An annual report on academic activity is a regular procedure for lecturers, research staff and candidates for academic degrees. On its basis, the academic council assesses the results of the work over the calendar year, while the data themselves often affect the renewal of an employment contract, participation in competitions for a post, and the rating indicators of the department. Preparing such a report has a number of features, and understanding the requirements in advance reduces the likelihood of mistakes and of running short of time at the end of the year.
What does an annual report on academic activity include?
An annual report summarises the results of academic work over the reporting period, which is usually the calendar year. Its structure is determined by the internal requirements of the research organisation or university, although the main list of results taken into account coincides in most cases. It includes:
- articles in journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science
- publications in local peer-reviewed editions and conference proceedings
- monographs, textbooks and teaching aids
- participation in conferences, seminars and academic events
- supervision of diploma works, doctoral students and dissertation candidates
- patents, grants and completed research projects
- scientometric indicators, including the Hirsch index and citation rate
If a scholar's own dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Sciences was defended during the reporting year, this information is also included in the report. The reviewing of articles, acting as an opponent at defences, and participation in the editorial work of publications are accounted for separately.
Timeframes for preparing annual reporting
In most organisations the reporting period is the calendar year, while the review of reports at a meeting of the academic council usually falls in December or at the beginning of the following year. The specific submission deadlines are set by the organisation itself, so one should rely on its internal regulations rather than on general assumptions about timeframes.
It is more convenient to carry out preparation not in the final weeks of the year but throughout the whole reporting period. Accumulating data as results appear reduces the risk that individual publications or events will be overlooked. A result entered after the report has been approved is, as a rule, not reflected in the current period.
What documents are needed for an annual report?
Gathering supporting materials is one of the main stages of preparation. For each result declared, it is advisable to have documentary confirmation: the publication's imprint data, a DOI identifier, a copy of the article, a conference participant's certificate, or a corresponding order. It is convenient to organise the preparation of the report in several sequential steps:
- Collect information on all publications for the year with full bibliographic data.
- Check the current status of the journals and their indexing in international databases.
- Compare your personal data with the information in institutional record-keeping systems.
- Prepare supporting documents for each item of the report.
- Clarify the form, requirements and submission deadlines at your organisation.
Checking the indexing matters, since a journal's status may change during the year. Comparing personal data with the organisation's databases helps to avoid the discrepancies that are often revealed at the verification stage.
Typical mistakes in preparing an annual report
Part of the difficulty is connected not with the academic work itself but with the organisation of the data. Common problems include assigning a result to the wrong reporting period, incomplete bibliographic details, and the absence of supporting documents. There is also the occasional discrepancy between the data in the report and the information in the organisation's databases, which delays the approval process.
The accounting of publications released at the turn of the year deserves particular attention. The actual publication date of an edition may differ from the one planned, so such materials are worth checking especially carefully when allocating them across reporting periods.
Preparation for annual reporting becomes simpler with a systematic approach to recording results. The regular accumulation of data throughout the year, checking the indexing of publications, and an advance reconciliation with the organisation's internal requirements all improve the quality of the report and reduce the workload in the closing period.
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