The UWA 2020 Vision notes the University aims 'to maximise the benefits of research by advancing fundamental knowledge and contributing to better public policy, improved health outcomes, economic prosperity, social cohesion, international development, community identity, and the creative arts'.
Strategic goal
The strategic goal is for the University to strive for an international research agenda of relevance to the communities it serves.
Services
UWA undertakes research across all disciplines focused on issues of relevance to its communities and industries while generating understanding and solutions of global value, and offers high-quality research training principally through its higher degrees by research programs.
Key performance indicators
Achievement of this objective will be measured using the following indicators:
Indicator 2.1 Research grants
The research funds allocated to an institution provide an indication of its effectiveness in conducting research. The Australian Competitive Grant (ACG) funds are particularly significant indicators of research performance because they are allocated on the basis of competitive bids under specified schemes by bodies that include the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), primary industry research and development corporations, other Commonwealth departments, and organisations such as the Australian Kidney Foundation.
Overall, the University received 5.46 per cent of all research funding reported on the Commonwealth Government's 2014 Research Income and Publications Data Collection. This equates to an average of $161,581 per academic staff FTE at lecturer Level B or above, (excluding casual appointments), or sixth in the nation, which was below our target of third or higher. The University obtained $107.6m, or 5.99 per cent of the ACG funds allocated to Australian higher education institutions in 2014.
The University will continue to seek further increases in its research income to grow its research capacity.
Research income awarded to UWA, 2010 to 2014(a)
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total research income ($M) | 172.754 | 197.100 | 210.047 | 214.442 | 204.561 |
| Australian Competitive Grant income ($M) | 84.066 | 92.158 | 100.593 | 108.893 | 107.662 |
| International research income ($M) | 11.908 | 10.433 | 10.176 | 11.722 | 11.716 |
| Research contract income ($M) | 27.916 | 30.481 | 32.318 | 29.894 | 18.995 |
| Share of national research income | 5.62% | 6.06% | 6.15% | 6.02% | 5.46% |
| Total research income per academic staff FTE at Level B+(b) | $149,960 | $168,605 | $171,607 | $171,280 | $161,581 |
| National rank(c) | 6th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 6th |
(a) Research income as reported on the 2010 to 2014 Higher Education Research Data Collections.
(b) Full-time equivalence of academic staff at lecturer Level B and above, excluding casual appointments.
(c) UWA rank on total research income per academic staff FTE at Level B+ relative to Australian universities.
Source: Commonwealth Government Higher Education Research Data Collections
Indicator 2.2 Publication rates
The numbers of refereed publications in reputable journals and other publications are effectiveness indicators that measure the research output of a university while the numbers of weighted publications per academic staff FTE are efficiency indicators that give an indication of research productivity. The numbers of citations of journal articles provide an indication of the impact of the University's research; i.e. they measure how effective the University is at research.
The table below shows a marginal increase in citations generated by UWA articles in Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) indexed journals since 2014, following three years of substantial growth. UWA's high growth rate in citation numbers in previous years was due mainly to improvements made in attributing articles to institutions and an expansion in the journals covered. As the indexation process stabilises, it is inappropriate to continue the practice of setting a target based on the annual growth achieved over the preceding three years. The 2015 target was derived by applying a two per cent growth factor to the value achieved for 2014.
Total annual citations generated by UWA articles in ISI indexed journals, 2012 to 2015
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2015 target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citations | 11,285 | 13,361 | 16,608 | 16,919 | 16,940 |
| Annual growth rate | 17.0% | 18.4% | 24.3% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
Source: Citation Reports from the ISI Web of Knowledge, searching the Web of Science using OG=(University of Western Australia) AND PY=(2013 OR 2014). Refined by: Document Type=(ARTICLE) for 2015 result. Data are captured as at 31st March each year.
The following table shows that the average number of weighted publications per academic staff FTE at the University has continued to increase each year since 2010. UWA's total of 2.010 weighted publications per FTE was the seventh highest publication rate nationally, which was the target for this year.
It should be noted that the figures relate only to the publications reported on the 2010 to 2014 Commonwealth Government Higher Education Research Data Collections and do not purport to cover the complete range of publications produced by the University's staff during that period.
Selected research publications(a) by type of publication per academic staff FTE(b),UWA, 2010 to 2014
| Type of publication | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books—authored research | 0.018 | 0.015 | 0.016 | 0.025 | 0.016 |
| Book chapters | 0.151 | 0.154 | 0.151 | 0.156 | 0.168 |
| Article in scholarly refereed journal | 1.318 | 1.518 | 1.583 | 1.547 | 1.575 |
| Full written paper—refereed proceedings | 0.223 | 0.209 | 0.185 | 0.178 | 0.188 |
| UWA weighted total(c) | 1.782 | 1.957 | 2.000 | 2.006 | 2.010 |
| National weighted total(c) | 1.641 | 1.636 | 1.725 | 1.825 | 1.788 |
| Ratio | 1.086 | 1.196 | 1.159 | 1.099 | 1.124 |
| UWA national rank | 8th | 7th | 7th | 7th | 7th |
(a) Research publications as reported on the 2010 to 2014 Commonwealth Government Higher Education Research Data Collections.
