A multi-centre clinical trial involves the implementation of the same clinical protocol at several independent investigational centres. Multi-centre clinical trials may be preferable to single-centre trials, but their implementation and management is more complex. EU-funded collaborative projects involve several participating organizations and…

Complaints by educational researchers about problems with the human research ethics review process are not new. In this paper, we add to the growing body of literature critiquing contemporary ethics review processes. We outline the nature and extent of scrutiny our sexuality and relationships research project was subjected to during a drawn-out…

Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) face various challenges caused by conflicting and contradictory organizational subcultures in knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs), but their human capital, such as skills and personality traits, helps RMAs to maintain job and organizational engagement and professional growth. Focusing on…

This article critically considers these recent developments and political context, proposing an approach to manage sensitive research in the complex contemporary political environment. The first part of the article defines security-sensitive research as research having risk associated with foreign interference, cybersecurity, biosecurity or…

In the context of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021, 'academic integrity' describes a provider's responsibility to ensure its staff and students act with honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility as they engage in learning and teaching in courses and units of study. (See TEQSA's resources on academic…

Many Australian universities have prioritised improving discipline performance on the national research assessment--Excellence for Research in Australia. However, a "culture of secrecy" pervades "Excellence in Research for Australia" (ERA). There are no specified criteria for the assignment of ratings on a 5-point scale ranging…

Performance management systems have been an inevitable consequence of the development of government research evaluations (GREs) of university research, and have also inevitably affected the working life of academics. The aim of this paper is to track the development of GREs over the past 25 years, by critically evaluating their adoption in the UK…

Aim: To identify the prevalence and correlates of burnout among research administrators. Background: Research administration is characterized by increasing government regulation, hyper-competitiveness, institutional management of growing complexity, and changing economic conditions. However, there is a lack of research on burnout among research…

This paper offers a conceptually novel contribution to the understanding of the distinctive governance challenges arising from the increasing reliance on formalized knowledge in the governance of research activities. It uses the current Australian research governance system as an example--a system which exhibits a comparatively strong degree of…

With the arrival of online survey tools that are low-cost, readily available and easy to administer, all organizations have access to one of the most effective mechanisms for determining quality improvement priorities and measuring progress towards achieving those priorities over time. This case study outlines the use made of this simple tool by a…

University research capacity building has now become an increasingly important task in both developed and less developed countries. In this capacity building endeavour, research late-developer universities in particular need to develop a sound research organizational structure. However, what elements are needed in organizing and structuring…

Around the world, governments and the higher education sector are being asked to become more accountable for the money they spend on research funding. Research quality measurement exercises, such as the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative, use a number of agreed indicators to measure, analyse and report on various institution and…

The principal ethics committee in Australia's Capital, Canberra, underwent a major revision in the last three years based on changes debated in the literature. Committee or Board structure varies widely; regulations determining minimum size and membership differ between countries. Issues such as the effectiveness of committee management,…

Purpose: In the higher education sector, the evaluation of learning and teaching projects is assuming a role as a quality and accountability indicator. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning and teaching project evaluation is approached and critiques alignment between evaluation theory and practice. Design/Methodology/Approach:…

Current tendencies in educational research in Sweden are presented and compared to Australia. We here refer to; organization of research, research allocation, publication patterns, and assessments of research qualities. Different trajectories of educational research were identified, where Australian research was organized as a field of study,…