Reporting instructions (NVI)

The document describes the reporting requirements for academic publication in the health, institute and higher education sector (HE sector) for publications from 2023.

Documentation of academic publishing is part of the foundation for the result-based redistribution (RBR) in the research budgets from the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Health and Care Services. The Norwegian Scientific Index (NVI) in Cristin is used for registration of complete bibliographical references for academic publications which at the same time is unambiguously linked to persons at institutions which are part of Cristin.

Specifically for the Health Sector: As of the reporting year 2017 research and resource centres outside of the special health services are also obliged to report academic publications. The ministry will facilitate a gradual transition over several years from a fixed grant to resource centres which have research as their main task, to a model where a larger part of the research funding is directed towards result-based financing.

 

Deadlines

8th November 2023
Oppstartseminar (digitalt)

30th November 2023
Nomination of new publishers and journals to the Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers database

21st February 2024
Control of joint publications

1st March 2024/5th March 2024
Deadline of the dispute committe/Documentation

12th April 2024 at 12:00
Final report deadline

 

1. Definition of academic publication

The following is an operational definition of academic publication which has been developed with regards to measuring academic production for budget models. Thus the purpose is to measure previous research activity in such a way that further research is facilitated and encouraged. Therefore the definition should not be too broad but be targeted towards the activity which the funding is meant to support.

The purpose of NVI's definition of an academic publication is not to say what science is or should be. The operational definition is in accordance with the Frascati Manual's definition of research which has been the standard definition of research statistics for decades. The manual describes research as “creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications”.

An academic publication is defined by four criteria, all of which must be met.

An academic publication must:

  • present new insight
  • be presented in a form which makes the results verifiable or usable in new research
  • be presented in a language and have a distribution which makes it accessible for the majority of researchers who may be interested in it
  • be in a publication channel (journal, series, publisher, web site) with routines for "peer review".

Further explanation of the definition can be found in chapter 3 of the report "Vekt på forskning" by The Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions, p. 24-26.

The responsibility for the two last bullet points is supervised centrally through the operation of the channel registry. But both the channel and the publication itself must be academic. Responsibility for making sure that the reporting follows the two first bullet points rests with the individual institutions. The institution is responsible for ensuring that the contents and formulation of the reported publication is academic according to the demands of good research by the academic community of the subject in question.

Regarding the channel registry, the National Publication Committee has compiled the following definition of peer review for use in approved publication channels:

  1. Peer review always occurs before publication. 
    Peer review is a process which always occurs before the publication of original research findings.
  2. At least one peer must be without ties to the publisher or the author.
    A manuscript must be reviewed by at least one expert within the field who is without ties to the publisher or the author. The expert may be known or anonymous
  3. The peer review must adhere to academic originality and quality.
    The assessment of academic originality must be included in the written assessment.

The institutions must also follow this definition when reporting each publication.

 

2. Data basis

The individual institution is responsible for making sure that what is reported comprises correct data for academic publications in valid channels of publication. This also comprises a responsibility for establishing locally adapted guidelines and routines for the gathering and quality control of data.

For revision purposes the institutions must store and be able to provide all data which comprise the basis for the reporting. 

Reporting data must be counted at the institutional level. For the Health Authorities reporting data from institutions which are incorporated in the national measuring system for research results in the Health Authorities are counted. For centres of research and expertise outside of the Specialist Health Service reporting data from named centres are counted. Several of these are associated with the University and College Sector or Health Authorities respectively and must be reported through these institutions. The basis for the reporting must be data concerning academic publication at the institutions. 

 

2.1. Information elements

The basis of the reporting must be data on academic publication at the institutions. Information elements which are to be included in the reporting is:

  • Title of work
  • Publisher information with standard codes for authority registers for journal, publisher, series and published books
  • Identification elements like volume, year of publication, page references, and ISBN for published books
  • All authors and their institutions. Listed in the same order as in the publication
  • Specific marking of those authors who list the reporting institution as the author address
  • Form of publication
  • DOI (mandatory for publications where the electronic version is reported)
  • For publications regarding health in all three sectors the publication should be classified according to the classification system Health Research Classification System (HRCS), as a data basis for HelseOmsorg21Monitor

