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University of Reading

Research strategy: Research Outputs Support System (ROSS)

Friday, 13 November 2015

Research Outputs Support System (ROSS)

The University Strategy and the 2020 Research Plan aim to make Reading one of the best universities in the world. To achieve this in a highly competitive environment, we will support mechanisms to enhance our research environment, the quality and quantity of research outputs, and their dissemination and visibility. 

For research outputs, the University has developed a new software tool within CentAUR. The Research Outputs Support System (ROSS) will draw from research outputs deposited on CentAUR to create individual, divisional and institutional summaries of outputs. It will also provide a means to collect information on large-scale works in progress, such as monographs. 

Using ROSS, we will collect information twice yearly on quality assessment of selected outputs. Research Division Leaders will feed this information into the tool based on their division's tailored arrangements for assessing research outputs to support the enhancement of their quality.

The analysis of the information collected through ROSS will support planning for research at a variety of scales. The first process for reporting quality assessment started on 10 November and will continue until 1 December. During this period, Research Division Leaders will work with their Research Division communities to determine the most appropriate processes for outputs to be scored.

What do I need to do?

  • View your individual ROSS report. Log in on CentAUR with your University username and password, and click the 'ROSS report' button on the left menu. Guidance can be found here.
  • Add any missing publications by depositing them in CentAUR in the normal way. They will appear in your ROSS report once checked and made live by CentAUR staff. 
  • To update items already in CentAUR (e.g. from in-press to published status) email the details to centaur@reading.ac.uk.
  • Add monographs which are in early stages of development, and not yet accepted for publication, to CentAUR using the new Work in Progress page which you will see when you start to add a new item (this will later be developed to include other work in progress outputs). Work in progress monographs will be visible in your ROSS report if selected for assessment. They will not be publicly visible in CentAUR. Guidance can be found here. 
  • Look out for communications from your Research Division Leader on selection of outputs and quality assessment processes.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What support will be provided to enhance quality of outputs?

Enhancement of quality of research outputs will be enabled through planning, mentoring and assessment at various stages of the research, analysis and writing process, tailored to individual needs, career stages, and different cultures of research disciplines. Specific activities envisaged include individual publication planning (early in the research process) and mentoring. 

How will these activities be tailored to different needs?

This tailoring will be by agreement between Research Deans and individual Research Division Leaders based on two overarching principles:

(i) upstream processes before submission for publication will increase  the quality of our research publications,  e.g. through a publication strategy developed as part of Individual Research Plans, improved targeting of journals or publishers, and stronger internal peer review and formative feedback;

(ii) post-publication review will improve our ability to identify the highest quality papers for a variety of purposes, such as research communications, career development,  external prize/award nominations and meeting the needs of the next REF exercise. 

Will all my research outputs be assessed and included in the ROSS report?

It will not be a requirement to provide periodic scores for all outputs of individual staff, but for a selection of outputs instead. The expectation is that all members of a Research Division will have a number of outputs assessed and quality reported through the ROSS report. It is also expected that, should there be a further REF, outputs considered for submission will have previously been assessed and included in ROSS reports.

How will quality assessment be undertaken?

There are no specific requirements for quality assessment processes. Research Divisions are expected to develop effective processes which may include a combination of self-assessment and selective scrutiny/scoring of a subset by a Research Division Leader or their delegate.  Any process should ensure the above overarching principles are met.