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• Research Observatory: Research Fields Classifications: Essential Tools in Reporting and Harmonising Scientific Information

  • When
    29 Sep 2021
  •  
    6:30 PM - 7:45 PM (UTC+01:00)
  • Location
    Zoom

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  RESEARCH FIELDS CLASSIFICATIONS: ESSENTIAL TOOLS IN REPORTING AND HARMONISING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

  The Flemish Research Discipline Standard: One Step Towards Harmonised Research Information in Flanders
  By Hanne Poelmans

  Research institutions worldwide are investing in the collection and display of research information using database or CRIS systems. In Flanders, research information is being curated by individual research institutions, after which the information is collected and displayed through a central platform, i.e. Flemish Research Information Space (FRIS, https://researchportal.be/en). The FRIS portal was developed to reduce the administrative burden on research institutions by enabling government reporting in a semi-automated way and encouraging the reuse of information on the portal for multiple purposes. To obtain this goal, two important requirements had to be fulfilled, i.e. 1) information on the FRIS portal had to be modelled to the reporting needs, and 2) every stakeholder, from information provider to user, needed to connect the same meaning to the concepts being used on the portal. One step towards this goal was the harmonisation and semantic description of research classifications. This presentation will focus on the development, the use and the benefits of the Flemish Research Discipline Standard (FRDS), a 4-level hierarchical classification scheme on research disciplines that is provided with semantic descriptions, in Flanders.

  Developing a Classification for Interdisciplinary Research Fields for the German Science System
  By Sophie Biesenbender

  Research classifications are essential for the reporting and evaluation of research. As part of R&D statistics, disciplinary classifications have become crucial elements of CRIS systems and the processing of research information. Yet, quickly evolving information needs or changing evaluation contexts sometimes call for the adjustment of existing or the development of new classifications. In the absence of a national research evaluation system, the German science system is currently introducing a definitional standard for the reporting of research information in order to harmonize CRIS systems across research institutions (the so-called Research Core Dataset). This standard has been complemented by a newly developed classification to represent “fields of research” in addition to disciplinary classifications. From this perspective, research fields focus on interdisciplinary, issue- or problem-related research. The presentation will give an overview of the recently completed project to develop a classification for research fields, the project’s context, its methodological approach and results.

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