Field of Research (FoR) codes and clusters
For the purposes of ERA, research areas have been classified into 8 broad clusters, each comprised of a group of 2-digit Field of Research (FoR) groups.
Cluster 1: Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences - (PCE)
02 PHYSICAL SCIENCES
0201 Astronomical and space sciences
0202 Atomic, molecular, nuclear, particle and plasma physics
0203 Classical physics
0204 Condensed matter physics
0205 Optical physics
0206 Quantum physics
0299 Other physical sciences
03 CHEMICAL SCIENCES
0301 Analytical chemistry
0302 Inorganic chemistry
0303 Macromolecular and materials chemistry
0304 Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry
0305 Organic chemistry
0306 Physical chemistry (incl. structural)
0307 Theoretical and computational chemistry
0399 Other chemical sciences
04 EARTH SCIENCES
0401 Atmospheric sciences
0402 Geochemistry
0403 Geology
0404 Geophysics
0405 Oceanography
0406 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
0499 Other Earth Sciences
Cluster 2: Humanities and Creative Arts - (HCA)
12 BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN
1201 Architecture
1202 Building
1203 Design Practice and Management
1204 Engineering Design
1205 Urban and Regional Planning
1299 Other Built Environment and Design
18 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES
1801 Law
1802 Maori law
1899 Other law and legal studies
19 STUDIES IN CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING
1901 Art theory and criticism
1902 Film, television and digital media
1903 Journalism and professional writing
1904 Performing arts and creative writing
1905 Visual arts and crafts
1999 Other studies in creative arts and writing
20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE
2001 Communication and media studies
2002 Cultural studies
2003 Language studies
2004 Linguistics
2005 Literary studies
2099 Other language, communication and culture
21 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
2101 Archaeology
2102 Curatorial and related studies
2103 Historical studies
2199 Other history and archaeology
22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
2201 Applied ethics
2202 History and philosophy of specific fields
2203 Philosophy
2204 Religion and religious studies
2299 Other philosophy and religious studies
Cluster 3: Engineering and Environmental Sciences - (EE)
05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
0501 Ecological applications
0502 Environmental science and management
0503 Soil sciences
0599 Other environmental sciences
09 ENGINEERING
0901 Aerospace engineering
0902 Automotive engineering
0903 Biomedical engineering
0904 Chemical engineering
0905 Civil engineering
0906 Electrical and electronic engineering
0907 Environmental engineering
0908 Food sciences
0909 Geomatic engineering
0910 Manufacturing engineering
0911 Maritime engineering
0912 Materials engineering
0913 Mechanical engineering
0914 Resources engineering and extractive metallurgy
0915 Interdisciplinary engineering
0999 Other engineering
10 TECHNOLOGY
1005 Communications Technologies
1006 Computer Hardware
1007 Nanotechnology
1099 Other Technology
Cluster 4: Education and Human Society - (EHS)
13 EDUCATION
1301 Education systems
1302 Curriculum and pedagogy
1303 Specialist studies in education
1399 Other education
16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY
1601 Anthropology
1602 Criminology
1603 Demography
1604 Human geography
1605 Policy and administration
1606 Political science
1607 Social work
1608 Sociology
1699 Other studies in human society
Cluster 5: Economics and Commerce - (EC)
14 ECONOMICS
1401 Economic Theory
1402 Applied Economics
1403 Econometrics
1499 Other Economics
15 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM and SERVICES
1501 Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
1502 Banking, Finance and Investment
1503 Business and Management
1504 Commercial Services
1505 Marketing
1506 Tourism
1507 Transportation and Freight Services
1599 Other Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Cluster 6: Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences - (MIC)
01 MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
0101 Pure Mathematics
0102 Applied Mathematics
0103 Numerical and Computational Mathematics
0104 Statistics
0105 Mathematical Physics
0199 Other Mathematical Sciences
08 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES
0801 Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
0802 Computation Theory and Mathematics
0803 Computer Software
0804 Data Format
0805 Distributed Computing
0806 Information Systems
0807 Library and Information Studies
0899 Other Information and Computing Sciences
Cluster 7: Biological Sciences and Biotechnology - (BB)
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
0602 Ecology
0603 Evolutionary Biology
0604 Genetics
0605 Microbiology
0606 Physiology
0607 Plant Biology
0608 Zoology
0699 Other Biological Sciences
07 AGRICULTURE AND VETERINARY SCIENCES
0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management
0702 Animal Production
0703 Crop and Pasture Production
0704 Fisheries Sciences
0705 Forestry Sciences
0706 Horticultural Production
0707 Veterinary Sciences
0799 Other Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
10 TECHNOLOGY
1001 Agricultural Biotechnology
1002 Environmental Biotechnology
1003 Industrial Biotechnology
Cluster 8: Medical and Health Sciences - (MHS)
10 TECHNOLOGY
1004 Medical Biotechnology
11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
1101 Medical Biochemistry and Metabolomics
1102 Cardiovascular Medicine and Haematology
1103 Clinical Sciences
1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine
1105 Dentistry
1106 Human Movement and Sports Science
1107 Immunology
1108 Medical Microbiology
1109 Neurosciences
1110 Nursing
1111 Nutrition and Dietetics
1112 Oncology and Carcinogenesis
1113 Ophthalmology and Optometry
1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
1115 Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
1116 Medical Physiology
1117 Public Health and Health Sciences
1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES
1701 Psychology
1702 Cognitive Science
1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Science
FoR codes are a subset of the ANZSRC classificationand are a means of classifying research.
There are three levels of codes, each more specific than the previous. The broadest level is the 2-digit level FoR code, each 2-digit FoR code is divided into a number of more specific 4-digit FoR codes.
Use of FoR codes in ERA
Data for ERA is submitted at the four-digit FoR level. Indicators are calculated at the four-digit and two-digit FoR levels based on the data submitted for each institution, and this information is aggregated to create four-digit and two-digit Units of Evaluation.
FoR codes for journal articles
All eligible journals have been assigned FoR codes by the ARC, in consultation with discipline experts, and all journal articles are limited to the the FoR codes assigned to the journal the article is published in.
The following rules apply:
- An article in a journal with one 4-digit FoR code can only be assigned that one code.
- An article in a journal with multiple 4-digit FoR codes can be assigned any combination of those codes, and must be apportioned between them. This may be an even split between the available codes, or 100% one particular code. The minimum apportionment is 20%.
- An article in a journal with a 2-digit FoR code can be assigned up to three 4-digit FoR codes within that 2-digit code.
- An article in a journal considered 'multidisciplinary' (e.g. Nature) can be assigned up to three 4-digit FoR codes, which may be any 4-digit FoR codes.
What is the Exception Rule in assigning an FoR to a publication?
In the case of journal articles which have significant content (66% or more) that could best be described by a particular four-digit FoR code, institutions may assign that four-digit FoR code to the article, even if the ERA 2012 Journal List does not assign that four-digit FoR code to the journal in which the article was published (the reassignment exception).
For more information see, Chapter 5.4.3.1 of ERA Submission Guidelines (PDF)
Updated: 30 May 2012