2.1.1.    Health Research Classification System (HRCS)

Publications in the health and care field in all three sectors should as far as possible be classified according to the classification system for health research, the Health Research Classification System (HRCS). This is a tool for analyzing the research activities in the health and care field. HRCS is not limited to the discipline of medicine but shall accommodate all health and care research. The system consists of two dimensions: health categories and research activity codes. HRCS is used for project funding in the Research Council and the Regional Health Authorities in order to get an overview of the research which is funded through their grants. In accordance with the Government's plan of action for monitoring the HelseOmsorg21-strategy and the creation of HelseOmsorg21-monitor, the use of HRCS will be expanded to include publications in the health and care field in all sectors. For more information regarding the system, see https://hrcsonline.net/

 

2.2. Addressing of publications

In certain cases an author may want to give credit to several institutions, by listing several authors' addresses in the publication (eg a Health Authority and an institute).

The following principles apply for crediting:

  1. An institution shall be listed as an address in a publication if it has given a necessary or significant contribution to or basis for an author's contribution to the published work.
  2. The same author should list the address of other institutions as well if these in each case also meet the requirements of paragraph 1.
  3. Employment or supervision of graduate students can be considered a basis for crediting an institution if the requirement of paragraph 1 is met.

 

2.3. Import from bibliographical data sources

Sikt currently has an agreement with several suppliers of bibliographical data for indexed journal articles as a support of the reporting in Cristin. As a main rule imported data from bibliographical data sources should be used if available.

Cristin's secretariat imports bibliographical references on behalf of the institutions. Associations to Norwegian and foreign institutions are added by Cristin. As a result of this work, for most academic journal articles there exists a searchable suggestion for bibliographical data to be reported from each institution in advance. After an imported reference has been used for registration, the person in charge of reporting at the institution must ensure the quality of the data and make sure that they are correct and complete.

All registered posts must be reviewed by the institutions in order to ensure that they are correctly marked according to the criteria. 

The import does not cover all academic publications. Such publications must be registered by the institution (manually).

 

3. Publications, year of publication

3.1. Year of publication

Only academic publications with the reporting year given as the year of publication may be reported. Furthermore only first time publications shall be reported. Revised works shall not be reported. 

In some cases there is no correlation between the given year of publication and the actual year of publication. Publications with the year of publication given as the current year of reporting, but which are not published until the following year, may be reported if it can be documented that the publication in fact is or will be published before the reporting deadline.

Publications published with a year of publication previous to the year of reporting shall not be reported. These publications may be registered in Cristin, but without being reported and considered in conjunction with the funding system.

3.2. Electronic versus printed article

In some cases an article may be published considerably earlier in the electronic version of the journal than in the printed one. In such cases the electronic version should normally be the basis of the reporting, provided that it is identified with DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The institutions must make sure that this form of double publishing does not lead to double reporting. It is especially important to beware of the danger of double reporting in those cases where the printed version is published in a later year than the electronic version. 

In some cases the electronic version is published later than the printed version. In such cases this version may be reported provided that the printed version has not been reported earlier and it is indicated in the electronic version that it has been published in the year of reporting.

3.3. Late reporting 

In some cases publications are discovered which ought to have been included as part of any earlier reporting. Late reporting of such publications is not allowed.

 

4. Publication channels

The publication must be published in an approved publication channel. Academic publication channels are periodicals, series, websites and publishers which are organized editorially for the publishing of academic publications in accordance with the definition of academic publication.

Academic publication channels are separated into two main types: 

  • Periodicals, series and web pages with ISSN 
  • Publishers of publications with ISBN 

In addition the publication channel cannot be local, ie represent authors from a single institution in more than two thirds of the publications which are published in the channel.

The Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) administers the register of academic publication channels. The register contains both ISSN titles and publishers of ISBN titles and is accessible here: https://kanalregister.hkdir.no/publiseringskanaler/Forside.action?request_locale=en

The register is updated by new proposals being made to HK-dir. HK-dir in turn ensures that all proposals are considered by the National Publication Committee during the year of publication. If a publication channel is found to be missing, a proposal for a new channel for level 1 may be sent within the deadline of November 30. the year of reporting. If the proposal is approved for level 1, it will apply to the year of reporting. The National Publication Committee usually has 4 meetings per year, and approved channels are regularly made available in Cristin.

