Guides: Research Output Reporting: RPDC

Important Note

UniSC is collecting publications as per the specifications below for the internal Research Publications Data Collection (RPDC) as well as in preparation for a future research quality evaluation.

Research Publications Data Collection (RPDC)

RPDC is an annual internal report, and one of the main sources of information to measure research activity.

What is a research publication?

Publishing a research paper involves more than simply sharing findings in the public domain. It entails rigorous quality control measures, typically including peer review or editorial assessment, aimed at enhancing the work's validity and impact. This process often encompasses multiple stages, including thorough evaluation, editing for clarity and coherence, copy-editing for grammar and style consistency, design considerations, and formatting to meet publication standards.

A research publication typically demonstrates:

Contribution to the advancement of knowledge.
Substantial scholarly engagement, showcasing a comprehensive review of relevant literature, an understanding of the historical context of the topic, and clear source tracing through citations and footnotes.
Originality, presenting new insights or application rather than merely compiling existing works.
Validity, established through rigorous peer review or adherence to quality control standards set by reputable publishers.
Accessibility for dissemination, available in various formats including print, online, or digital media.

Definition of Research

Research, as per the Australian Research Council, entails creating new knowledge or innovatively applying existing knowledge to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions, and understandings.

Following OECD standard, the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines Research and Development (R&D) as systematic work aimed at expanding knowledge and developing new applications.

Both definitions highlight research as a creative and systematic process aimed at advancing the stock of knowledge and/or devising novel practical applications.

Activities meeting the definitions of research (and development) include:

Management of staff directly engaged in research or providing support to research endeavours.
Provision of professional, technical, administrative, or clerical support directly engaged in activities essential to the conduct of research.
Supervision of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students undertaking training and/or course work.
Engagement in research activities and training by HDR students.
Development of HDR training programs and courses.
Research and experimental development in applications software, new programming languages, and new operating systems.

Activities that do not support the conduct of research are:

Engagement with commercial, legal, and administrative aspects of patenting, copyright, or licensing.
Routine computer programming, systems work, or software maintenance.
Standardisation and routine testing and analysis of materials.
General-purpose or routine data collection.
Scientific and technical information services.
Feasibility studies (except when an integral part of R&D projects).
Specialised routine medical care.
Literature reviews that predominantly summarise current knowledge and findings of a research field or topic without critical assessment or reporting new insights or findings of original experimental work.

Eligibility criteria for RPDC publications

All publications submitted for RPDC reporting must meet the following criteria:

Meet the definition of research, see Definition of Research.
Show evidence of affiliation to the University of the Sunshine Coast in the byline of the publication
- The author of the research publication being submitted for the RPDC must have their UniSC affiliation stated in the byline or elsewhere in the publication.
- If affiliations are not included as part of the work and the research underlying the publication was carried out while being employed at UniSC, an Author Affiliation Statement must be completed.
Must have been published in the relevant calendar year
- The relevant calendar year is the published year prior to the collection year. For example, the 2024 RPDC Collection refers to research publications listed as published in the 2023 calendar year. The publication year must be within or on the work being claimed.

To be included in RPDC reporting, publications must meet the definition of research, meet the specific criteria below, and can only be counted once, regardless of the format it is published in.

All authored research books must meeting the following criteria:

Must be a major work of scholarship and meet the definition of research (as described in the 'All Publications' tab)
Must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
Must be written by a single author, or by joint authors who share responsibility for the whole book
Must have been published by a commercial publisher or have been peer reviewed.

The types of books that may meet the criteria include:	The types of books that do not meet the criteria include:
Critical scholarly texts New interpretations of historical events New ideas or perspectives based on established research findings	Textbooks Anthologies Creative works Edited works Translations (unless they have a major demonstrable original research component) Revisions or new editions Manuals and handbooks Theses

All book chapters in research books must meeting the following criteria:

Must be a major work of scholarship and meet the definition of research (as described in the 'All Publications' tab)
Must have an ISBN
Must have been published by a commercial publisher or have been peer reviewed

The types of book chapters that may meet the criteria include:	The types of book chapters that do not* meet the criteria include:
Scholarly introduction of chapter length to an edited volume, where the content of the introduction reports research and makes a substantial contribution to a defined area of knowledge. Critical scholarly text of chapter length Critical reviews of current research	Chapters in textbooks Entries in reference books Anthologies Revisions of chapters in edited books Forewards Brief introductions Brief editorials Appendices Literary or creative pieces Translations (unless they have a major demonstrable original research component) Case studies Encyclopaedia entries * Unless they meet all the criteria for inclusion.

The types of book chapters that may meet the criteria include:

The types of book chapters that do not* meet the criteria include:

Scholarly introduction of chapter length to an edited volume, where the content of the introduction reports research and makes a substantial contribution to a defined area of knowledge.
Critical scholarly text of chapter length
Critical reviews of current research

Chapters in textbooks
Entries in reference books
Anthologies
Revisions of chapters in edited books
Forewards
Brief introductions
Brief editorials
Appendices
Literary or creative pieces
Translations (unless they have a major demonstrable original research component)
Case studies
Encyclopaedia entries

* Unless they meet all the criteria for inclusion.

