Faculty of NAS: Postgraduate guide: Research support

• Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

• International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM)

• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)

 Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze information about a topic. In a research paper, the methodology section allows the reader to critically evaluate a study's overall validity and reliability

Research impact is an increasingly important aspect in securing government funding for research activity, NRF rating, institutional ranking, and the management of research output within the university sector and this has placed the emphasis on tracking citations of a researcher’s published works and publishing within highly ranked journals.

Citation analysis assumes that research published in prestigious journals with high impact scores and research published by scientists who enjoy high impact ratings will be cited more frequently than other research (Vucovich, Baker & Smith (2008:63). A further assumption is that the more a researcher or a paper is cited, the higher the impact of the research will be on the subject discipline (Meho, 2007:1).

The importance of both citations and citation analysis in scholarly information should be understood to fully appreciate the value of citation resources as a scholarly tool.

Over the years publishing models changed dramatically and the rise of open-access journals has changed how scholars use and share their articles. Changing publishing models, including the rise of open-access journals, have reshaped how scholars share and use journal articles. It has also brought predatory journals into the research arena and therefore it is important to understand and know the criteria for assessing journal quality to ensure that research is published in a quality journal.

Traditional measures, such as peer review, impact factors, and the reputation of the journal will always be important measures to use when assessing a journal. New techniques of assessment have emerged and must be used in conjunction with traditional measures. These include journal ranking and article-level assessment  (altmetrics) which tracks the relevance of scholarship through non-traditional sources such as blogs, social media, and other online systems.

The DHET's Approved List is compiled annually from international and national journals. Journals included in these lists are considered accredited and are taken into account when government subsidy is granted to universities for scientific publication of research output. The following lists of journals are important in the identification of journals in which to publish.

• Clarivate Web of Science
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
• Scopus
• Norwegian list
• SciELO SA
• South African list
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

The List of Accredited Journals is maintained by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Consult Unisa's Department of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation webpage on the staff intranet for the latest DHET Approved List. The DHET Accredited Journals List can be accessed by using the following steps: E-Connect → Departments → Research, Innovation and Commercialisation 

• Accredited Journal Lists 2022

Dissertations are useful for identifying research opportunities.

Very useful for generating reading lists.

Research Ethics is defined here to be the ethics of the planning, conduct, and reporting of research. It is clear that research ethics should include:

Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to research activities which include the design and implementation of research, respect towards society and others, the use of resources and research outputs, scientific misconduct, and the regulation of research

Humans and Animals used in the research need protection.