HERDC: B - Book Chapter

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Publication weighting: 1 point for the first chapter and less for subsequent chapters by the author in the same book
Coversheet: B - Book Chapter HERDC Coversheet (updated January 2008)

The following criteria must be satisfied for a book chapter to be accepted for the HERDC. The information below is based on the 2008 HERDC Specifications for the collection of 2007 data.

Please note: This category refers to a contribution, consisting substantially of new material, to an edited compilation in which the material is subject to editorial scrutiny. The book chapter should also meet the General Publication Requirement for inclusion in the HERDC.

A book chapter:

1. must be published or available in 2007 - the book must have a 2007 copyright, available or published year
2. must meet the HERDC Definition of Research
3. must be original material - if the book chapter is based on a journal article or conference paper that has already been submitted to the HERDC in the current or previous years it cannot be submitted again in the form of a book chapter unless it constitutes substantial new knowledge and constitutes original research. Similarly for a revised or later edition book only new chapters or those containing a substantial amount of new material can be submitted.
4. must be offered for sale - either as a bound hard copy, a packaged CD Rom or an e-book on a subscription or fee basis
5. must have an ISBN - International Standard Book Number
6. must be published by a Commercial Publisher
7. at least one of the authors must be affiliated with QUT (see section 9.4 - Author Affiliation)

Types of book chapters that may meet the criteria include

• a 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
• a critical scholarly text of chapter length, e.g. in music, medieval or classical texts
• critical reviews of current research.

Book chapters unlikely to meet the criteria

• chapters in textbooks
• entries in reference books
• anthologies
• revisions of chapters in edited books - unless it contains substantial new material
• forewords
• brief introductions
• brief editorials
• appendices
• literary or creative pieces such as collections of short stories
• translations

How the weighting works

The first book chapter by an author in a book is worth 1 point however this is divided equally between the number of authors. If a book chapter has 3 authors, all QUT staff or students, then each author gets 0.333 author points and QUT gets 1 point. If a book chapter has 4 authors, 2 QUT staff or students and 2 external authors, each author gets 0.25 author points and QUT gets 0.5 points.

For subsequent chapters in a book by the same author each chapter is worth less than one. This is due to the fact an entire book is worth 5 points, so without a reduced calculation for subsequent chapters a single author who did 7 chapters of a 14 chapter book could end up with 7 points.

The book chapter weighting is automatically calculated on the RM Database and appears on all publication reports.

Further information:

• FAQs - Frequently asked questions (updated December 2007)

B - Book Chapter HERDC Coversheet

• B - Book Chapter Verification Material Information
• General Coversheet Guidelines
• HERDC Additional Authors Sheet
• Statement of QUT Affiliation
• HERDC Publications - Instructions for Authors
• HERDC Publications - Instructions for Administrators