JOINT NHMRC/AVCC STATEMENT AND GUIDLEINES
ON RESEARCH PRACTICE
CONSULTATION DRAFT #1
‘The Australian Code for Conducting Research 2004’
December 2004
RESPONSE FROM THE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIANS (CAUL)
This submission was prepared on behalf of CAUL (Council of Australian University
Librarians) by Cathrine Harboe-Ree.
Contact Details:
Ms Cathrine Harboe-Ree
University Librarian
Monash University
(03) 9905 2665
email: cathrine.harboe-ree@lib.monash.edu.au
1 April 2005
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Introduction
The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) is pleased to have the
opportunity to submit comments on the Consultation Draft #1 of ‘The Australian
Code for Conducting Research 2004’.
University libraries play a major role in the development of Australian research by
providing access to the scholarly information resources that underpin all research
undertaken in Australian institutes of higher education, and by providing assistance to
researchers in these institutions in the use of these resources. University libraries
assist their institutions in the management of intellectual property, particularly use of
copyrighted material. Increasingly university libraries are also supporting research
activity through:
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
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
provision of repositories to store, promote and preserve digital copies of
research publications;
management and, increasingly, creation of research resources such as datasets
and digital collections;
publication of material based on research; and
support for innovation in scholarly expression and communication.
Further details about CAUL and its activities can be found at our web site
http://www.caul.edu.au.
CAUL commends the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian
Research Council and the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee on the creation the
Draft Code, and generally endorses its content.
This response addresses the sections of the Code relevant to CAUL and its activities.
Comments
Chapter 1
Clause 1.2
CAUL is very pleased to see the inclusion of this clause, and the subsequent,
related clauses.
Clause 1.3
CAUL endorses the inclusion of this clause and draws attention to the fact that,
within Australia and internationally, there is a growing move to make research
results available on the open web.
Responsibilities of Researchers
CAUL recommends that this section be supplemented with clauses that
articulate researchers’ responsibilities vis a vis clauses 1.2, including 1.2.2, and
1.3. (For example, from clause 1.2: “Researchers must maintain research records
and comply with their institutions’ policies and procedures for maintenance and
retention of research data, publication and authorship, management of
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intellectual property, privacy and confidentiality, and all forms of conflict of
interest.”)
Chapter 2
Clause 2.1.2
CAUL recommends the addition of the phrase “or institutional repositories”
after “research units”, in recognition of the growing role of institutional
repositories in storing research data.
Chapter 3
Introduction
Many Australian research institutions – universities and CSIRO in particular –
publish research outputs from their own and others’ institutions. CAUL
recommends that this is recognised in the introduction, and that the Section
Responsibilities of Institutions be strengthened to take this into account.
CAUL notes that the Draft Code does not include reference to theses. As the
majority of Australian universities now participate in the Australian Digital
Theses program (see [online] http://adt.caul.edu.au/ ), which is steadily building
the number of theses available electronically, CAUL considers that it would be
appropriate to include reference to theses in this chapter. Two recommendations
relating to this follow.
Responsibilities of Institutions
CAUL recommends the addition of three new clauses in this section:
i)
ii)
iii)
Between clauses 3.1 and 3.2, add a clause that states that institutions
must provide advice on intellectual property and third party copyright
compliance.
Add a clause that states that, where institutions publish, they should
protect the rights of individuals and their institutions and encourage
maximum access to the works they publish. (For more information on
this see the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers’
Principles of Scholarship-friendly Journal Publishing Practice, [online]
http://www.alpsp.org/SFPubpress.htm).
Add a clause that states that, where institutions participate in the
Australian Digital These program or otherwise make their theses
available, they should ensure that the clauses that relate to publishing in
general also apply to web publication of theses where relevant.
Clause 3.4.2
CAUL recommends that 3.4.2 be expanded to include the phrase “researchers
are encouraged to seek permission to lodge their publications in personal,
departmental or institutional repositories at the time they sign contracts with
publishers”. Alternatively, this could be a new clause, clause 3.4.3.
This section should also include a clause on ensuring compliance with third
party copyright.
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Chapter 6
Introduction
CAUL recommends that this section be expanded to include reference to
research information skills. This could be done by adding the phrase “research
methods and research information skills” to the end of the first sentence.
Clause 6.4
CAUL recommends the addition of “literature searching” and “data
management” to the list of things that supervisors must take responsibility for.
Concluding remarks
University libraries support research activity by providing scholarly information and
ensuring that researchers cane use it capably and ethically, by helping their
institutions manage copyright, and, increasingly, by managing, or advising on the
management of, research data and publication. These are the areas that have been
focussed on in this response. CAUL is happy to clarify any of the points raised.
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