Australian Research Council Selects Elsevier's Scopus for ERA 2015 (Excellence in Research for Australia) Assessment

CANBERRA, Australia, September 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Third time consecutive selection underscores Scopus' continuing relevance and value in supporting research excellence in Australia 

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced that the Australian Research Council (ARC) has selected Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed scientific literature, as the bibliometric provider for its 2015 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment. This is the third consecutive time Scopus has been chosen as the sole citation provider for ERA.

ERA is an Australian Government initiative which evaluates the quality of research undertaken among Australia's higher education institutions against national and international benchmarks. The published ERA National report will provide insights for the identification and promotion of research excellence across the full spectrum of research activity in the country. It aggregates information about discipline-specific research activities at each individual institution, as well as information on the contribution of each discipline and each institution to the national research landscape.

"ERA provides a rich vein of information that gives us valuable insights into the university research landscape in Australia," said Acting ARC CEO, Ms Leanne Harvey. "ERA uses citation information in relevant disciplines to inform the expert panels which determine the ERA outcomes. The ARC is pleased to have Elsevier Scopus back on board for ERA 2015."

"ARC's decision to base its forthcoming ERA National Report on Scopus data is a strong affirmation of Elsevier's ability to deliver authoritative data and information that supports Australia's pursuit of academic and research excellence," said Nick Fowler, Elsevier's Managing Director of Research Management. "Being selected again has special significance for Scopus, especially this year when Elsevier is commemorating its decade-long presence in the workflow of the global academic community."

Ratings in the ERA National Report are determined and moderated by committees of distinguished researchers, drawn from Australia and overseas.

The results for the first full round of ERA were published in early 2011. This was the first time Australia conducted the assessment to take stock of its research discipline strengths and identified areas for development. The results of the second round of ERA were published in 2012.

The ERA 2015 assessment will open for submissions on October 1, 2014 for all participating Higher Education providers. Further details about ERA 2015 and the key documents are available from the ERA section on the ARC website.

About Australian Research Council 

The ARC is a statutory agency within the Australian Government. Its mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community.

In seeking to achieve its mission, the ARC provides advice to the Government on research matters, manages the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP), and administers Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).

Through the NCGP-a significant component of Australia's investment in research and development- the ARC supports the highest-quality fundamental and applied research and research training through national competition across all disciplines, with the exception of clinical medicine and dentistry.

ERA assesses research quality within Australia's higher education institutions and gives government, industry, business and the wider community assurance of the excellence of research conducted. It also provides a national stocktake, by research discipline areas, of research strength against international benchmarks. For more information about ERA visit the ARC website.

About Scopus 

Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 55+ million items indexed from 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services.

About Elsevier 

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence, and ClinicalKey - and publishes nearly 2,200 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and over 25,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works.

The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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Jason Chan
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Elsevier
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