Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the links below to jump to a topic, or scroll down to read the questions.

1. Authors or Byline
2. Books
3. Commercial Publishers
4. Dual Publication
5. Entering Data
6. Foreign Language Publications
7. ISBN/ISSN
8. Page Numbers
9. Publication Year
10. Verification Materials

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Authors or Byline

Q: Can I delete a miss-spelt author on ARIES?

A: No. Changes, additions and deletions of authors can only be done by the Research Office. Contact the ARIES help desk: RO IThelp or Phone 6125 1541, or Publications 6125 4182. To add an author we will need their ANU 'u' number as well as their current or last known ANU Department.

Q: What if the byline shows the ANU and another university?

A: Each university may claim the full value of the authors at their institution. For example, if the byline states that Mr X is affiliated with the ANU and UNSW, both the ANU and UNSW can claim this author at 100%. An affiliation is only split at less than 100% if the author shared research between different departments at the ANU. Use the appointment details box on the author screen to indicate the proportion of the appointment.

Q: What about authors who were only visiting the ANU temporarily?

A: If the author undertook research leading to the publication while at the ANU, but the byline lists another institution and not the ANU, ANU can still claim the publication if the author signs a statement certifying that he/she undertook the research leading to the publication while a visitor at the ANU. You will need evidence, such as an entry in an annual report, to show that the visitor was in the department.

Q: If a publication shows ANU as the author's affiliation, but the research was carried out elsewhere, can we still claim the author's contribution?

A: DIISR will accept the byline at face value, so the answer is yes, as long as the author is willing to sign the cover sheet which certifies that the details in ARIES are correct. If the author does not wish the ANU to claim the publication, regardless of the byline, due to the research being carried out elsewhere, he/she may not be willing to sign the coversheet for ANU to claim the publication.

Q: If a publication shows another university or organisation as the author's affiliation, but the research was carried out at ANU, can we still claim the author's contribution?

A: If the publication affiliates the author with another institution, but you know the research was done at the ANU, then we need a statement signed by the author stating that the research leading to the publication was carried out at the ANU. You can use the proforma. Advice by fax or email is acceptable.

Staff Affilliation Proforma

Q: What about adding authors external to ANU?

A: You will be able to do this, completing as many of the data fields as possible. You may find that the external author is already entered.

 

Books

Q: Can I claim a book if it is a revised edition?

A: Generally, no. However, if you can prove that the book has been substantially revised, you may be able to claim the book, or at least parts of it. For example, if new chapters have been added, you may claim the new chapters, as long as you can prove they were not in the previous edition (ie. you must provide the contents page and bibliography from the previous edition). If it is a later edition of an edited book, again, new chapters can be counted.

Q: Can I claim a translation or critical scholarly text?

A: Translations and critical scholarly texts may qualify if the notes and introduction are substantial enough to be viewed as a major scholarly work. Otherwise, it may only be possible to claim the introduction as a book chapter. If there are doubts, contact the Research Office.

Q: Can I claim a textbook?

A: Generally, no. If any part of the book refers to it as a 'textbook', it would generally be excluded. Textbooks are usually considered to be a synthesis of existing research, not the result of original research. If the book contains evidence of original research, it may qualify.

 

Commercial Publishers

Q: How do I know whether a publisher is commercial?
A: A commercial publisher is one whose core business is producing books and distributing them for sale. As a first step, check DEST's Register of Commercial Publishers. In addition the Research Office has compiled a list of approved publishers which is updated regularly. If the publisher is not listed in either list, search for the publisher on the web and see if there is evidence that the publisher would meet DEST's requirements. Otherwise, you can write to the publisher and ask for a statement that their business meets the requirements.

Q: Can chapters in art exhibition catalogues count in the DEST collection?
A: Generally no, although it depends on the content and the publishers. Galleries are generally not recognised as commercial publishers, although the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria are now accepted by DEST. However these chapters/articles can be entered as non-DEST categories.

 

Dual Publication

Q: What do I do if the same publication was published as a book chapter and a journal article or conference paper?
A: You may only claim the publication once, regardless of whether it was published in a different year in the other format. If the same author has published more than one chapter in the same book (including the chapter in question), the scoring system means that the double-published chapter will score better if it is claimed in a different format (ie journal article or conference paper). Otherwise, there is no difference between the categories. You may claim only one as a HERDC category and the other(s) as non-HERDC.

