Annex B – Output glossary

Published: 11 November 2026

Content

Considerations of output diversity in REF 2029
Output submission categories and collection formats
(Parts of) books
Journal articles
Physical artefacts
Exhibitions and performances
Other documents
Digital artefacts
Other

Considerations of output diversity in REF 2029

This glossary should be read alongside Section 4: CKU guidance in the Guidance, notably sub-section 5.3. that describes the definition of research for the REF.

All forms of research have a place within the REF 2029 CKU submissions. The panels wish to assess research outputs that reflect the diversity of research ideas, concepts, methods, practices, viewpoints, cultures, environments and outcomes (including interdisciplinary) represented within submitting units in HEIs. They expect that outputs will embrace a range of investigative approaches, extending from established designs within specific disciplines to inter- and transdisciplinary innovations. Panels recognise that excellence may arise from epistemic diversity, including philosophical, methodological, practical and theoretical diversity.

All research outputs must meet the definition of research for the REF. For the purposes of the REF, research is defined as ‘a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared’.

An underpinning principle of the REF is that all forms of research output that meet the REF 2029 definition of research will be assessed on a fair and equal basis. Sub-panels will not regard any form of output or type of research as of greater or lesser quality than another. They will not privilege or disadvantage any specific research approach or methods employed.

No output will be privileged or disadvantaged on the basis of its language, format, type, where it is published, the medium of its publication or the mode through which it entered the public domain.

Output submission categories and collection formats

This glossary is provided for two reasons. It signposts, through examples, the wide range of output formats and types that exist across the full spectrum of research included in the REF. It also provides an update to the coding requirements HEIs must use to classify outputs at the point of submission.

These examples are illustrative only. They should not be read as exhaustive or prescriptive, and the panels anticipate that outputs will be submitted which do not meet the direct description of a specific output type (the use of ‘Other’ is encouraged in such cases).

The information below sets out categories of output types under which outputs will be submitted to the REF 2029 and a broad definition of each category. This glossary will be updated in early 2027 to also include the submission formats for the different output types. Some limited examples are included, which are provided for guidance only and do not represent a definitive list. The definitions of each category are porous and it is anticipated that there will be outputs that could be equally submitted in different categories and therefore this guidance should be considered a tool to support HEIs to identify the most appropriate classification in relation to relevant disciplinary or interdisciplinary norms or expectations.

In addition:

where a written description of the research is not provided within the output itself, a description of the research should be provided in the ‘additional information’ field (maximum 300 words). Further guidance on the use and content of the 300-word statement is provided in sub-section 8., Section 6: Assessment criteria – CKU in the Panel criteria to ensure consistency for panels
where the form of the output makes this essential, it may be supplemented by limited additional material in formats that panels can access
for all non-textual or digital outputs, the submission needs to be provided in a format which is accessible via different computer systems and that maintains anonymity of users. Outputs should not require any registration, logging in, tracking or other mechanism that may enable the HEI to monitor the REF 2029 process

Full detail on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and updated in the information in this glossary.

(Parts of) books

Category: A – Authored book
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Definition: An authored book written entirely by a single author or by joint authors who share responsibility for the whole book. 
Includes: 

scholarly books

research monographs

textbooks based on significant research (as defined above) by the author(s) 

revisions/new editions of the above, providing this includes substantial new research material 

novels, plays and screenplays 

collections of plays, poems, short stories or other creative writing by the author(s)

a multimedia ebook

a graphic novel

Category: B – Edited book
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: A book or volume in which individual chapters or contributions have been written by different authors. 

To submit a work in this category the editor upon whom the substantive link is based must be identified as having made a substantial contribution to the editing, choices for inclusion and underpinning process of investigation.

Includes:   

edited books or volumes 

textbooks or encyclopaedias where significant background research is required 

annotated anthologies where research informs the annotations 

revisions or new editions of the above providing this includes substantial new research material

Category: C – Chapter in book
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Definition: This category includes contributions to edited books. This may include scholarly work, such as: 

chapters in edited books 

entries in textbooks incorporating significant research content 

entries in scholarly editions 

entries in revisions or new editions providing this includes substantial new research material

translations where these contain significant editorial work which constitutes research

Category: R – Scholarly edition and/or commentary
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Definition: Works that are informed by critical evaluation of the wider evidence (such as earlier manuscripts, texts, documents and letters, other textual witnesses, and other relevant texts, linguistic, historical, intellectual and cultural context) often with a scholarly introduction on the text and/or original author and appropriate critical apparatus (annotations glossaries, critical indices etc). They may take the form of an edition of work or body of works or texts, or alternatively a systematic exegesis of a work or body of works or texts.