Questions concerning academic publication channels may be directed to publiseringskanaler@hkdir.no

4.1. Works in mixed publication channels

Certain professional journals with separate sections for academic publishing are accepted as approved publication channels. From these only academic articles which have been peer reviewed shall be reported. See section beneath on types of publication.

4.2. Specifically on series

Series have, like periodicals (journals and yearbooks), a separate title and ISSN, but are often published less regularly. Series may consist of both monographs and collections of articles where each publication has an individual ISBN. For serial publications the parent ISSN title is considered the publication channel (not the publisher). 

For serial publications the following applies: 

  • Any publication which may be linked to an ISSN, either directly or via an ISBN publication with a parent ISSN number, must be registered with the series (ISSN) as the publication channel. The title of the series must be approved in the register. 
  • Only publications which only have an ISBN an no connection to an ISSN title shall be registered with the publisher as the channel. This may apply to book series or proceedings series which do not have an ISSN. The publisher must be approved in the register.

 

5. Publication forms

Main Principles

  • A publication shall only be reported once 
  • Revised editions shall not be reported.
  • Only publications where the contents are considered to fulfill the first two points of the definition of academic publication may be reported, even though the publication is in an approved channel.

 

5.1. Groups of publications to be reported 

Publications within three basic groups shall be reported in all three sectors:

  • Academic monographs: The publication has a title with an ISBN. It may have one or more authors, and the names are listed in connection with the title. 
  • Academic articles in anthologies: The publication is without a separate number, but is connected to a title with an ISBN. It may have one ore more authors, and the names are listed in connection to each publication. 
  • Academic articles in periodicals, series and web pages (ISSN titles): The publication is without a separate number, but is connected to a title which has an ISSN. It may have one or more authors, and the names are listed in connection with each publication.

Each book which is reported must be publicly available and identifiable by ISBN. In cases where books are published in series with an ISSN, this must be utilized as a reference and the series must be approved as a publication channel. Series which do not have an ISSN will not be considered a publication channel. Instead the publisher will be assessed as a publication channel.

Even though a publication channel is approved, not all publications from these channels may be reported, cf. definition of academic publication in section 1. 

  • In academic journals or series only original articles or academic overview articles shall be reported, not other material, eg. editorials, commentaries, debates, book reviews, interviews/current affairs, bibliographies, etc. Medical study protocols and case reports should as a rule not be reported as academic publications.
  • In professional journals only articles in the academic section of the journal should be reported. If the journal lacks a academic section, each article must have been explicitly peer reviewed, and the requirements of academic content must in any case be met.
  • In academic anthologies each reported article must meet the requirements of academic content. The genre of the book is included in the comprehensive assessment even though each anthology article is the basis of reporting. In addition the publisher must have provided a peer review.
  • In academic monographs the requirements of academic content apply to the book as a whole. In addition the publisher must have provided a peer review.

 

5.2. Review articles

Review articles are articles which describe the status of a research field by going through all significant material on the subject. Review articles are counted in the same way as ordinary academic articles. Book reviews, in the form of evaluations and reviews of one or more new works, cannot be counted as review articles.

 

5.3. Proceedings

Articles must only be counted once. In some cases an article is published in several approved channels. For instance, a conference paper is normally published in the conference proceedings, but may also be published later in a journal or a book. Normally an academic publication channel with peer reviewing will not accept a manuscript which has been previously published. Those proceedings which may be reported as academic will therefore be limited to those which are published in approved channels which follow the rule that the publication must be original and not previously published.

Proceedings are counted in the same way as journal articles if they are connected with an approved ISSN title in the register, and in the same way as anthology articles if they are connected to an approved ISBN publisher in the register. Such publications should be reported in the stated year of publication, which is not necessarily the year in which the conference was held. It is the series or publisher which is the channel, not the specific and dated conference. In disciplines where conference publication is common and conferences are held regularly, the proceedings are normally connected to a serial title (ISSN) or with publisher, an institution or an association which is a regular distributor (ISBN publisher). Preliminary publications which are only distributed at the conference and cannot be connected to either an ISSN title or an ISBN publisher shall not be reported. It is the final publication in an approved channel which should be reported.

