You are here: Home Research Database

Research Database - Information

Please consult the following FAQ before contacting us with your questions!

 

Questions and answers on the Research Database

 

 

Access, Support, Training, Reallocation of Resources

  • I am a researcher at the University of Freiburg. How do I receive access to the Research Database and enter my data?

Download the application form [de, pdf] and submit it by internal mail, Phone: 9665. Consult the help pages [de] of the Research Database if you need further support.

 

  • I am a researcher at the University of Freiburg. How do I receive support entering data into the Research Database and generating a report?

Consult the Handbook [pdf] for basic support, particularly for the “reallocation of resources allocated temporarily within the context of appointment and contract renewal negotiations.”

 

  • I am a researcher at the University of Freiburg. How do I generate my report for the procedure “reallocation of resources allocated temporarily within the context of appointment and contract renewal negotiations”?

The Handbook [pdf] provides detailed support. If you are familiar with the Research Database and just want to generate the report, read the brief description Generating the Report for the Procedure “Reallocation of Resources Allocated Temporarily within the Context of Appointment and Contract Renewal Negotiations”. If you have questions on the procedure itself, contact the Office for Committees and Appointments [de], Contact: Ms. Sandra Kläger, E-mail: , Phone: 4850.

 

  • Where do I go for support as an employee of the Medical Center?

Contact the user administration of the Computing Center of the Medical Center. Consult the help pages of the Research Database [de] for more information. Address your comments and questions to Ulrich Lickert (ulrich.lickert@uniklinik-freiburg.de, Phone: 270-22650).

 

  • What do I do if I’ve forgotten my password for the Research Database?

Passwords for the Research Database are linked to the user interface myAccount. The Computing Center is responsible for support in this area.

General Questions on Using the Database

 

  • What data should I enter into the Research Database? What time period should the entry cover?

If you are affected by the “reallocation of temporarily allocated resources,” your entry should at least include the data described in the Handbook [pdf] for the corresponding time period (as a rule, five years). These data are also a good rule of thumb for all other users (i.e., those not affected by this procedure). Moreover, as for all other users there are no limits to the amount of data you may enter or the time period you cover. You are welcome to enter your entire research history into the database, including research you conducted at other institutions before coming to Freiburg; this also facilitates the integration of your data into your departmental website, as you then only need to update the data on the Research Database. Unless you are affected by the aforementioned procedures (and others in the future), you are currently not required to enter your data at the present. However, it is recommended that you always present an adequate account of your department on the Research Database.

 

  • Where should I enter which data into the Research Database?

In most cases, the process of entering your data is self-explanatory and refers to your activities as a researcher. The only exception is “Abschlussarbeiten” (Final theses), which refers to your activity as a reviewer or evaluator; some tips are available in the Handbook [pdf] and in the context help of the Research Database (click on “Hilfe” (help) at the upper left-hand corner of the page). There are several subcategories to choose from under publications, activities, and final theses, but you can also change the type later. To do so, press the “Typ wechseln” (Change type) button, which doesn’t appear until you have saved your data.
Notice: “Veranstaltung” (Course) and “Herausgeberschaft” (Editorship) in the “Aktivitäten” (Activities) category refer to activities, while a “Herausgeberschaft” (Editorship) or a “Vortrag” (Lecture) in the “Publikationen” (Publication) category refers to a publication. Only enter editorships or lectures in the latter category if they led to a publication.

 

  • Can I import my data into the Research Database all at once?

You can use various reference management programs to import your data into the Research Database. PubMed, Medline, Reference Manager, Endnote, and Bibtex (in XML format) are supported. To upload your data, go to “Publikationen” (Publications) --> “Neue Publikationen” (New publications) and then select your reference management program from the list at the bottom of the page. When you click on the desired program you will receive instructions on how to proceed from there. You can use Citavi free of charge via a campus license for university employees. The  University Library offers trainings for Citavi. The University Library also offers a website [de] with further information.

 

  • Can I post the data from the Research Database on my own website?

We recommend integrating your content directly into the university’s Content Management System (CMS) in an optically appropriate style; the Computer Center offers instructions [de] for this. The integration functions dynamically; i.e., once it is set up, all changes on the Research Database appear automatically in the CMS. There are detailed instructions [de] on the structure of the Research Database, including information on how to access it with other systems and continue processing the data from there. You have the possibility of simply linking your website to the research report [de]. With the help of the Website Construction Kit (“Homepagebaukasten” – under “Berichte” (Reports) at the far left), you can generate an individual link that you can add to your website by entering your department, faculty, OR (!!!) cost center and any other desired parameters (e.g., you can change the time period under Jahr or sort the data by date under Sortierung der Daten nach).

  • Wait a minute! That used to be different, didn’t it?

We continually adapt the Research Database to meet the needs of users. Click here [de] for a list of changes we have made to the database in the past.

Concrete Questions on Using the Database

 

  • Where is the logout button?

