CEDARS
The Culture, Employment, and Development in Academic Research Survey (CEDARS) is a survey administrated by Vitae every two years. The purpose of the survey is to explore the views and experiences of researchers about their employment, career trajectory, and professional development.
The survey is designed to reflect the principles of the Researcher Development Concordat and the results provide evidence that is used to assess the University’s progress in relation to the implementation of the Concordat’s principals, the requirements for the European HR Excellence in Research Award (HREiR), and the environmental consideration within Research excellence Framework (REF) submissions.
The most recent survey was conducted between 29th May and 16th June 2023. The survey analysis is reported below for the University’s population, and the whole of the UK research community that took part.
CEDARS 2023 Institutional Overview (PDF, 1,536 KB)
This document is a high-level overview of the analysis of the University’s responses to the survey, including benchmarking against the UK aggregate dataset from CEDARS 2023 and survey data from previous years.
CEDARS 2023 – Results for the University of St Andrews: Analysis and commentary (PDF, 233 KB)
This document is an analysis and commentary of the University’s responses to the survey, including benchmarking against the UK aggregate dataset from CEDARS 2023. This report was prepared by Vitae and the CRAC.
CEDARS 2023 Aggregate results (PDF, 2,124 KB)
This document is an analysis and commentary of the UK aggregate responses to the survey. This report was prepared by Vitae.
The eligible population for completing the survey are researchers and people who manage researchers, including:
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Early career researchers – (above doctoral level i.e., not students) not yet fully independent, typically research staff, postdoctoral researcher, research fellows.
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Established researchers - senior research fellows, lecturers, senior lecturers, readers, professors, research directors, research group leaders.
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Those fulfilling a research support role, typically research assistant, research, or technical support, specialist facility staff.
- Those on teaching-only contracts who conduct a proportion of research.
Your responses will be anonymous: you will not be identified in any published results.
We will protect your anonymity in several ways:
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You do not have to provide any personal information (i.e., your name or e-mail address).
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The raw data from this survey (including the institutional question set data) can only be accessed by a designated person within Vitae, a designated person within Organisational and Staff Development Services (OSDS), the Director of OSDS (Elaine Furnivall) and the university’s Planning (Analytical Services) team. These raw data will not be disseminated beyond these people and are stored on an encrypted database (Jisc Online Surveys). A copy of the raw data will be stored in the Planning (and Analytical Services) team’s folder in the central file store, in line with the University of St Andrews Privacy Notice.
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Any reports generated from these data will be analysed to ensure full anonymity. This means that if there are less than five responses for specific protected characteristics, departments, or other groups within the university, these will not be analysed separately.
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Any free text responses containing identifiable characteristics (regarding the survey participant or others) will be redacted. Consequently, please be aware that surveys are not a mechanism for formal complaints.
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Response data will be used only for the purposes outlined below. CEDARS is managed and supported by Vitae. Response data will be shared with Vitae, as described below, and will not be shared with any other third party or for any other use without your consent.
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The aggregated institutional response data will be used by Vitae in order that an aggregated national data set can be created to analyse UK-wide trends and provide benchmarking for each university’s analysis. Access to the institution-specific question set responses may be given to a designated member of Vitae’s data analysis service for further analysis and reporting.
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Neither data provided to Vitae, nor the reporting/analyses of response data internally will enable individuals to be identified.
Your personal data will be handled in accordance with the University of St Andrews Privacy Notice.
CEDARS is managed and supported by Vitae: find out more about CEDARS.
Data supplied to Vitae, as described above, will be handled in compliance with their own Privacy Notice.
If you have any concerns or questions about how your personal data are used during and following the survey, please feel free to reach out to the University Head of Information Assurance and Governance, (dataprot@st-andrews.ac.uk).
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Informing our actions in implementing the principles of the revised Researcher Development Concordat, thus, helping us to create the best culture for researchers to thrive.
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Providing evidence that informs policy and best practice in researcher employment, management, and career development.
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Providing those who support researchers with an updated understanding of the institutional environment and development needs of researchers and research leaders.
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Indicating progress made in the implementation of Standards and Awards such as Athena Swan and the HR (Human Resources) Excellence in Research Award.
And UK wide, by…
- Contributing to the UK research system by informing and evidencing the actions needed to foster a healthy, supportive research culture to ensure our researchers can thrive.
