For the Trial, peer review was only used for the HCA cluster disciplines.

What is a ranked journal?

Ranked journals are those listed in the ARC’s journal indicator lists. The inclusion of journals is decided by ARC and inclusion means that the journal has been peer reviewed and has an ISSN. Journals in these lists have been allocated an FoR based on the coverage of the journal. The FoR for the article is the same as that allocated to the journal, and is the code used for ERA. However, CSU requires that authors still allocate codes to articles, as a way of indicating the subject (which may be different from the journal code).

Journal lists for the PCE and HCA trials are available on the ARC website and the FoR codes and rankings for articles in these journals have been loaded into CRO. The journal lists for all other clusters will be available from the ARC prior to the implementation of Full ERA.

Further information about rankings and journal lists is available on the ARC website.

What if I have published in a non-ranked Journal?

Articles in non-ranked journals will not be available for assessment by ERA.

What if I have published in a non-Journal publication?

Conference papers, books, and book chapters will be included in ERA. For these output types, academics will need to specify the associated FoR code/codes, together with a percentage apportionment.

What do I have to do for ERA?

Further information is available on the 'Add Publications to CRO' page.

Return to the main Frequently Asked Questions page.