In order for a conference paper to count it must be peer reviewed and published in book form, a journal or on a CD with normal distribution in approved distribution channels, and must have an ISSN and/or ISBN. In Cristin the contribution must be registered as an article, the chapter of a book or an article in an ISSN series/journal.

 

5.4 Anthropological film

The Publication Committee has acknowledged that peer reviewed anthropological film can be equated with academic articles. These must be registered as an academic article in an approved publication channel in order to be eligible for reporting.

5.5 Theses

Doctoral theses may be reported if they are published in an approved channel and satisfy the general criteria for academic publication. This entails among other things that the peer reviews must have been incorporated.

 

5.6 Monographs and anthology articles

The term monograph entails a cohesive work written by a single person, or several persons who are responsible for the work in its entirety. It is the book which should be counted, not the individual chapters. An academic monograph or anthology is a larger publication which conveys new, research based knowledge primarily targeting an academic community. 

The distinction is as follows: Monographs are publications where the title of the publication has an ISBN. The name of the author is connected to this title. Anthology articles have titles without an individual ISBN, but are published in connection with a (parent) ISBN title. The name of the author is connected to the title of the article. 

Monographs and anthology articles must be peer reviewed in the same manner as journal articles. In this connection peer review means that books and articles have been reviewed by an expert in the field who is without ties to the publisher or the author. 

Not all monographs and anthologies meet the criteria for academic content. "A Bibliometric Model for Performance-based Budgeting of Research Institutions" specifically mentions textbooks (books written specifically for teaching purposes), and books targeting the general market, as categories which should not count as academic monographs. Based on the general definition the following publication types will also normally not be accepted: 

  • Popular science books, debate books 
  • Work reports and notes
  • Encyclopedias, anthologies/article collections, edited works
  • Other nonfiction/academic literature which is not based on original research
  • Fiction

 

5.7 Publications which have received funds from The Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions' textbook committee:

Books which have received funds from the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions' textbook committee should not normally be reported as academic publications. For exceptions the institution must provide professional grounds.

 

5.8 Academic commentary editions, text editions and critical editing of music

Characteristic for an academic edition is that it has an introduction which contains an exact text account of the primary material, an explanation of the publishing principles which underlies the reproduction of the text and an establishment of the text of the edition in accordance with the explanation and the publishing principles. This separates a academic publication from popular editions, school editions etc where the text is normally obtained from a academic edition. Academic editions must be peer reviewed in order to count. Most academic editions are published in series where this requirement is met. 

An academic commentary may be an independent publication or be part of an academic edition. In order for a commentary to be counted, it must contain an examination of all significant research about the work and have placed it in a new philological and analytical context. It applies to commentaries too that they are usually published in series, and likely in connection with an edition. If the commentary is a part of an academic edition, the combined edition and commentary may only be counted as one publication.

Critical editing of music is a variation of the academic commentary edition in the field of musicology. The academic and technical requirements are the same, with the distinction that it is notes, not texts, which are commented on and reproduced in a new edition based on the academic work present. This form of publication may be reported as an academic publication provided it meets the standard requirements, including an external peer review. 

An academic commentary to a score will usually contain a summary and incorporation of earlier research and a commentary to the work as a whole and its parts. Essentially an authoritative commentary should contain an examination of all significant research about the work and have placed it in a new musical and analytical context.

 

5.9    Revisjoner

Kun original litteratur/førsteutgivelser skal rapporteres, ikke revisjoner/nyutgivelser og oversettelser. Dette gjelder selv om førsteutgivelsen ikke har blitt rapportert tidligere.

Særtilfelle for enkelte nyutgivelser i faget rettsvitenskap: I sjeldne tilfeller blir ny rettsvitenskapelig forskning presentert i revisjoner av juridiske standardverk. Dersom innhold og form ellers svarer til definisjonen på vitenskapelig publikasjon kan slike reviderte verk rapporteres.

Merk at det vil også innenfor faget rettsvitenskap være rene nyutgivelser som inneholder mindre oppdateringer som ikke kan rapporteres. 

Særtilfelle for helt nye antologiartikler publisert i en nyutgivelse. Vitenskapelige artikler/kapitler som ikke var med i tidligere utgaver av en vitenskapelig antologi kan rapporteres hvis de for øvrig oppfyller kriteriene for vitenskapelig publisering.

