Frequently Asked Questions | Research | Queen's University Belfast

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What is the REF?

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a performance based research funding exercise undertaken in the UK every 6-7 years. It assesses the quality of research in individual disciplines (UoAs) in universities to determine how must QR (block grant) funding for research they will be allocated each year. More information can be found out on the REF 2021 website.

What the REF means for me?

Research England have released a handy document that answers some of the most commonly asked questions from academics and researchers in relation to REF 2021.

Key questions for academics and researchers

Who is eligible for REF submission?

According to Research England "all staff with significant responsibility for research should be returned to the REF, provided that they are independent researchers."

What are the Units of Assessment (UoAs)?

REF is structured in individual academic disciplines or 'UoAs'. Please click here to link to the full list of Units of Assessment for REF 2021.

Who is the REF Champion and Impact Champion for my UoA?

Each UoA has individuals designated to oversee the REF planning process. They are key point of contact for academic staff in each area. Please click here to link to the current list of REF and Impact Champions in Queen’s

What is the role of expert panels in the assessment process in REF 2021?

Research quality in REF is assessed through expert-led peer review by panels of acadmics and research users. There are three different types of panel, the main panel, sub-panels and advisory panels. The main panel provides oversight and develops the criteria and guidance, the sub-panels review submissions and the advisory panels offer expert guidance on equality, diversity and interdisciplinary research etc. You can find out more about expert panels on the REF 2021 website

How many outputs are needed?

This depends on the size of the UoA. In REF 2021 each unit will require a total number of outputs calculated by ‘2.5 x FTE’ on 31 July 2020. All research active staff are required to submit a minimum of one output and UoAs can submit up to a maximum of five per indiviudal.

Will outputs be portable in REF 2021?

Where an individual has moved institutions during the REF period, their outputs may be submitted by both the institution employing them on the census date, and the institution where they were employed when the output was ‘demonstrably generated’ (defined as when it was first made publicly available).

How do I propose an output for review by my UoA for REF 2021?

Please click here for step-to-step guidelines on proposing an outout for review in Pure.

Will journal metrics be used to assess outputs?

According to Research England, "Quantitative data may be used to inform the assessment of outputs, where panels consider this appropriate for the discipline."

In the last REF journal metrics were considered in the following panels:

Sub-panel 1: Clinical Medicine
Sub-panel 2: Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care
Sub-panel 3: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
Sub-panel 4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Sub-panel 6: Agriculture, Veterinary, and Food Science
Sub panel 7: Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences
Sub-panel 8: Chemistry
Sub-panel 9: Physics
Sub-panel 11: Computer Science and Informatics

Will UoAs be able to request that monographs are double-weighted in REF 2021?

Institutions may request that outputs of extended scale and scope be double-weighted (count as two outputs) in the assessment.

Institutions’ requests for double-weighting must be accompanied by a statement of up to 100 words explaining how the scale and scope of the output satisfies certain criteria, detailed in the Panel Criteria and working methods (REF2010/02) document.

A reserve output may be submitted where a request for double-weighting is made. The reserve output may be attributed to any submitted member of staff, providing that it is in accordance with the minima and maxima requirements for attributing outputs to staff.

Why use external reviewers to assess work in preparation for REF 2021?

The institution recommends that UoAs undertake external review of a sample of outputs to calibrate/ provide assurance on internal grades. Where possible this should include input from former REF panellists.

How many case studies are required?

The number of case studies required depends on the FTE of the UoA. The initial threshold for impact case studies will be 20FTE. Submissions will therefore include a total of one case study, plus one further case study per up to 20 FTE staff returned for the first 20 FTE, after which one further case study will be required per up to 15 FTE. The requirement will decrease after 110 FTE, to one further case study per up to 50 FTE returned. Submissions will therefore include a minimum of two case studies.

Is there funding available to support my REF outputs and case studies?

There is a REF Support Fund and Impact Case Study Fund. Please click here for more information and application forms.

What will be covered in the environment statement?

Information is required about the environment for research and enabling impact for each submitting unit, relating to the period 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2020.

Each submission must include a single completed form, consisting of the following sections:

a. Unit context, research and impact strategy.

b. People, including: – staffing strategy and staff development – research students – equality and diversity.

c. Income, infrastructure and facilities.

d. Collaboration and contribution to the research base, economy and society.

institutions should draw on supporting quantitative indicators where applicable.

How much is the environment section worth?

The environment statement is worth 15% of the total REF submission.

Where can you find the open access policy for a journal?

You can find out more about a journal’s open access policy at SHERPA/RoMEO. Further information on open access can be found on the Library Open Access Support pages.

Where an author has published multiple books as volumes in a series, is there a standard rule or practice as to whether these should be submitted individually or as a single output?

REF does not specify any rules around submitting specific volumes of a series. UoAs may wish to think about whether the volumes can be seen as standalone or only make sense/make a contribution together. Paragraph 220 of the Guidance on submissions states that “Where two or more research outputs in a submission include significant material in common (for example, a journal article that also appears as a chapter in a book) the sub-panels will assess each output taking account of the common material only once. Where a sub-panel judges that they do not contain sufficiently distinct material and should be treated as a single output, an unclassified score would be given to the ‘missing’ output”.

Where an author has two pieces in a single journal special issue, should these be submitted as a single output or as separate individual outputs? Should the entire special issue be submitted as the output with the author’s contribution highlighted? For example, what if the author contributed both the introduction and conclusion which we consider taken together to be highly significant original research?

UoAs could submit the introduction and conclusion together as one output. It would be up to the institution to decide whether they want to submit the introduction and the conclusion together, or the whole special issue. If you choose to submit the entire issue you would need to consider if the whole thing demonstrated significance, originality and rigour and whether the author has made a material contribution to the entire special issue. If you choose to submit just the introduction/conclusion, you would need to be sure that this output still meets the REF definition of research (copied below, for ease).

For the purposes of the REF, research is defined as a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared.
It includes work of direct relevance to the needs of commerce, industry, culture, society, and to the public and voluntary sectors; scholarship ; the invention and generation of ideas, images, performances, artefacts including design, where these lead to new or substantially improved insights; and the use of existing knowledge in experimental development to produce new or substantially improved materials, devices, products and processes, including design and construction. It excludes routine testing and routine analysis of materials, components and processes such as for the maintenance of national standards, as distinct from the development of new analytical techniques. It also excludes the development of teaching materials that do not embody original research.
It includes research that is published, disseminated or made publicly available in the form of assessable research outputs, and confidential reports (as defined in paragraph 261).