All refereed journal articles must meeting the following criteria:

Must meet the definition of research (as described in the 'All Publications' tab)
Must be published in a scholarly journal
Must have been peer reviewed
Must have an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

The types of journal articles that may meet the criteria include:	The types of journal articles that do not meet the criteria include:
Commentaries and communications of original research Research notes Letters to journals, provided the letter satisfies the definition of research and the requirements for journal articles in this section Critical scholarly texts which appear in article form Articles reviewing multiple works or an entire field of research Invited papers in journals Articles in journals targeted to both scholars and professionals Articles in stand-alone series	Letters to the editor Case studies Articles designed to inform practicioners on existing knowledge in a professional field Articles in newspapers or popular magazines Editorials Book reviews Brief commentaries and communications of original research Reviews of art exhibitions, concerts and theatre productions

The types of journal articles that may meet the criteria include:

The types of journal articles that do not meet the criteria include:

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

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

All refereed conference papers must meeting the following criteria:

Must meet the definition of research (as described in the 'All Publications' tab)
Must be published in full
The full paper must be peer reviewed, not just the abstract
Must be presented at a conference, workshop or seminar of national or international significance

The types of conference papers that do not meet the criteria include:
Papers that appear only in a volume that is handed out to conference participants Keynote addresses Plenary addresses Poster presentations Abstracts of conference publications

Non-Traditional Creative Works (NTROs) must satisfy the same criteria as RPDC publications in the "All publications" tab, as well as:

the work must have been made publicly available,
the work must have been created by the authors, and
the work must be accompanied by a research statement.

Further information on NTRO eligibility criteria can be found here.

If you have an NTRO research output that you wish to claim, let the Library know the details by logging into your Researcher Profile and depositing your output. Further information about depositing research outputs to the Research Bank can be found here.

Please also email your Research Statement to research-repository@usc.edu.au

What is a commercial publisher?

For eligibility reporting purposes, authored books and book chapters in edited volumes must be published by a commercial publisher. The requirement for a commercial publisher serves as a substitute for formal peer review, which is necessary for journal articles and conference papers.

A commercial publisher is defined as an entity whose primary business is producing and distributing books for sale. Such publishers operate independently of subsidies from parent organizations or third parties.

University presses and similar self-supporting entities are also considered commercial publishers if they oversee both the printing and distribution of publications, alongside maintaining responsibility for scholarly quality.

Note: Conference proceedings do not require publication by a commercial publisher to be eligible. Authored books and book chapters not published by a commercial publisher may still qualify if they have undergone a formal peer review process.

Publishers that may not be eligible include:

Publishing units within faculties at universities.
Publishing arms of museums or galleries.
Clearinghouses, primarily facilitating distribution without engaging in the traditional publishing process.
Companies hired solely for printing or distribution, without involvement in the editing process or risk-taking in publishing decisions.
Companies that publish books but subcontract printing and/or distribution, thus lacking responsibility for the entire publishing process.
"Vanity presses," which are publishing houses where authors pay to have their books published. Vanity presses typically offer publishing services for a fee, with authors retaining control over the content and bearing the financial responsibility for publication.

What is peer review?

For the purposes of the reporting eligibility, an acceptable peer review process is one that involves impartial and independent critical assessment or review of the research publication in its entirety before publication, conducted by independent, qualified experts. Independent in this context means independent of the author.

Peer review is a requirement for journal articles and conference publications as well as for books and book chapters that are not published by a commercial publisher.

For journals, any of the following are acceptable as evidence of a peer review process:

listed in Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge Master Journal List
classified as ‘refereed’ in the Ulrich’s Knowledgebase
a statement in the journal which shows that contributions are peer reviewed
a statement or acknowledgement from the journal editor, that states that certain contributions are peer reviewed
a copy of a reviewer’s assessment of the individual article.

For conference publications, any of the following are acceptable as evidence of peer review:

a statement in the conference proceedings, that shows that contributions have been peer reviewed
a statement or acknowledgement from the editor of the conference proceeding, that shows that contributions have been peer reviewed
a copy of a reviewer’s assessment of the conference paper.

For books and book chapters that are not published by a commercial publisher, any of the following are acceptable as evidence of peer review:

a statement in the book or edited volume, that shows that contributions are peer reviewed and in the case that this does not apply to the full content of the edited volume, a statement that indicates which of the chapters are peer reviewed.
a statement or acknowledgement from the publisher or editor that shows that contributions are peer reviewed.
a copy of a reviewer’s assessment relating to the book or book chapter.

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

Contacts

For further information on RPDC or ERA reporting:

Library Services - UniSC Research Bank

Rebecca Cooke - Senior Digital Library Officer, Library Services

Office of Research

Research Performance Information & Systems, Office of Research