Using PURE for REF

Will the REF module be updated to meet all the requirements of REF 2021?
Who has access to the REF module in Pure?
How should Pure be used to support the REF submission?
What guidance is available?

Will the REF module be updated to meet all the requirements of REF 2021?

Elsevier are in the process of making a series of upgrades to Pure to ensure that it meets all of the updated submission requirements for REF 2021. We expect to upgrade to the next major release (5.18) in October 2020. This will introduce updated functionality particularly with respect to the changes in the guidance released by Research England in light of Covid-19. One further upgrade is expected before submission.

Who has access to the REF module in Pure?

Access to the REF module within Pure is restricted to staff who either i) have responsibility for managing a unit of assessment or ii) require access for administrative reasons. In the vast majority of cases, access is limited to a single unit of assessment, except where the role requires wider access (for example, PIP team staff).

To request access to the REF module, follow the 'Who has access to Pure?' link within the Research Systems Support Hub wiki.

How should Pure be used to support the REF submission?

As with REF 2014, Pure is being used to collate our REF submission in order that it can be uploaded to the REF submission system in the following ways:

Staff data (REF1)

There is an automatic update of staff data in Pure from the HR system, Resourcelink.

All eligible staff have to be allocated to a unit of assessment in the REF module. The allocation of new staff to units of assessment is managed on a monthly basis by the Policy, Integrity, and Performance Team.

For more information on which staff are eligible, see the REF1 Staff section of the website.

Outputs (REF2)

All output metadata and full texts (where available) will be collated and quality-checked in Pure. This work is supported by the Library.

Pure is integrated with the White Rose Repository Online and therefore supports our compliance with the open access requirements for REF 2021. More information is available here.

Any additional information required by the sub-panels will be added to the REF2 records of the outputs.

The 5.18 release (expected October 2020) will provide updated validation checking based on the requirements for REF 2021.

Impact (REF3)

There is the ability to add a PDF / Word doc of the final impact case study documents, plus the additional data requirements described in the Guidance on Submissions.

Currently, the preparation of the Impact sub-profile (REF3), except for contextual data, is managed outside of Pure using Google drive.

Environment (REF4 and REF5)

Changes are currently being made to Pure to ensure that the finance and student data we will submit to REF reflect the data requirements in the Guidance on Submissions. Textual information for the Environment templates will not be developed in Pure, but there will be the ability to add a PDF / Word doc of the final document.

Pure holds a wealth of data which may support the preparation of the Environment templates, for example, data on activities, prizes, research grants, datasets and impact.

Currently, the preparation of the environment sub-profile (REF4 and REF5) is managed outside of Pure using Google drive.

Staff circumstances (REF6)

This part of the module enables staff circumstances to be recorded, for example, where requests are being made to EDAP for a reduction in outputs. Access to this section is restricted.

What guidance is available?

The following guide was prepared to advise Departments how to add and grade outputs for the 2020 Autumn REF Check.

Autumn REF Check Pure Guidance (PDF , 1,223kb)