Portsmouth Business School

Defining Research Excellence and Research Active

Portsmouth Business School is conscious that there is a wide continuum of research activity - stretching from those just beginning their research journey to those whose research has acclaimed international recognition. To better target support which reflects the needs of those at different ends of the research spectrum the Business School recognises two categories of researcher s:

Research Active Staff.

These are often staff who are just beginning their research journey and so are publishing good quality outputs in nationally recognised academic journals. Over a five year period we would expect staff in this category to be ‘scoring’ an agreed number of  points in publication terms – while undertaking an agreed level of research degree supervision and/or participating in externally funded research or Knowledge Services activities. 

Research Excellent Staff.

These are staff who are consistently delivering research of an internationally acclaimed standard.  Over a five year period we would expect staff in this category to be ‘scoring’ an agreed number of points in publication terms from their best four outputs.  They would also be expected to undertake an agreed level of research degree supervision and/or participate in externally funded research or Knowledge Services activities.

Making a Research Bid – The Process

All research bids must be approved by the Faculty prior to their submission to a funding agency. This is to ensure that adequate provision is made to cover the normal teaching duties of the staff involved, and that resources and facilities are in place to ensure the successful and timely completion of the proposed project.  Once a potential funding opportunity has been identified, the Principal Investigator (PI) - or Research team -  should complete and submit the Bid Information Form.  The Faculty Project Manager will then contact the PI/research team to progress the bid to completion.

Note: Please be aware that Heads of Subject Group need time to identify teaching cover, and that bids need to be both costed (and approved by Finance) and go through a peer review (University or PBS) process. For this reason, it is imperative that the Bid information Form is submitted as early as possible – and certainly before you start to write the bid itself.     

If the bid is successful, the Faculty Project Manager will then contact you to arrange a follow-up meeting so as to discuss how best they (and the Faculty) can help you to deliver on the project.

Applying for Research Leave

Portsmouth Business School is keen to allow research staff extended periods of research leave (generally of one term duration) to complete agreed research projects designed to enhance the status and standing of the Business School. A call for applications will be made annually – and details circulated to all on the pbs-staff@port.ac.uk mailing list  - in October/November for research leave to be taken in the following academic year.   Any particular restrictions on eligibility and the process to be followed will be announced at the time the call is made.  The latest application form can be found here.

Applying to present a paper at a Conference

Ideally we would expect that our active researchers would INCLUDE provision within the research proposals they write and submit to present their research findings at Conferences. However, we recognise that is not always possible.  In such cases a request should be made to the Subject Group Head for support, as it is the Subject Group rather than the Faculty who have the power to award funds for Conference (national and international) attendance. In a few exceptional instances, if the Subject group is unable to offer support, it may be possible for the Faculty to extend support – in which case researchers should complete the Research Support form which can be found here (stating clearly in the application the reason why the Subject Group turned down the request for support).

Separate provision is made for research degree students to attend conferences to present their work. Details of this process can be found here.

Research Project Fund

The Business School recognises that there is a need to pump-prime certain research projects as a precursor to the staff member/team submitting a funded research bid further down the line. Equally, novel research likely to result in high quality articles in top-ranking journals (or books) may also require some financial support if it is to come to fruition. To this end in March each year a call will be made for project proposals, closing date for applications will be May, with the winners announced in June. Projects should commence in September at the latest and last for a period of 12 months (although an extra three months extension can be requested). Staff can apply for funds of up to £3,000 (expectation that two 3* publications will be produced by the team) or £5,000 (expectation of two 3* publications and a research bid submission is made by the team).
While external collaborators (within the University of Portsmouth and beyond) can form part of the bids, any monies received cannot be spent to pay the salaries of such individuals. Project funds can also NOT be used to buy-out teaching of any of the applicants. All project teams MUST include the name of at least one Research Active or Research Inactive individual – and the names of all team members are expected to be included on all publications emanating from the research funding received. The application form can be found here.

International Exchange Visits

The University of Portsmouth’s recent 2012 appearance in the Times Higher Education top 350 Global Universities was, in part, attributable to it scoring above average in terms of Internationalisation. In the Business School we are keen to encourage this – and have set aside funds to support the building up (or consolidation) of collaborative research links via extended outgoing international exchanges (generally periods of 3-6 weeks).  Staff interested in taking advantage of this opportunity should inform their Subject Group Head in the first instance, and only then complete the application form which can be found here. Such requests should, ordinarily, be made THREE months prior to the intended visit.          

Note:the Fund is essentially for PBS staff to travel overseas to work with international collaborators – although in exceptional instances a request could be made to fund the incoming travel (not living expenses) of an external academic collaborator.

