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Research Categories

Faculty of Education

Categories of Research Income

The Australian Competitive Grants Register (ACGR) lists qualifying, nationally competitive research schemes. The income that Higher Education Providers receive from schemes listed on the ACGR drives the allocation of over $200 million of Research Infrastructure Block Grants (RIBG) annually.

Go to the Building Your Research Profile web page for more details.

Codes and Classification of Research

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) is jointly produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Statistics New Zealand (Statistics NZ). ANZSRC is the collective name for a set of three related classifications developed for use in the measurement and analysis of research and experimental development (R&D) undertaken in Australia and New Zealand. ANZSRC was introduced in 2008 and replaces the Australian Standard Research Classification (ASRC 1998). You must use the current codes for your research data.

The three constituent classifications included in the ANZSRC are:

Types of Activity (ToA)
Fields of Research (FoR)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

Types of Activity (ToA) Codes

Each research project can be classified into one or more research types.

Pure basic research (PB) is experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge without looking for long-term benefits other than the advancement of knowledge.
Strategic basic research (SB) is experimental and theoretical work undertaken to acquire new knowledge directed into specified broad areas in the expectation of useful discoveries. It provides the broad base of knowledge necessary for the solution of recognised practical problems.
Applied research (AR) is original work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge with a specific application in view. It is undertaken either to determine possible uses for the findings of basic research or to determine new ways of achieving some specific and predetermined objectives.
Experimental development (ED) is systematic work, using existing knowledge gained from research or practical experience for the purpose of creating new or improved products/processes.

Most research projects will probably be classified 100% to one type of research activity. However, where a research project is classifiable by more than one type, the proportion of resources classifiable to each should be allocated to each type. The percentages allocated to ToA must sum to 100%.

Fields of Research (FoR) Codes

The FoR classification enables research and development to be classified in terms of its discipline and describes the nature of the research being done. When classifying a research project to FoR codes:

determine the division in which the research is classed (Education is Division 13), then
determine the most relevant group(s), and then
select the most relevant field(s) within that group.

The ABS requires that research projects normally be classified to 6-digit codes. The percentages allocated to FoR must sum to 100%.

FoR Group codes for Education are:

1301 Education Systems
1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy
1303 Specialist Studies in Education
1399 Other Education

Each of these consists of a number of distinct Field codes. These are:

130101 Continuing and Community Education
130102 Early Childhood Education
130103 Higher Education
130105 Primary Education
130106 Secondary Education
130108 Technical, Further and Workplace Education
130199 Education systems not elsewhere classified

130201 Creative Arts, Media and Communication Curriculum and Pedagogy
130202 Curriculum and Pedagogy Theory and Development
130203 Economics, Business and Management Curriculum and Pedagogy
130204 English and Literacy Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. LOTE, ESL and TESOL)
130205 Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum and Pedagogy
130207 LOTE, ESL and TESOL Curriculum and Pedagogy
130208 Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy
130209 Medicine, Nursing and Health Curriculum and Pedagogy
130210 Physical Education and Development of Curriculum Pedagogy
130211 Religion Curriculum and Pedagogy
130212 Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy
130213 Vocational Education and Training Curriculum and Pedagogy
130299 Curriculum and Pedagogy not elsewhere classified

130301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
130302 Comparative and Cross-Cultural Education
130303 Education Assessment and Evaluation
130304 Educational Administration, Management and Leadership
130305 Educational Counselling
130306 Educational Technology and Computing
130307 Ethnic Education (excl. Aboriginal, TSI, Maori and Pacific Peoples)
130308 Gender, Sexuality and Education
130309 Learning Sciences
130311 Pacific Peoples Education
130312 Special Education and Disability
130313 Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators
130399 Specialist Studies in Education not elsewhere classified

139999 Education not elsewhere classified

[N.B. codes relating to Maori Education research have been omitted]

Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) Codes

The SEO classification allows research and development activities to be classified in terms of the main area of expected national benefit. It describes the end purpose of the research being performed. The purpose categories take account of processes, products, health, education and other social and environmental aspects of particular interest. When classifying a research project to SEO codes:

determine the most relevant sector in which the largest component of the research project is being performed, then
determine the most relevant division(s) (Education is Division 93), then
determine the most relevant group(s), and then
select the most relevant objective(s) within that group.

The ABS requires that research projects normally be classified to 6-digit codes. The percentages allocated to SEO must sum to 100%.

SEO Group codes for Education are:

9301 Learner and Learning
9302 Teaching and Instruction
9303 Curriculum
9304 School/Institution
9305 Education and Training Systems
9399 Other Education and Training