Vision

Enhancing Research Quality

The point of departure for the research strategy in the School is based upon an holistic view of the nature of scholarship, and an inclusive perspective on the nature of academic work. This is one which recognises that knowledge is acquired through research, through synthesis, through practice and through teaching. Broadly following Ernest Boyer (1990), our academic work is conceived of as having four separate yet overlapping functions which comprise the scholarship of inquiry, the scholarship of integration, the scholarship of application and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Our Aim and Goals

Against this background, the overall aim of the strategy for research in the School is to enhance research quality, increase research quantity and extend research impact through the advancement of a research culture that continually strives towards the goals of:

• Achieving the highest possible standards of quality of our research outputs in terms of rigour, originality and international significance,
• Maximising support for our research activity through the winning of external research funding,
• Building our research capacity by progressively increasing the number of established researchers in the School,
• Continuing to expand the number of doctoral students, visiting scholars and post-doctoral researchers,
• Optimising the impact of our research on our teaching and on student learning by promoting a culture of scholarship in teaching and learning,
• Extending the wider impact of our research through public engagement and knowledge exchange activities, and
• Contributing to the advancement of the knowledge base and to the sustainability and vitality of our fields nationally and internationally

Research Structures

The research structures have been reviewed during 2011 and reorganised into two groupings which are the:

• Centre for Research and Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CRITAL) and
• Resiliency, Risk and Vulnerability (RR&V) Research Network