 

Entering Data

Q. Do I enter the authors in the same order as the publication, or my departmental authors first?
A. Always enter authors in the order they are listed on the publication - this makes it much easier for Research Office staff to pick up duplicates and also to match publications to make sure all ANU parts have been claimed. In addition, this will provide an accurate citation for annual report lists.

Q. What if I do not have all the information to complete the record?
A. You can still have an incomplete record in ARIES, as long as the mandatory elements are there. You may like to use the 'Notes' field to record what needs completion.

 

Foreign Language Publications

Q. What if the publication is in a foreign language?
A. According to DEST, any verification materials provided for a publication must be in English. This means that any foreign language materials should include a translation of the important information (eg. Referee status, year of publication etc). In the case of whole articles/chapters, it is sufficient to provide a translation of the abstract, or a summary of the publication's content. Similarly, for a book, a translation of the introduction, or part of the introduction, should suffice. There must be enough evidence in English to allow a positive assessment of the publication against the selection criteria.

 

ISBN/ISSN

Q. What if a publication's ISBN is more than 10 digits?
A. ARIES accepts up to 20 digit for ISBNs & ISSN, including hyphens and spaces.

Q. What if a journal has an ISBN number instead of an ISSN?
A. Check inside the front cover of the journal to confirm this number. If the journal has both an ISBN and an ISSN, enter the ISSN for the journal. Otherwise, contact the Research Office.

 

Page numbers

Q. How do I enter the page numbers of publications?
A. For whole books, enter the total number of pages (eg. 350); for everything else, enter the page range (eg. 120-180).

 

Publication year

Q. What if a journal article was published in the year preceding the collection year, but was not available until the collection year?
A. DEST judges the publication date as being the latest nominal date. For example, journal articles often have a copyright year and a year for the issue. If the copyright date is 2005, but the issue year is 2006, then the article must be counted in the 2006 collection. The same applies for online articles - this is important, as some journals may publish online in one year, but the issue year is the following year.

Q. What do I do if I find a publication which should have been included in a previous year's collection, but wasn't?
A. We can include 2007 publications in our submission of 2008 publications data, but only those publications which:

• contain a 2007 publication; and
• were published after the submission date for the 2007 data collection

We must be able to demonstrate (in the verification material) that the publication was not produced until after the submission date for that year’s publication return. i.e. that the publication, although containing a 2007 publication date, was not published until after 30 June 2008. A letter from the publisher will be considered sufficient verification material to support the claim.

 

Verification Materials

Q. Why do I have to provide copies of all the information?
A. The Research Office must verify that the publication claimed as a HERDC category meets the specifications provided by HERDC for that year. In most years, this information is subject to audit and we must have all documents ready to provide to the auditors at short notice. If any information is incorrect, the ANU can be penalised. We are currently investigating the possibility of providing electronic files or URLs, particularly for journal articles and conference papers, in order to reduce the amount of photocopying and paper waste/storage.

Q. Do you require verification materials for non-HERDC categories?
A. At this stage, we do not require these materials. However, the Research Office is currently re-evaluating data collection for non-DEST publications, so this may change in the future.

Q. Do you require a full copy of the article/paper/book chapter?
A. Yes. For all publication categories except books, we require a full copy of the publication. For books, we need a copy of the preface and/or introduction and/or the first chapter, if there is no preface or introduction. For all publications, you must provide proof of publication year, as well as other details such as commercial publisher (for books and book chapters) and referee status (for journal articles and conference papers). All publications must meet the HERDC criteria for research.

Q. What if I cannot access a copy of the publication or the right details?
A. Again, this is a case where the earlier you start looking, the better! This is especially true where academics have left your department during the year - it is much easier to get a copy of the publication from them before they leave, rather than the following year when they may be overseas and difficult to contact. If you cannot access the necessary materials in time for the Research Office to make an assessment of eligibility for the publication, the publication will be removed from the HERDC collection. It is important to try all avenues to locate information - for example, most journals publish on the web, or publishers often have detailed descriptions of books on their websites.

Q. What do I do with the materials once they have been sent back?
A. We no longer retain hard copies, but convert all evidence to PDF format.

Q. What else can I do to streamline the process?
A. The Research Office will want to know what progress you are making with the input of data into ARIES. Use the Notes field for any questions or problems of specific publications.

 

Lodge a Question

If you wish to lodge a question to the FAQ page, please send it to Margaret Richardson.