Excellence in Research in Australia 2010, 2012, and 2015: The Rising of the Curate's Soufflé?

Abstract

Objective

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) data collections completed in 2010, 2012, and 2015 were developed by the Australian Research Council to identify the quality of research produced by the broad range of Australian tertiary education institutions. In each evaluation, the quality of research produced by the institutions was rated on a 5‐point scale ranging from “well above world standard” to “well below world standard” within each field of research (FoR). The FoRs relevant to psychology include codes 1701 (Psychology), 1702 (Cognitive Sciences), and 17 (Psychology and Other Cognitive Sciences), a combination of the aforementioned codes.

Method

This analysis examined and compared the ratings of the 41 Australian universities across the years 2010, 2012, and 2015 for the psychology codes (i.e., 17, 1701, and 1702), as well as examining the combined means for all three data collections. The universities were also compared according to institution type (i.e., Group of 8, the Australian Innovative Research Universities, the Australian University Technology Network, and the Regional Universities Network across years. The final analysis compared other codes relevant to psychology across the years 2010, 2012, and 2015.

Results

Results of the analyses revealed an overall improvement in research ratings by the universities, with most improving or at least holding their ground.

Conclusion

It is still concerning that almost 40% of the institutions did not meet the benchmark of at or above world standard. Some of the issues associated with the ERA data collections are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving this process.

Key words:

• academic
• Australian Research Council
• Excellence in Research for Australia
• productivity
• publications
• research assessment