Accessing Research Outputs for RAE 2008 UKSG Ed Hughes, RAE Manager

Agenda Overview of RAE 2008 Data Collection for RAE 2008 Data Validation and Verification Collecting Research Outputs CLA licence agreement Questions & Discussion

Why do we have the RAE? Policy of Selective Public Funding RAE assesses research quality … … to advise funding allocations Begun in 1986; RAE 2008 will be 6 th (and last in current form!) Stimulus to improvement in research quality overall

Why? Some Key HEI Issues Strategy…. Why is my institution submitting to the RAE? –What does it hope to achieve? –Maximising Cash v Maximising Reputation … and Tactics Where to submit, who to submit, how to submit Institutional decisions but PEOPLE matter…

How? The RAE Process UK-wide exercise, run by HEFCE on behalf of all four UK funding bodies *Once every six years approx *200 Higher Education Institutions *2,500 submissions *55,000 researchers Ongoing review and development “Roberts Review” Budget

RAE TEAM INCLUDING PANEL SECRETARIES HEI’s 15 Main panels CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF FUNDING BODIES UK FUNDING BODIES RAE STEERING GROUP 67 Sub-panels Special advisors Policy DecisionsAcademic Judgements How it all works…

RAE timetable 3 January 2007Final Data Collection system released Formal Invitation to submit 30 March 2007Close of survey of submission intentions 31 October 2007Census date 30 November 2007Closing date for submissions – NOON 31 December 2007End of publication period (cut-off point for publication of research outputs) Jan-Dec 2008Assessment Phase December 2008Results published

Quality Profile By percentage of research activity in the submission judged to reach quality standard Sub-Panel A FTE Cat A Staff submitted for assessment 4*3*2*1* Unclassified University X University Y

Research Outputs Strategy Esteem Indicators Research Income PGR Numbers Components of Quality Profile 4*u/c1*2*3* Building a Quality Profile Take account of ALL Key Components of an RAE Submission ?

Data Requirements RA0 – summary information RA1 – staffing information RA2 – research outputs RA3 – postgraduate research students RA4 – research funding RA5 – textual commentary - includes individual staff circumstances (eg early career researchers, absences from research)

RAE Data Collection System Data Collection system live since January 2007 Encrypted, password protected, web-based system, Allows a variety of data entry methods – including bulk import/web services/web interface for direct entry Rebuild scheduled in June 2007 to incorporate final submission process functionality Continuing to develop the back end functions of the system through load testing, disaster recovery processes etc

Form RA2 – Research Outputs – part 1 Outputs must be assigned to a submitted member of staff

Form RA2 – Research Outputs – part 2 Uses EditLive to allow text editing (eg for symbols) Type determines what fields need to be completed

Form RA2 – Research Outputs – part 3 DOI: For journal articles Must be between 01/01/2001 and 31/12/2007

Form RA2 – Research Outputs – part 4 Max 300 words If required In event of commercial conflict

Collecting Outputs A practical issue facing the RAE team How should the RAE collect research outputs from HEIs to get them to the panel members for assessment?

Outputs Electronic collection and storage –Journal articles = 70% of cited outputs in RAE 2001 –Agreement with CLA on licensing agreement to collect alongside submissions Collecting physical outputs –Anticipate collecting Dec 2007 / Jan 2008 –Addressing storage issues

Working with the PLS and CLA Discussed arrangements for collecting outputs with PLS and some publishers Agreed an approach to allow scanning / copying of research outputs by HEIs and HEFCE Access to research outputs by RAE panel members via Athens where available Final agreement signed with CLA with PLS support

Licence with CLA Permits panel members, and the RAE Team –to display the material on screen or to print a copy for assessment; –to download and store copies of such material in digital form for the purpose of assessing any RAE submission; –to link to research outputs referred to in any submission via the DOI.

Licence (2) Permits HEIs to submit a copy in digital form or provide a photocopy of the full text of research outputs in any submission Where an HEI has a subscription permitting access to the full-text of a submitted research output, the HEI is authorised to download the publisher's PDF file for transmission to the RAE Team for RAE assessment purposes. For research outputs available in print, HEIs may provide photocopies or (where appropriate) the scanned digital form of the research output required for assessment.

Submitting Journal Articles Outputs of the type D Journal article only must be submitted in electronic format Alongside the other bibliographic data in RA2, we need the article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI) The DOI will enable the RAE team and panels to access the published version of journal articles in electronic form via publishers’ websites Journal articles with no DOI must still be made available “electronically” via PDF

Is it a journal article? If NO If YES MUST provide a DOI if available Submit scanned pdf when physical outputs are collected Is a DOI assigned? If NO If YES Prepare to submit physical copy Use CrossRef to check DOI Include in RA2 No need to submit hard copy

Working with CrossRef We appreciate DOIs may be new to some! We are working with CrossRef to allow HEIs to obtain and check the information required for the DOI field. Functionality has been added to the RAE data collection system to enable this. The CrossRef web-site supports the retrieval of DOIs through individual and small batch searches. Further information is at

Query on Cross Ref Can also look up batches

Other Research Outputs Other electronic material –Such as “Transient outputs” eg web-sites, some scholarly editions – we will require some physical evidence of the output at a fixed point during the publication period. Other published material – submit in paper form or scanned pdf (where licensed) Guidance, in matrix format, of the requirements for each output type, ie what needs to be supplied in each case and when

Contacts Data Queries – Reporting Bugs – Policy Queries – RAE website at

Questions and Discussion