5 MEASUREMENT OF R&D PERSONNEL

Table 5.2. Standard key for ISCED levels and classes

of the Frascati Manual for R&D personnel by formal qualifications

	ISCED-97 categories			General coverage		OECD personnel categories
	6.	Second stage of tertiary
		education – leading				Holders of university
		to an advanced research				degrees at PhD level
		qualification
			5A. Theoretically based tertiary			Holders of basic university
			programmes to qualify for
						degrees below the PhD
	5.	First stage of tertiary education	entry to advanced research
				Post-secondary		level
		– not leading to an advanced	programmes
		research qualification	5B. Practically oriented
						Holders of other tertiary
			or occupation-specific
						degrees
			programmes
	4.	Post-secondary, non-tertiary				Holders of other
						post-secondary
		education
						non-tertiary diplomas
	3.	Upper secondary education				Holders of secondary
						education diplomas
				Secondary
	2.	Lower secondary or second
		stage of basic education
	1.	Primary education or first stage				Other qualifications
				Primary
		of basic education
	0.	Pre-primary education		Pre-primary

Source: OECD.

secondary school system but also equivalent level 3 vocational diplomas obtained from other types of educational establishments.

Other qualifications

318. This includes all those with secondary diplomas at less than ISCED level 3 or with incomplete secondary qualifications or education not falling under any of the other four classes.

5.2.5. Treatment of postgraduate students

319. In countries where postgraduates are not a recognised category of S&T personnel, they are probably included in part-time teaching staff. This means that as part of the overall calculation of higher education R&D personnel and expenditures – by either survey or coefficients – their R&D full-time equivalent

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5 MEASUREMENT OF R&D PERSONNEL

levels, their R&D costs and their sources of R&D funds are measured as for staff employed by the higher education institution.

320.The difficulty of establishing the borderline between the R&D and education and training activities of postgraduates (and of their teachers) in countries where they are a recognised group are discussed in general terms in Chapter 2 (Section 2.3.2).

321.The aim here is to present guidelines for the categories of postgraduate students that it is both theoretically sound and practically possible to include in R&D personnel (and hence expenditure) series.

322.As noted in Chapter 2, postgraduate students are often attached to or directly employed by the establishment concerned and have contracts, or are bound by similar engagements, which oblige them to do some teaching at lower levels or to perform other activities, such as specialised medical care, while allowing them to continue their studies and do research.

323.They can be identified according to the level of their studies. They have completed first-stage university education (ISCED level 5A) and are studying at the PhD level (ISCED level 6). ISCED level 6 programmes are described as follows:

“Tertiary programmes which lead to the award of an advanced research qualification. The programmes are therefore devoted to advanced study and original research and are not based on course work only.

“Classification criteria

Main criterion

It typically requires the submission of a thesis or dissertation of publishable quality which is the product of original research and represents a significant contribution to knowledge.

Subsidiary criterion

It prepares graduates for faculty posts in institutions offering ISCED 5A programmes, as well as research posts in government, industry, etc.”

324. All postgraduate students working on R&D and receiving funding for this purpose (in the form of a salary from the university or a scholarship or another sort of funding) should in principle be included in R&D personnel headcounts. However, it may be necessary, for practical reasons, to reduce coverage to those students for whom the corresponding R&D expenditures and full-time equivalence can be estimated.

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