Interpreting the data

The objectives of ERA are to:

• establish an evaluation framework that gives Government, industry, business and the wider community assurance of the excellence of research conducted in Australian Higher Education Providers (HEPs)

• provide a national stocktake of discipline level areas of research strength and areas where there is opportunity for development in Australian Higher Education Providers

• identify excellence across the full spectrum of research performance
• identify emerging research areas and opportunities for further development
• allow for comparisons of research in Australia, nationally and internationally, for all discipline areas

The following types of data were collected for ERA:

• research outputs - journal articles, books, book chapters, conference publications and non-traditional outputs (NTROs)
• research income – Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC)
• applied measures - patents, registered designs, plant breeder's rights, NHMRC endorsed guidelines

For more information please consult the ARC ERA 2018 Discipline Matrix

• ERA and EI run as companion exercises; some ERA metrics inform the Engagement narratives
• ERA continues to assess research quality and acknowledges and encourages "blue sky" research
• The EI assessment encourages universities to look beyond the academic sector

To be eligible, researchers must meet the ERA definition of "member of staff" and have an affiliation with an institution on the ERA 2018 staff census date of 31 March 2017. Institutions can only submit research outputs from eligible researchers.

ERA uses a five-point rating scale. The rating scale is broadly consistent with the approach taken in research evaluation processes in other countries to allow for international comparison.

For the purposes of ERA, disciplines are defined by two-digit and four-digit Fields of Research (FoRs) codes as identified in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification.

For further information about ANZSRC contact the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or view their website Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification.

There was concern that the process for ERA2018 was different to ERA2015 and this would negatively affect results.

The ERA 2018 process was a more in-depth analysis of all components of the submission and was driven to achieve the best outcome for the University. Any expectation built on research output volume is incorrect; the submission is based on apportioned research outputs, and the number of these outputs are higher in ERA 2018 than in ERA 2015.

For the citation-based disciplines, the ARC assesses the FoRs in HEPs compared to their world benchmarks. These benchmarks are measured by the ARC using a Relative Citation Impact (RCI). In each ERA round the target is a 20-30% increase in outcome over the previous round.

Modelling conducted for ERA 2015 and ERA 2018 indicated that the World RCI for four-digit FoRs is the best variable. Target RCIs for all FoR codes were set using this variable. In ERA 2018 the target RCIs for four-digit FoR codes increased by 20% compared to ERA 2015. This was monitored throughout the submission to maintain optimal outcomes.

The main reason outputs were moved was to more accurately reflect their discipline, including aligning the FoR allocation with the ARC provided Journal code and to provide an improved overall result for the University within the boundaries provided by the ARC specifications.

FoR data is the ERA assigned FoR, NOT the "publication FoR" or "author assigned FoR”.

Data was made available as resources became available to process and release information. The timeline below indicates the high-level activities throughout the submission process.

The ERA survey highlighted that timeline improvements are required to service the needs of stakeholders. This is currently being addressed through the Process Improvement Initiative for ERA 2021.

Removal of papers: the ERA business rules are applied in a staged process during the submission; the reason for this is the scale of business rules that need to be applied. Outputs can be removed from the application of business right up to submission.

Re-allocation of papers: This refers to the re-allocation of highly cited papers (200+ citations) into different codes without faculty consultation. Any changes made to the submission were on the basis that they would not affect the expected outcome for an FoR code. This was under the premise that the return be optimised for the whole University. If an FoR could not accept any more outputs, and there was no indication it could achieve a higher outcome, then some outputs may have been moved to increase the outcome for a related FoR under the ARC specifications. All changes were made with the approval of the ERA Steward and with the full support of the DVC-R.

ERA provides Government, universities, industry, and prospective students with valuable information about research performance in Australian universities. For example, ERA data and outcomes:

• inform a range of advice to Government across the various portfolios of Government
• inform funding allocations for Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities (SRE) block grants
• specifically inform the development of research policy in Government and the wider sector, including:
• Research Engagement for Australia: Measuring Research Engagement between Universities and End Users (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering)
• Mapping Australia's Science and Research Priorities (Department of Industry and Science)
• Mapping the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Australia (Australian Academy of the Humanities)
• Development of the Defence Trade Controls Act (Department of Defence)
• Drafting the National Strategy for International Education (Department of Education and Training).

ERA measures performance within each discipline at each university and gives us a detailed view of the research landscape in Australia, from Quantum Physics and Literature. It highlights national research strengths in areas of critical economic and social importance-such as Geology, Environmental Science and Management, Nursing, Clinical Sciences, Materials Engineering, Psychology, Law and Historical Studies and many others. In addition, ERA results highlight the research strengths of individual universities. The ERA data presented in each National Report also provides contextual information about research application, knowledge exchange and collaboration.

ERA provides reliable and credible data about the quality of research in the higher education sector that:

• allows research managers and investors to identify and reward excellence in research and opportunities for further development or investment, and assures Australian taxpayers that their investment in research is well spent. This facilitates strategic planning to further strengthen our research capabilities

• helps promote Australia's research strengths on the world stage. ERA data and outcomes are used by the universities, as well as by Government and other stakeholders. ERA results are used in the internal reporting and planning documents (such as the annual reports and strategic plans) of many universities

By taking part in ERA, the quality of research data held by universities is also reported to be greatly improved. In addition, universities regularly use ERA outcomes to promote their research strengths, both to Australian and international stakeholders.

Due to an upgrade to Office 365, the address has now changed. Use the following link to ERA 2018 Info Sharepoint.

Permission to access the sharepoint is required. If you encounter any errors accessing the sharepoint, contact the ERA team at [email protected]