Our system does not have a logout. If you wish to make sure you are no longer logged in, please close your browser.

 

  • I have entered data, but they do not appear in the research report!

In order to ensure that your data appear in the research report or in other reports, you need to check the box next to "Internet-Freigabe" (Internet release) at the bottom of the input mask.

 

  • What is an impact factor?

The impact factor is a concise method of measuring the reputation of a journal (only journals!) for a certain year based on the average number of citations to articles in it. It provides a means of determining the quality of a researcher’s publications. The University of Freiburg uses the data from Journal Citation Reports (JCR) by Thomson Reuters.
The impact factor for the current year is based on data from the previous year, since the current data have not yet been compiled. It is possible in principle for the impact factors of two consecutive years to deviate greatly from each other or for the impact factor of a certain year to be 0 (because data has not yet been collected for the journal or because it has not yet been published). Read the Wikipedia entry on the topic for further information. The impact factor can be used as a criterion for awarding funds, but with the exception of the Faculty of Medicine this is currently not the case at the University of Freiburg. However, you can generate a report including the impact factors: “Abteilungsbericht/Publikationsliste” (Departmental report/publication list) --> “8: Publikationen mit Impactfaktoren (Uni)” (Publications with impact factors).

 

  • I want to enter a prize under “Aktivitäten” (Activities). Why do I have to enter a time period although the prize was awarded on a single day?

The field “Laufzeit/Zeitpunkt” (Duration/time) is the same for all activities; some of them also include a time period. To enter a one-day activity, just enter the date in the first field and click on “Speichern” (Save). The same date will be entered into the second field automatically.

 

  • How do I enter a prize under “Aktivitäten” (Activities) in which only the year is displayed?

Enter “01.01.Year” into the first date field and “31.12.” and the same year into the second field (encompassing an entire year from 01.01. to 31.12.). Then only that year will appear in the research report or other reports. This “trick” works for all dates with two fields, so it also works for projects.

 

  • I don’t know how long my project will run but still have to enter a duration including two dates. What should I do?

You can check the box next to “unbegrenzt” (indefinite) at the end of the “Laufzeit” (Duration) field. Once you know the correct end date, you can enter it and remove the check mark.

 

  • I have categorized my publications in groups. How can I export them under those groups in the report?

Click on “Abteilungsbericht/Publikationsliste” (Departmental report/publication list) under “Berichte” (Reports), select a report, and then check the box next to “Publikationen nach Gruppen unterteilen” (Categorize publications in groups). If you wish to export the grouped publications on the CMS, refer to the XSLT file under https://www.ssc.uni-freiburg.de/forschdb-gruppe.xsl in the preferences of the CMS product “XSLTrans.”

 

  • How can I apply for an additional cost center?

We would be happy to grant you the rights to administrate an additional cost center. Please contact N.N. for more information (Phone: 6806). Please also let us know when you no longer need a cost center.

 

  • Is it possible to retrieve a complete list of the research output of all departments and professors of an institute?

Please contact Mr. Lickert (E-mail: ulrich.lickert@uniklinik-freiburg.de, Phone: 270-2265). This is already being practiced in the research reports of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics [de] (be careful with the keyword “Gesamt”).

 

  • I work for several cost centers. Is it possible to enter data only once but have them named as also belonging to other cost centers in the research report?

This is unfortunately not possible at the moment. We ask that you publish your data on the Research Database only once for the appropriate cost center.

 

  • I want to generate a report for an individual researcher. Why do all of the “Schwerpunkte” (Emphases) and entries under “Finanzierung” (Funding) for my cost center appear in it?

There is unfortunately no technical means of avoiding this. If you have created a pdf/rtf document, you will have to use the following workaround: With a pdf you will need to remove all inappropriate entries by hand; with an rtf you can use a text editor to delete them.

 

  • Our institution has been restructured. Why is the old structure still displayed on the Research Database?

Please contact N.N. (Phone: 6806) to have the Research Database changed to reflect the current structure of your institution.

 

  • I want to retrieve individual processed information from the Research Database (and export these data to Excel). How do I do that?

 

If you cannot use the Website Construction Kit (“Homepagebaukasten” – under “Berichte” at the far left) to do this, you also have the possibility of putting together a link on your own. The parameters for doing this are listed on this website [de]. You can link together as many parameters as you wish using “&.”
If you save the document in the XML format, you can import the data in separate fields in Excel or other comparable spreadsheet applications.
Notice: XML files contain a lot of system information that you will then have to remove column by column.
Example: http://forschdb.verwaltung.uni-freiburg.de/servuni/forschdbuni.fdbfbr1?Kostenstelle=777666&dokumentart=Mitarbeiter&jahr=alle&Ausgabeart=xml This link provides e.g. the following information: The output includes only the employees (dokumentart) of the cost center (Kostenstelle) 777666 for all years (jahr) in the XML format (Ausgabeart).