Both scholarly editions and commentaries can be independently published. A scholarly edition can sometimes be published with a commentary but does not have to do so.

Both a scholarly edition and a commentary may also include a translation of the original text(s) where this constitutes part of the research.

Journal articles

Category: D – Journal article
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Definition: A scholarly paper, usually on a specific topic, published in an externally circulated scholarly or professional journal that has an ISSN. This may include: 

full research articles 

critical scholarly texts which appear in article form 

review articles, where these meet the definition of research for the REF 

evidence synthesis, including systematic reviews, analyses, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, where these meet the definition of research for the REF 

rapid communication (short papers, usually published swiftly, in scholarly journals presenting original material) 

discussion papers (short articles in scholarly journals that critically address specific results or data provided in a published research paper) 

creative articles, including photographic essays. 

a “living” journal article with versioned updates and post-publication peer-review commentary

Category: E – Conference contribution
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Definition: A conference paper or other contribution published in conference proceedings. The conference proceedings will usually have an ISSN or ISBN and may be published in a number of formats such as: 

volume of proceedings 

special or normal edition of a journal 

book or a monograph 

website

Submitted outputs may include: 

full written papers that appear in published conference proceedings 

other conference contributions which meet the definition of research

Category: U – Working paper
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Definition: Research papers disseminated to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision. This may be through pre-print dissemination, lodging in an institutional repository or self-publication for distribution.

Physical artefacts

Category: L – Artefact
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Definition: Artefacts, objects or craftworks exhibited, commissioned or otherwise presented or offered in the public domain, for example visual arts, constructions and cultural creations.

The output submission may take the form of moving image, sonic, visual or other digital media or written text, or a combination of these, as appropriate. This can include (but is not limited to):

works of craft

designed artefacts

construction infrastructures, such as buildings, bridges, other physical infrastructure

cultural artefacts such as large permanent public art

media installations

The material submitted should provide sufficient information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Category: P – Devices and products
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: An element, system or substance developed to perform a particular function, set or combination of functions. Incorporates developing the concept and the design and development of any chemical, mechanical, electronic and software components, and where appropriate the overall system architecture. 

use may be functional, aesthetic or commercial 

may be physical including chemical or compound, in other words, medicines 

may include digital/virtual products for particular functions, in other words, gaming, analysis, display 

may include services, i.e. transportation, energy supply, public broadcasting, healthcare systems 

may be associated with the manufacturing, extraction and refinement of other devices

Exhibitions and performances

Category: M – Exhibition
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: A single or series of public events, or short-term, long-term or permanent installations, at which works are displayed. The form of the output may be one of moving image, sonic, visual or other digital media or written text, or a combination of these, as appropriate, to enable the panel to understand and access the research dimensions and/or the researcher’s contribution to the exhibition and to assess its significance, originality and rigour.

Submissions can be: 

solo exhibitions 

curation of exhibitions 

contributions to collaborative group exhibitions

Submissions may include:

artistic works and/or designs

historical, political, social, technical/technological or scientific research and information 

works exhibited in a gallery, museum or in other alternative spaces

artist’s book or equivalent in electronic format

a digitally native, interactive online exhibition

exhibition catalogue

The output submitted should provide sufficient visual and written information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Category: I – Performance
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Definition: A live or recorded performance (by, for example, an actor, musician, dancer, conductor, artist) to an external audience. The researcher/s can have one (or more) of a variety of major roles (for example, lead performer, director, writer) in the production, which should meet the REF definition of research. The role should be specified within the additional details required, with details of other participants involved in the research.

This may take the form of moving image, sonic, visual or other digital media or written text, or a combination of these, as appropriate, to enable the panel to access the research dimensions and/or the researcher’s contribution to the performance and to assess its significance, originality and rigour.   Includes (but is not limited to): 

performance of a play, musical, opera, concert, television or radio production, performance artwork

theatre productions (stage play, mime, circus, puppet show, variety act, comedy show)

concerts and recitals (music or dance) 

broadcast performances and other modes of presentation 

production of an audio/visual medium (such as CD or DVD recording) artistic direction of a staged production 

input into a theatre production (for example, design, dramaturgy)

an immersive VR performance premiered online with global access statistics

live art

The material submitted should provide sufficient information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Digital artefacts

Category: G – Software
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: Originally researched, created and published software (computer programs and their associated documentation, consisting of a set of instructions written by a programmer) or database products of commercial quality, which has been made publicly available.

