What is an NTRO?
Research outputs that do not take the form of scholarly published books, book chapters, journal articles or conference publications are referred to as non-traditional research outputs (NTROs).
They differ from standard non-traditional works because they expressly contain and communicate original research findings. In other words, a documentary or musical composition that is an NTRO would, in some way, differ from a documentary or musical composition that is not an NTRO because it has a clear and substantial research component.
Basic requirements
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The prospective NTRO must have been made publicly available in some form.
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The authors must be clearly credited.
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The UTS byline must be prominent and complete (University of Technology Sydney, unit or faculty name, street address).
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Unless not technically possible, there must be one or more digital files that are the publicly available output itself, a definitive version of the output, or a representation of the NTRO that facilitates the assessment of its research content.
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A research statement must be provided for all types except Research Reports for an External Body; the research statement for portfolios of NTROs covers all the individual NTROs that make up the portfolio rather than submitting a separate research statement for each NTRO.
NTRO Types and Evidence
Indicators to consider to show your impact include:
- Citations and downloads
- Public engagement: e.g. media coverage, online attention via social media, etc.
- Industry partnerships
- Awards and recognition
- Policy impact
- Collaboration and interdisciplinary research
See examples of each kind of NTRO below, and ideas for evidence that can help add to your impact narrative.
Original Creative Works
Examples are paintings, photos, sculptures, installations, diagrams, maps and crafts.
Impact evidence could include:
- Exhibition in a nationally or internationally recognised venue, gallery, festival or event
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Inclusion in an educational curriculum
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Acquisition for a public or private collection
- Discussion and dissemination by esteemed organisations
- Written reviews by peers, commercial publishers or national/international bodies
Examples are building and design projects, and digital outputs of architectural and design projects.
Impact evidence could include:
- Participation in a nationally or internationally recognised exhibition or exhibition catalogue
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
Examples are novels, play scripts, art reviews, poems, essays, short stories and design reviews.
Impact evidence could include:
- Being published by a major academic or commercial press, gallery or museum
- Inclusion in an educational curriculum
- Inclusion in a library
- New editions and/or translations
- Awards, short-listing, prizes, honours, etc.
- Written reviews by peers, commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
Examples are original scores, notated/re-interpreted scores, audio compositions.
Impact evidence could include:
- Publication in a venue recognised nationally or internationally by peers in the discipline
- Performance of a composition
- Production of a film soundtrack
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Sales or download statistics
- Awards, short-listing, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national /international bodies
Live Performance of Creative Works
Examples are performances of a new work or repertoire, or music developed in partnership with the composer.
Impact evidence could include:
- Performance in a nationally or internationally recognised venue
- Performance with nationally or internationally recognised bodies
- Broadcast or recording with nationally or internationally recognised bodies
- Funding from a nationally or internationally recognised peer-review body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
Examples are performances of a new work or repertoire.
Impact evidence could include:
- Performance in a nationally or internationally recognised performance venue
- Performance with nationally or internationally recognised bodies
- Broadcasting or recording with nationally or internationally recognised bodies
- Funding from a nationally or internationally recognised peer-review body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
Recorded/Rendered Creative Works
Examples are recorded performances of a new work or repertoire.
Impact evidence could include:
- Recognised commercial release
- Performance recorded with nationally or internationally recognised bodies
- Work selected for nationally or internationally recognised broadcast or festival
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
Examples are the use of innovative production techniques in films, documentaries, video-based podcasts, moving or still image-based or screen-based work, or audio-visual presentations.
Impact evidence could include:
- Presentation in a nationally or internationally recognised venue
- Dissemination by a nationally or internationally recognised body
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
Examples are 3D or multidimensional models, creative and interactive computer applications, digital games/apps and computer programs.
Impact evidence could include:
- Presentation in a nationally or internationally recognised venue
- Dissemination by a nationally or internationally recognised body
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
Examples are web-featured work, or online/digital works that incorporate new presentation techniques and approaches in online media or platforms.
Impact evidence could include:
- Hosted by a nationally or internationally recognised commercial or not-for-profit body
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- View/stream/download statistics or comments via online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
Curated/Produced Exhibits and Events
Curation or production of creative works or artefacts exhibited in a recognised gallery, museum or similar venue; showing new works or a new interpretation/arrangement of works exhibited previously; exploring a new, innovative or significant thesis; or making a substantial declaration of historical, cultural or theoretical principles.
Impact evidence could include:
- Exhibition or presentation in a nationally or internationally recognised venue
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Discussion and dissemination of work by esteemed publishing or broadcasting organisations
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- Sales/box office rating data for films, art exhibitions or TV releases
- Number of views or streams via online platforms and mentions via social media
The curation of a festival bringing together creative works or artefacts and live performances to present new works in an innovative way, present a new interpretation/approach to works presented previously, or offer a theme that provides new perspectives and/or experiences.
Impact evidence could include:
- Exhibition or presentation in a nationally or internationally recognised venue
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Discussion and dissemination of work by esteemed publishing or broadcasting organisations
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- Exhibition catalogue sales and downloads
- Ticket sale data
- Number of views or streams via online platforms
Includes digital repositories, interactive or searchable databases, digital reference works, or digital archives.
Impact evidence could include:
- Hosting by a nationally or internationally recognised industry or educational institution
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Awards, shortlisting, prizes or honours
- Written reviews by peers or commercial publishers, or national/international bodies
- Number of views or streams via online platforms
Research Reports for an External Body
Examples are a report or review or document commissioned by a national or international government body or organisation.
Impact evidence could include:
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Citations in reports or publications
- Recognition of the research from the government or industry
- Recognition of the research in scholarly publications
- Recognition of the research in policy documents
- Recognition of the research through an award or honour
Examples are a report or review that has been undertaken for a company, industry organisation, industry peak body or an association.
Impact evidence could include:
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Citations in reports or publications
- Recognition of the research from the government or industry
- Recognition of the research in scholarly publications
- Recognition of the research in policy documents
- Recognition of the research through an award or honour
Examples are a report or review that has been undertaken for a discipline-recognised non-for-profit body, enterprise or organisation.
Impact evidence could include:
- Funding from a distinguished body
- Citations in reports or publications
- Recognition of the research from the government or industry
- Recognition of the research in scholarly publications
- Recognition of the research in policy documents
- Recognition of the research through an award or honour
Tools for tracking NTRO Evidence
As seen above, NTRO forms and dissemination can vary widely which can make tracking evidence a challenge.
However, this can depend on how your NTRO is shared and whether or not there is a digital object identifier (DOI) attached to it.
Below are some suggested tools and platforms for tracking NTROs:
- Altmetric for institutions: tracks mentions and engagement in social media, policy, patents, news, blogs
- Dimensions: tracks datasets, patents, clinical trials, policy documents
- Publisher or Gallery websites: if applicable, can be used to check views or download stats, search for information such as comments
- Google Scholar: search for written reviews or scholarly publications
- UTS OPUS (institutional repository): if uploaded, offers statistics on views and downloads of your publications
- UTS Symplectic (internal research output management system): helps record all your NTRO outputs and impact story
Further Resources
- ARC State of Australian University Research 2018-19: NTRO
- UTS DAB Guidelines for NTRO
- UTS FASS NTRO and PCP Guidelines (internal document)
- The University of Queensland NTRO library guide
- The University of Queensland Impact of NTRO library guide
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