HERDC: Instructions for Administrators

[Print-friendly version]

Internal Deadline: The collection of 2008 publications opened in September 2008. Research administrators must ensure that all the HERDC publication coversheets and verification material are submitted to the Office of Research by Friday 27 March 2009.

Please remember that most authors can view their submitted publications and the status of each via the Research Activity Database (RAD) as soon as they have been entered onto RM. If authors do not have access to RAD, you can provide them with a detailed list of their publications by running the '201 - RPT Publ Summary by Author' report.

Publication categories

There are four HERDC publication categories. For information on these categories, including the criteria that must be satisfied to ensure inclusion in the HERDC please follow the links below:

1. A1 - Book
2. B - Book Chapter
3. C1 - Refereed Journal Article
4. E1 - Refereed Conference Paper

What administrators need to do

The publication information needs to be entered onto RM by a Research Administrator (or data entrant). Email RM Support for access and training on RM. It is important that all administrators entering publications on RM are trained in both the data entry and the HERDC Process.

If there are changes in your area to the people entering publications it is important to email us so that the Research Administrator list can be updated, the staff can be added to the Publication Contacts email list and new staff receive proper training on RM and an induction to the HERDC.

Read our FAQs for answers to specific questions.

The Process

1. The first-named QUT author of a publication is responsible for submitting the publication to the HERDC. However the second or third named QUT author on a publication should confirm that the publication has been submitted. Please check through the Office of Research whether publications co-authored across different areas of QUT have been submitted.
2. The author submits the coversheet and the verification material to the research administrator by February 2009. Please note, all publications for the HERDC must meet the General Requirements, the HERDC Definition of Research (DOR) and the criteria specified for the publication category.
3. The publication is checked by a nominated academic staff member within the Faculty/Institute to ensure it meets the HERDC Definition of Research (DOR). The academic staff member will be designated by your Assistant Dean (Research) or Chair, Faculty/Institute Research Committee. Please note that if QUT is audited by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), the Faculty/Institute will be responsible for justifying any queries related to the DOR of their publications and their RTS/IGS funding reduced by the amount of any penalty DEEWR impose.
4. The publication is entered in the ResearchMaster (RM) database by the research administrator.
5. The research administrator sends the publication to the Office of Research, Level 3, O Block Podium, GP for verification by the 27 March 2009. Administrators can check those received by the Office of Research by running publication report 'P103 – RPT Publications Status for Current Collection'.
6. The Office of Research verifies the publication and checks it for:
   1. General Compliance - ie correct year, QUT author affiliation, scholarly publication, proof of publishing
   2. Category Compliance - eg book is not an edited book, conference paper is at conference of national/international importance, etc
   3. All requested verification material supplied - eg proof of peer review, copy of the publication, etc
   4. RM Record - information entered on RM database is checked and then verified
   5. Duplication - a publication can only be submitted once to the HERDC
7. Notifications: If the publication does not pass the various verification checks listed above, an email will be sent to the authors and their research administrator advising them that the publication has been moved out of the HERDC and into the QUT Scholarly Collection. If authors wish to dispute this or provide additional verification material this must be forwarded to the Office of Research by Friday 1 May 2009 in order for their publication to be reconsidered for the HERDC.
8. If the publication meets verification checks i) to iv) listed above the publication will be provisionally accepted for the Collection. Authors can view their submitted publications and the status of each via the Research Activity Database (RAD). If authors do not have access to RAD, administrators can provide them with a detailed list of their publications by running the '201 - RPT Publ Summary by Author' report.
9. Administrators can check the status of all the publications entered by their research area by running report 'P103 – RPT Publications Status for Current Collection'.
10. The Collection is finalised and figures submitted to DEEWR in June 2009.

RM Entry Format and Reports

Visit the ResearchMaster Publication Information pages for an overview of how research publications are recorded within RM, instructions on how to enter publications and information on running publication reports.

Useful Links

• FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
• Classifications and Codes (FOR-08 codes)
• HERDC: A1 - Books
• HERDC: B - Book Chapters
• HERDC: C1 - Journal Articles
• HERDC: E1 - Conference Papers
• HERDC Specifications
• Statement of QUT Affiliation - the HERDC specifications state that any QUT author that is not listed as affiliated to QUT on the actual publication (and who should be considered as a QUT author), must complete a statement verifying that the publication resulted from research activity undertaken whilst a QUT staff member or student. This statement should be submitted to their research administrator with their verification material.
• ResearchMaster Publications Module - to access training manuals and report templates for the publications module
• ePrints

• Instructions for Administrators - QUT Scholarly Collection
• Instruction for Authors - HERDC