The Research Incentive Scheme

To encourage academic staff (excluding research fellows – given it is one of the tasks specifically indicated in their job contract) to bid for external research funds, the Business School has introduced a Research Incentive scheme (RIs). For every successful research bid, the Principal Investigator (PI) is entitled to:

3% of the value of the successful proposal up to a maximium of £1,500 for research Council bids (£1,000 for all other successful research bids)

A RI fund will be set-up in the name of the PI by the Faculty Finance Manager upon receipt of the funds from the external donor (if the PI chooses, these funds can be split between the PBS members involved in the project – in which case individual RIs will be set up as requested). These funds must be spent within 2 years of receipt or they will be devolved to the relevant Subject Group. Funds can be spent upon conferences/networking/dissemination, development courses,equipment (such as voice recorders), research assistance and specialist software. Note that all expenditure has to be approved in line with university policies (check with the Faculty Finance Manager if you have any queries) and all purchased goods remain university property.Monies NOT spent at the conclusion of the three years will be devolved to the Faculty, and the individual FiR account will be closed.

Staff Development Fund

Each Subject Group (and the School of Law) has a Staff Development Fund that can be accessed by Subject Group members. This fund would normally be the first port of call for staff wishing to present research findings at Conferences (unless they hold Research Project Fund or Foundation in Research monies, in which case these funds should be used for such visits) and small one-off research-related expenditures (e.g. professional learning and development activities - such as research methods training and attending external seminars). However, it is not exclusively for research purposes - and funds may be granted to staff for other purposes (ie: upgrading subject knowledge related to teaching). The fund is controlled by the head of the Subject Group/School and funding is at their discretion.

Foundation in Research Awards

Portsmouth Business School recognises that all new academic staff appointed within the Business School may require additional support to achieve their research goals in the short term. To this end ALL new staff are entitled to a Foundation in Research (FiR) Award worth £2,000 to facilitate their research in the first three years of their tenure. The account will be set up by the Faculty Finance Manager following a request made by either the respective Subject Group Head or Research Lead, and expenditures from the account must be used exclusively to support the individual’s research agenda (as agreed with the Head of the Subject Group). Allowable expenditure items are the same as detailed under the Research Incentive Scheme above, all expenditure having to be approved in line with university policies (check with the Faculty Finance Manager if you have any queries) and all purchased goods remain University property.

Note:  To facilitate the incorporation of  staff who are both new – and new to research  – into the research environment of the Business School, a special Early Career Researchers (ECR) group has been set-up who maintain their own internal moodle site page. We strongly encourage active participation in the group. 

Gaining Ethical Approval for Your Research

All research undertaken by staff and research degree students at Portsmouth Business School must comply with the ethical guidelines as set out by the University. Full guidelines on the process and the procedure to follow for gaining ethical approval can be found here.

In the case of research bids, staff are advised to contact the Chair of the Ethics Committee, Professor Lisa Jack (Lisa.Jack@port.ac.uk) to discuss if the proposed bid is likely to engender any significant ethical issues. If this is the case, it may be necessary to seek prior FEC approval BEFORE the bid is submitted. In most cases we would not expect research undertaken in the Business School to fall into this category, and so ethical approval for the research will only need to be sought if the bid is successful.

MSc Research Methods

This is a specially designed three year part-time Masters degree for Business School staff who do NOT possess a research background – but are keen to develop their skills in this area.  Each student is provided with a mentor drawn from their home Subject Group, and undertake two core research units in their first year; research units, U23288 Research Preparation and U23285 Researcher Development.

In the second year of the programme students undertake subject specific project preparation under the supervision of their mentor and in the final year they complete a Research Dissertation.

For further information contact the Course Director Prof Lisa Jack on Lisa.Jack@port.ac.uk.

Researcher Lock-Ins

Some staff find they are most effective in research terms if they can have an intense period of research/study away from the distractions of both normal academic and personal life. To this end the Business School (subject to staff demand) arrange a series of Lock-ins at a local hotel. These events are announced through an all staff email circulated two months in advance of the lock-in, and applications for the lock-in are invited. 

 The staff selected meet at midday to discuss personal objectives for the writing lock-in – what they hope to achieve before they leave; ground rules for the lock-in; arrangements for progress reviews. Participants are then responsible for their own use of their time but normally meet to review progress at 1pm each day and again at 7pm.

Participants on these events comment on the positive approach they are able to adopt as a result of the lock in process; the ‘peer pressure’ of twice daily progress reviews helps them to stay focused. In addition to written outputs participants comment on the intellectual benefit of three days with a focus on research work and the opportunities to meet with colleagues to exchange ideas and experience. Report for one such lock in is available here.

Dates for future lock-ins in the current academic year are:

• 17-19 April 2013
• 26-28 June 2013

Journal Lists

Lists are produced by a number of agencies/institutions as a guide to academic journal quality. Inevitably, while there is a general agreement as to what are the best journals in each discipline, there are inevitable differences as one moves down the listings (our advice is to therefore use such lists with care. The lists also serve a secondary purpose of alerting the viewer to the wide range of journals that currently exist. The most extensive collation of journal rankings lists is that produced by Professor Anne-Wil Harzing, and can be accessed here  (takes you to http://www.harzing.com/jql.htm ). The Association of Business Schools (ABS) can be accessed here(http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/socsci/events/abs/huwmorris.pdf) and the very comprehensive Australian journal listing here. (www.arc.gov.au/xls/ERA2010_journal_title_list.xls)