 

6. Crediting of addresses of institutions and author shares

In order for an institution to count a publication wholly or partially for reporting the name of the institution must be listed as an author's address in the publication itself. See section 3.2 for instructions for addressing. Publication shares which are credited to the peripheral zone of the institutions shall not be counted. 

It is sufficient to list the name of the institution as the address of the author in connection with the work in question. The address of the author may be listed on the cover, the colophon page, in separate sections in the front or back of journals, or (most commonly) in connection with individual articles. 

"Corresponding address" may be accepted as the author's address only in those cases where the publisher do not list the ordinary address of the author, and "Corresponding address" refers to the institution(s) the author was connected to when the work on the publication was executed.

Authors should at the same time have a documented connection to the institution, as an employee, a research fellow, temporarily affiliated, a student, etc, either at the time of counting or at the time of the creation of the publication. 

Only the role of the author of a publication should be credited. Editors, illustrators, etc are not regarded as authors of a work, and shall not be part of the calculation of the indicators.

 

7. Disputes

The Dispute Committee for NVI-reporting processes cases in which the institutions cannot agree on how a publication should be reported. The committee is made up of a representative from the HE Sector, one from the Institute Sector, and one from the Health Sector. Members of the Dispute Committee are nominated by the University and College Council (UHR), Forskingsinstituttenes fellesarena (FFA), and the Regional Health Authorities (RHF). UHR coordinates the selection process and the UHR Publication Committee approves the final composition.

Cases which are being processed by the Dispute Committee must be formally reported to the Cristin Secretariat by March 1, and must contain all relevant documentation from the different parties of the dispute. The reported cases must be thoroughly documented and rooted in the management of the institution.

Decisions made by the Dispute Committee are final, and may not be appealed. 

 

 

8. Data format, data delivery

You can find a guide to data delivery on cristin.no (in norwegian).

This web page will be updated with a guide to how the institutions should report data about 2015-publications well in advance of the reporting deadline. Cristin will extract the reports of the institutions and send them on to the data controllers in the respective sectors after the reporting deadline.

 

9. Work flow and responsibility

9.1.    Responsibilities of the parties involved

Cristin institutions (institutions which can log in to Cristin)

  • Each institution is responsible for making sure that what is reported comprises correct data for academic publications in valid publication channels. This also includes a responsibility for establishing locally adapted guidelines and routines for the collection and quality control of data.
  • The institutions register and report academic publications in Cristin in accordance with this reporting manual.

Sikt (at the Cristin secretariat)

  • Runs and develops the reporting system.
  • Imports bibliographical data from multiple sources into the system in order to reduce the workload of manual registration by the institutions.
  • Maintains common authority registers in Cristin
  • Guides and provides courses for the Cristin institutions regarding what may be reported and how.
  • Performs random sampling of the registrations in the system to ensure good quality of data.
  • Secretary for the Dispute Committee.
  • Receives reported NVI data from the Cristin institutions and pass them on to the authorities for use in the funding models in all three sectors.

Ministry of Education and Research (KD) 

  • Owns and funds the University and College Sector, and coordinates the Institute Sector through the Research Council.

Ministry of Health and Care (HOD)

  • Owns and funds the Health Authorities.
  • Funds centres for research and expertise outside of the Specialist Health Service

The National Board of Scholarly Publishing (NPU)

  • Is responsible for the development and management of the system for documentation of academic publication: the Norwegian Publication Indicator (NPI)
  • Appoints members for the Dispute Committee

The Dispute Committee for NVI reporting

  • Processes registered cases in which the institutions cannot come to an agreement about how a publication should be reported. Members from all three sectors. 

The Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HKDIR

  • Manages the register of academic publication channels (Channel Register). Delivers quality controlled data to Cristin through channels which are always approved by the National Publication Committee (NPU).
  • Receives NVI data through Cristin from the institutions in the University and College Sector for use in the Database for Statistics on Higher Education (DBH). Data on academic publication are included in the Funding System in the University and College Sector.

Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU)

The Research Council

The entire system for NVI reporting is described on the web pages of The Norwegian Publication Indicator.

 

 

9.2. Work flow

The parent process for the reporting of academic publication is illustrated in the figure below:

Work flow

 

Published Mar. 25, 2019 11:03 AM - Last modified Sep. 18, 2023 12:36 PM