Researchfish Guidance
1. How do I login to Researchfish?
You should already have a Researchfish account and will have been assigned a username
and password for Researchfish https://www.researchfish.com/.
If you have forgotten your password you can request a new one by going to
https://www.researchfish.com/helpwiz
If you experience difficulty requesting a password and getting in to your account you can
contact the Researchfish support team via live online chat (available 9am – 5pm Monday to
Friday) or by email (https://www.researchfish.com/helpwiz).
2. How do I report outcomes and outputs via Researchfish?
a) Log in to Researchfish.
b) Under the ‘Get Started’ title, click on ‘add more outputs’
c) Select ‘common outcomes’ and you will get a list of 16 common outcomes types. Eg to
enter details of a paper click on ‘publications’, then ‘add new entry’ and enter relevant
information, click save. Repeat as appropriate.
d) You will then need to add each outcome to your grant/studentship. To do this click on
the ‘+’ symbol next to the outcome and drag it to your studentship reference number.
(You will only have one grant/studentship assigned to your name, but this website is also
used for researchers who have numerous grants where they are required to record
outcomes against each).
e) Review your entry and ensure that:
a. Any previously submitted outputs have been updated (if necessary),
b. New outputs have been entered, and associated with your grant/studentship,
c. You have completed the ‘Additional Questions’ sections presented for your
grant/studentship
f) You will then need to submit your Researchfish return by selecting the red “submit”
button on the top right of the screen and confirm that you are happy with your
information. The box should turn green and you will get a confirmation email to confirm
submission.
3. What information should I look to report on Researchfish?
You are required to include a summary of each outcome, but not necessarily a
comprehensive documentation of the outcomes. Any publications or collaborations should
be recorded.
There are a whole range of outcomes that can be reported on Researchfish; however, many
will not be relevant to you as a student (as this is a system used by everyone funded by the
Research Councils). The most likely sections of relevance to you include:
a) Publications – tell us about any papers you have published as part of your PhD
b) Collaborations – tell us about any work you have completed in collaboration, for
example with an industrial partner or another academic group
c) Engagement Activities – tell us about any instances where you communicated your
research to a non-academic audience, e.g. presentations at science fairs or schools
d) Other Outputs & Knowledge / Future Steps – a section to allow you to tell us about
anything else you think is an important outcome from your research
e) Secondments, Placements and Internships – an opportunity to report any time spent at
other organisations
Please note: You can report URLs (website addresses) for each output, linking directly to
policy documents, reports and online videos.
4. My award has no outcomes or outputs yet, what should I do?
RCUK are aware that research students, especially those in earlier stages of their PhD’s are
likely to have no items to enter on Researchfish. This is fine, you can submit a ‘nil’ return,
but you are required to login and still make your submission by 10th March.
To submit a ‘nil’ return complete the ‘Additional Questions’ section for the award and click
on the red ‘Submit’ button. The box should turn green and you will get a confirmation email
to confirm submission.
5. Why do I have to complete a submission by 10th March?
RCUK introduced Researchfish as a way of recording and reporting outcomes in September
2015, they expect all funded students to engage with Researchfish as part of the conditions
of their funding. Each year there are ‘submission windows’ where funded students are
expected to complete a return, the current submission period closes on 10th March 2016.
Please note: Once the submission window has ended Researchfish will remain open for you to
add and edit output information all year, so that you can always keep your record of
research outcomes, and the awards they are attributed to, up to date.
6. How will Researchfish and RCUK use the information reported
on Researchfish?
You should ensure that information submitted through Researchfish is not confidential and
is suitable to be published. A subset of the data submitted for each award, comprising
almost all the data fields, will be available via the Research Council’s Gateway to Research
website (http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/).
News about Researchfish will also be added to the RCUK website at
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/researchoutcomes/
7. Help/Support with Researchfish
a) You can access a short help video which introduces the system and explains how to
use it from the “Help” menu on every page. You can also watch the help video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgwyXDGqeuQ
b) If your question is not addressed by the introductory video or context-specific help,
then raise this via the online help centre which can be accessed via the top of any
Researchfish page. You can find a list of FAQs on the help centre pages, and also
send your own enquiries direct from this page to the help desk. Once logged into
Researchfish® there is also the option of “live chat” from 9am – 5pm Monday to
Friday. Live chat provides you with the opportunity to instantly message the
Researchfish® helpdesk.
c) Help and guidance is provided throughout the system, just click on the blue “?”
marks.
d) If you have any questions regarding your award details or requirements to complete
Researchfish then please contact the RCUK Research Outcome Support Team
(researchoutcomes@rcuk.ac.uk).