The Australian Government will begin the Research Quality Framework
(RQF) assessment process in 2008, which will affect funding for
Universities from 2009. A proportion of the assessment will be based on
citation indices. The Quality Metrics Working Group recommended that
bibliometrics, citation data, grant income data and tiered ranking of
discipline-specific research outputs be used in the RQF assessment process
to assist rating research quality.
Whilst impact factors will not contribute solely to funding outcomes,
and particular fields of research will be examined using different
methods, it remains clear that impact factors will play a role in the
distribution of funds within the higher education sector in Australia in
the future.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
21 March 2007
Peter J Woolf
Senior Research Officer
School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Population Health Building, Herston, 4006
Rapid Response:
Australia to use indices for research quality
The Australian Government will begin the Research Quality Framework
(RQF) assessment process in 2008, which will affect funding for
Universities from 2009. A proportion of the assessment will be based on
citation indices. The Quality Metrics Working Group recommended that
bibliometrics, citation data, grant income data and tiered ranking of
discipline-specific research outputs be used in the RQF assessment process
to assist rating research quality.
Whilst impact factors will not contribute solely to funding outcomes,
and particular fields of research will be examined using different
methods, it remains clear that impact factors will play a role in the
distribution of funds within the higher education sector in Australia in
the future.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests