The Code of Practice is a document setting out the University's approach to determining which staff are eligible for, and which research outputs (e.g. journal articles, books) will be submitted to, REF 2021.

It is really important that all current academic members of staff understand the policies and processes outlined in the Code of Practice and are aware of expectations as relates to their contribution to REF.

It is recommended that you read all the information on this page and view the online REF Code of Practice webinar.

Yes. The REF exercise has changed considerably since 2014. Significantly, all eligible staff are automatically included in the submission; universities cannot select whether or not to include staff on the basis of the quality of their work. Additionally, staff are no longer required to submit 4 research outputs each. Instead, the total outputs required is calculated for the UoA as a whole. Each individual is required to contribute a minimum of 1 output, up to a maximum of 5. This flexibility eases the pressure of individuals and recognises the diversity of academic career trajectories.

All members of staff employed on 'teaching and research' contracts of 0.2FTE or greater are eligible and will be automatically included in the REF submission.

Members of staff employed on 'research only' contracts of 0.2FTE or greater will not normally be submitted unless they meet the REF definition of an independent researcher. The process for determining this is set out in Section 3 of the Code of Practice.

Staff employed on 'teaching only' or 'education only' contracts are not eligible for REF submission and will not be included.

If you are in any doubt as to your eligibility for REF, please contact your Head of School or designated REF Champion, contact details for whom can be accessed here.

The total volume of outputs required for submission is calculated and submitted at unit of assessment (‘UoA’) level, with flexible parameters for the amount that should be attributed to each individual.

Each UoA must submit a total number of outputs calculated by multiplying its full-time equivalent (FTE) staff volume on the census date (31 July 2020) by a factor of 2.5 and rounding to the nearest whole number.

Within the total outputs required, each individual submitted as part of the UoA must contribute a minimum of one output and no more than a maximum of five outputs each.

Outputs from former members staff which were published while they were employed at Queen’s as eligible staff can also be included, but will not increase the total outputs required.

There is a designated ‘REF Champion’ for each UoA responsible for coordinating REF preparations. Individual staff are periodically asked to ‘propose’ some of their outputs to be considered for submission to REF. The REF Champion coordinates internal and external peer review to determine a composite predicted grade for each output.

Submissions to REF 2021 are made at UoA level, rather than per individual. Scores for each output, or the submitted staff member that they are attributed to, are not published at any stage. The main outcome from REF 2021 - the overall scores for outputs, impact and environment – is also determined and published at HEI and UoA level.

Queen’s aspires to optimise these scores in REF 2021 and, consequently, its annual quality-related (QR) block grant funding and its position in reputational rankings. Therefore, the selection of outputs for submission to REF will be primarily informed by ranking outputs by their anticipated REF quality grading.

Where there is a surplus of outputs to choose from that cannot confidently be differentiated on quality measures, they should be evenly distributed across individuals in the unit.

Assessments and decisions made in preparing the REF submission will have no bearing on processes for the management of performance and career progression of individuals.

The University will not consider information relating to the number of outputs tagged to an individual in their UoA’s REF submission and/ or the internally projected REF gradings of these outputs as relevant. These are relative judgements made for REF purposes only and not an absolute judgement of the value or quality of research.

In order to promote equality and diversity in research careers, all institutions submitting to REF 2021 are required to put in place measures to recognise the effect that individuals’ circumstances may have had on research productivity.

Changes to the rules for REF 2021, since the previous exercise in 2014, afford submitting institutions enhanced flexibility in assembling their portfolio of submitted outputs, i.e. a minimum of one and no more than five outputs per individual within a total number of outputs required per unit. These changes have altered the options that UoAs have to recognise the effect of individuals’ circumstances. Full details on the University's approach to this can be accessed here.