Research Publications per Academic FTE
Average number of peer-reviewed publications per academic staff member
What is Research Publications per Academic FTE?
Research publications per academic full-time equivalent (FTE) is the number of peer-reviewed publications produced for each full-time academic. It shows how productive academic staff are in research output.
It is one measure of research activity, though quality and impact matter as much as quantity.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Product & Engineering
- Sub-function
- Research Output
- Industry
- Education
- Type
- Lagging
- Impact
- Quality
- Unit
- #
- Measurement frequency
- Annual
- Formula
- Total peer-reviewed publications / Total academic FTE
How to calculate it
Divide total peer-reviewed publications by total academic FTE.
For example, if a department published 240 peer-reviewed papers and had 80 academic FTEs, the figure is 3 per FTE.
Publication norms differ widely across disciplines, so compare like with like, and consider quality measures such as citations alongside the count.
Where it is used
Tracking research output
Follow productivity.
Comparing similar departments
Benchmark within a field.
Supporting research planning
Set expectations.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Do not compare across very different disciplines.
- Quantity alone can encourage poor practice.
- Combine with quality and impact measures.
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