An Analysis of Australian Research Council’s Grants in Religion

Authors

  • Adam Possamai Western Sydney University
  • Gary Long Western Sydney University
  • Victor Counted Western Sydney University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.20133

Keywords:

religious studies, Australian Research Council, research grants, Excellence in Research for Australia, global rankings

Abstract

In this article, we used the meta-metrics approach to analyse research grants in the Religion and Religious Studies field of research (FoR) in Australia, with respect to their metric properties, significance, similarity, and usage characterisation. Whilst comparing and contrasting various results from the dataset of the Australian Research Council (ARC) on the success of its grant capture, we found the following: an imbalance in the FoR between the quantity of publications and that of national competitive grant capture in Australia (highlighting the problem of research significance) and a disparity between the use of keywords on religion without using corresponding FoR codes (as an expression of usage characterisation). These findings are examined in parallel with the last 2018 ARC’s Excellence in Research for Australia report.

Author Biographies

  • Adam Possamai, Western Sydney University

    Professor Adam Possamai is a sociologist of religion and Deputy Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University, Australia.

  • Gary Long, Western Sydney University

    Gary Long is the Post Award, Data and Systems Manager in the Research, Enterprise and International Division at Western Sydney University, Australia.

  • Victor Counted, Western Sydney University

    Victor Counted, PhD, is Fellow of the School of Psychology at Western Sydney University, Australia, and Research Associate of the Cambridge Institute for Applied Psychology and Religion, UK.

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Published

2021-07-07

How to Cite

Possamai, A. ., Long, G. ., & Counted, V. . (2021). An Analysis of Australian Research Council’s Grants in Religion. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 34(1), 74–95. https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.20133