(b) Full-time equivalence of academic staff at lecturer Level B or above, excluding casual appointments.
(c) Applying the weights used by the Department of Industry to allocate the 2014 Research Infrastructure Block Grants, Research Training Scheme, and InstitutionalGrant Scheme.
Source of staff FTE: Commonwealth Government Higher Education Staff Collection, 2014, Staff 2014: Selected Higher Education Statistics Tables: Full-Time Equivalence Table 1.7, viewed 12 January, 2016
Source of publications: Commonwealth Government Higher Education Research Data Collection, 2014, 2014 Research Income and Publications Data by Sub Category, viewed 12 January 2016
Indicator 2.3 Higher degree by research completions
The number of Higher Degrees by Research (HDRs) completed per 10 academic staff FTE is an efficiency indicator that measures the productivity of teaching-and-research and research-only staff in research training. It should be noted that the University uses external examiners with international reputations to ensure that the degrees conferred are of the highest international standard.
The targets of 2.45 doctorate by research completions, and 0.55 master's degree by research completions, per 10 FTE teachingand- research and research-only academic staff at lecturer Level B or above (excluding casual staff appointments) were set by calculating a one per cent increase on the average of the previous four years' completion rates.
The number of weighted HDR completions per 10 academic staff FTE was 4.82 in 2014, below the target of 5.44. This was a result of both doctorates and master's degrees by research completion rates decreasing.
The HDR completion per separation rate was 57.2 per cent in 2014, which was below the University's target of 59.4 per cent.
The University is undertaking a range of strategies to improve the recruitment, and the retention and completion rates of HDR students.
Higher degree by research completions at UWA, 2010 to 2014
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2014 target | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDR completions(a) per 10 academic staff FTE(b) | |||||||
| Doctorate by research | 2.21 | 2.26 | 2.71 | 2.52 | 2.21 | 2.45 | |
| Master's degree by research | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.57 | 0.51 | 0.41 | 0.55 | |
| Total | 2.71 | 2.85 | 3.28 | 3.02 | 2.62 | 2.99 | |
| Weighted(c) total | 4.92 | 5.11 | 5.99 | 5.54 | 4.82 | 5.44 | |
| National rank | 10th | 10th | 5th | 12th | 16th | ||
| HDR completion per separation rate | 56.0% | 59.3% | 60.7% | 59.3% | 57.2% | 59.4% | |
(a) Excludes higher doctorate completions. There was only one in 2010 and 2011, and nil since.
(b) Average of past three years' staff FTE for academic staff in academic organisational units with a teaching-and-research or research-only appointment at Level B orabove (excluding casual staff FTE).
(c) Doctorates are weighted as 2 and master's degrees by research as 1.
Source of completions:Commonwealth Government Higher Education Student Data Collections 2010–2014
Source of staff FTE: data request to Universities Australia
Indicator 2.4 Higher degree by research student satisfaction
The satisfaction of higher degree by research graduates and students recorded respectively on the national Postgraduate Research Experience Questionnaire (PREQ) and on the University's On Supervision, Candidacy and Research (OSCAR) surveys measures are effectiveness indicators.
The PREQ is a key part of the Australian Graduate Survey, conducted by universities and other higher education providers approximately four months after students complete their courses. Respondents to the PREQ are asked to record their responses to statements about various aspects of their courses. One such statement concerns Overall Satisfaction, where respondents record the extent to which they agree with the statement 'Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of the course'. The figures in the table below give the percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, i.e. responses of 4 or 5 on the five- point scale.
The OSCAR survey is an internal survey conducted at the end of each year that asks HDR students to rate their postgraduate experience in the past year by expressing disagreement/ agreement on a four-point scale for 15 statements. The last of these statements is 'Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my higher degree research experience'. The figures in the table below give the percentage of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, i.e. responses of 3 or 4 on the four- point scale.
The table shows the proportion of positive responses to the PREQ Overall Satisfaction item achieved the target of 87 per cent in 2015. The proportion of positive responses to the OSCAR Overall Satisfaction item was 84 per cent in 2015, which is below the target of 89 per cent.
The University will continue to analyse these survey results and devise and implement appropriate strategies in light of these and other internal survey results to further enhance the quality of the HDR student experience at UWA.
Higher degree by research student satisfaction, 2011 to 2015
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2015 target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREQ(a) overall satisfaction index | 84% | 89% | 85% | 87% | 87% | 87% |
| PREQ response rate | 61% | 64% | 66% | 63% | 60% | |
| OSCAR(b) overall satisfaction question | 88% | 87% | 90% | 89% | 84% | 89% |
| OSCAR response rate | 29% | 24% | 30% | 30% | 36% |
(a) Percentage of responses of students who completed a higher degree by research that were 4 or 5 on the five-point scale for overall satisfaction.
(b) Percentage of responses of higher degree by research students that responded to the University's OSCAR survey Question 15 with 'agree' or 'strongly agree' on the four-point scale.
Source: Graduate Careers Australia for cleaned SAS datasets for PREQ; Performance Analytics for OSCAR.