There are other indicators of research impact besides metrics, some of these are listed below.
These could be recorded in a portfolio or notebook. Just list the activity, date, and relevance to your research:
Engagement and Impact Assessment (EI)
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced that the next round of the Engagement and Impact Assessment (EI) will be 2024 – more information. Does your research have impact? Are there people benefiting from the outcomes of your research? To lodge your research impact story complete this form. View here for examples of UniSA's impact stories.
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All types of recordings should be considered for impact, including music, audio, film, TV, podcasts, and video art. The impact of audio and video recordings can be difficult to demonstrate, however you can show distribution and reach by using: |
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Published creative writing could include fiction, poetry, screenplays, scripts, pieces of journalism, published speeches, reviews (art, books, performances) and exhibition catalogues. Evidence of the impact of these outputs can include: |
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Metrics for books and chapters |
Below is an example statement for a book or chapter
Sutherland, A. (2009). The Albatross in Music and Art. Melbourne: Bird Publications.
Monograph detailing novel approach to critical evaluation used in 7 major projects. 4 reviews in major publications. Held in 33 academic libraries worldwide.
Book reviews
These can provide evidence of the esteem in which your publication is held by others in your discipline. These metrics may be useful for promotion, employment and grant applications. To find book reviews you can search for a book title using quotation marks in the University of South Australia Library Collection, and then filter under “Resource Type” to “Reviews”.
Library holdings can give an indication of the reach of your publication, and demonstrate that it is considered useful for teaching and research purposes.​ Below are some catalogues that you can search for your holdings.
Google Scholar
Search Google Scholar to find citation metrics for book or book chapters – see below.
Other measures of impact that may be useful:
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Live performances can include theatre, dance, music, spoken word performances, and performance art. Evidence of impact of performances may be demonstrated by: |
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Evidence of impact for individual artworks often needs to be collected and managed personally. Evidence can include: |
Artworks in any medium may be considered. Exhibitions of multiple artworks (as an artist and/or curator) should be treated separately
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Evidence of impact for the exhibitions of multiple artworks may need to be collected and managed personally. Some information may need to be sought from the venue or gallery. Impact might be demonstrated by: |
Individual artworks in any medium should be treated separately
An alternative metric to measure the impact of your research are altmetrics. These are sometimes used in conjunction with citation and journal metrics or as an alternative. Altmetrics are collected from online sources such as Tweets, Comments, Posts etc. They can be found by using the Altmetric Explorer database or other sources such as catalogues, publisher’s website etc.
See the Altmetrics section of this guide for more information.
The Research Outputs Repository includes records of research outputs by UniSA staff, PhD and Masters by Research students. This maximises the visibility of their research outputs and meets the requirements of the UniSA Open Access Policy.
Non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) such as creative works, public exhibitions and research reports for an external body can be deposited into the Repository. However, to be eligible for Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) and to appear on a Staff Home Page and Academic Staff Activity Report a NTRO must meet the ERA definitions of research and a research statement must be supplied.
Refer to the Non-Traditional Research Outputs site for more information about submission and to view examples of research statements.
Example of Creative Work in the Research Outputs Repository:
This content has been adapted from the Guide to Research Impact for your Creative Outputs with permission from the University of Melbourne.