May include (but is not limited to): 

operating systems 

utilities 

application programs (apps)

interactive multimedia 

augmented or virtual reality

video games 

logic systems

The material submitted should provide sufficient information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Category: H – Website content
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: A collection of material which embodies research and is undertaken on a systematic basis specifically for dissemination through a website and/or as an interactive approach to allow users to engage directly with the process or products of the research. 

Web content is the textual, visual or aural content encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include – among other things – text, images, sounds, dashboards, videos and animations. 

May present factual information, analysis or data, or fictional, imaginative and/or creative work, using pictorial, video, audio and so on.

Category: Q – Digital or visual media
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: Research outputs presented in digitised and/or audio-visual format. This may take the form of moving image, sonic, visual or other digital media or written text, or a combination of these, as appropriate, to enable the panel to access the research dimensions and/or the researcher’s role and research contribution to the output and to assess its significance, originality and rigour. Includes, but is not limited to: 

films

digital anthology, including audio commentary tracks

documentaries 

multimedia presentations

computer games 

application programs (apps)

social media

podcast

photography

animation

Encoded in digital format, machine-readable and presenting information and forms of communication not limited to verbal and text-based means.

The material submitted should provide sufficient information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Category: S – Research datasets and databases
Upload to Submission system: Full details on submission formats will be published as part of the Submission system requirements in early 2027 and will be updated here
Definition: Submissions may include: 

datasets: these may come in a variety of formats, for instance in spreadsheet, but also any collection of data on which analysis can be performed. Most commonly a dataset corresponds to the contents of a single database table, or a statistical data matrix, where every column of the table represents a particular variable, and each row corresponds to a given member of the dataset

databases: collections of data specifically organised and presented for the ease of viewing, retrieval and analysis. May comprise multiple datasets. Often characterised by data field structuring and searchability tools

material can be API enabled, or fixed URL or DOI structures

datasets should fit with community standards and benchmarks, demonstrate reuse potential and actual update and reference infrastructure (repositories, ontologies, standards) used

For example:

curated, ontology-aligned knowledge graph datasets

large-scale annotated benchmark datasets for supervised and self-supervised learning

high-resolution, temporally indexed Earth observation dataset with standardised geospatial metadata

The material submitted should provide sufficient information to allow the panel to assess the research process, research insights and time and manner of dissemination.

Other

Category: V – Translation
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Definition: A translation of a work or body of works by another author or authors, which may be informed by critical evaluation of the sources (such as earlier manuscripts, texts, documents and letters), and which may be accompanied by critical analysis of the work’s original cultural context for the new readership.

Translations may also include a scholarly introduction and explanatory notes or contextual analysis. Translation may enhance existing understanding of the material in question, and may provide evidence of creativity in its own right.

Category: Z – Multi-component outputs
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Definition: Outputs that consist of a combination of different output types to be considered together, and that together evidence a single process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared. This may include (but is not limited to):

a peer-review output and associated code to replicate findings

a collection of creative and/or critical work (for example, related articles, books, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, choreographic materials, essays, scripts, dramaturgical works, films, recordings, mixed media etc.) where the collection is necessary to evidence the process of investigation

multi-platform projects 

textual submissions that consist of more than one DOI

submissions that consist of mixed forms of outputs

Category: T – Other
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Definition: Other forms of assessable output meeting the definition of research but not captured within any of the above categories. This may include (but is not limited to):

new materials 

structures 

images 

cultural or natural sites (including gardens)

heritage sites

standards

food products and processes 

published geological and/or geomorphological maps 

creative bodies of enquiry 

design processes/programme of research 

curatorial projects 

a creative writing collection (a number of related works that were published in forms other than a book length collection)

substantial dictionary or encyclopaedia entries and groups of short items including groups of entries

A – Authored book

B – Edited book

C – Chapter in book

R – Scholarly edition and/or commentary

D – Journal article

E – Conference contribution

U – Working paper

L – Artefact

P – Devices and products

M – Exhibition

I – Performance

F – Patent/published patent application/certified or regulated output

J – Composition

K – Design

N – Research report/publication for external body

O – Confidential report/publication for external body

G – Software

H – Website content

Q – Digital or visual media

S – Research datasets and databases

V – Translation

Z – Multi-component outputs

T – Other