Researchfish is the system that UK research councils use to gather feedback from all research council-funded researchers – including doctoral researchers – about the outcomes from their research work. These outcomes include:
- publications
- collaborations
- engagement activities
- other outputs and knowledge/future steps
- secondments, placements and internships.
Do I have to record my outcomes on Researchfish?
If you are funded by a UK research council, you will have to use Researchfish at some point, depending on when you enrolled on your PhD.
If you are currently in the third or fourth year of your doctorate (your PhD studentship started on or before 1 February 2022), then you must register with Researchfish for the submission period outlined in the section below.
If you are currently in the first or second year of your doctorate (your PhD studentship began after 1 February 2022), you do not have to submit to Researchfish this year. However, you will have to submit in the future. You will not be able to register for Researchfish yet, but your awards will be added to the Researchfish system at a later date.
What do I need to do?
In January 2024, you will be sent an email from Researchfish, asking you to create an account (or to log back into the system if you have already opened an account in a previous year).
You are responsible for providing information about the outcomes from your PhD studentship. You will be invited to enter and submit data to Researchfish every year until three years after your studentship has finished (since many outcomes occur towards or past the end of studentships). You should make sure your contact details are kept up to date for this purpose.
For the 2023–24 data collection, the submission period is from 05 February 2024 to 4pm on 14 March 2024. You can enter data at any time but you will need to confirm that all of your information is accurate and complete during the annual submission period.
Your supervisor should also have access to your studentship details on Researchfish and will be able to help you provide the information. Additional supervisors can be added to your studentship details as "team members".
If you have any problems logging on, or have any questions about the awards/data in your profile, please contact the help desk at support@researchfish.com.
What happens if I don't submit on Researchfish?
Providing data about outcomes from your studentship (even if there are no outcomes to report at this stage) is an important part of compliance with research council terms and conditions and so it is vital that you register and submit a response, even if it is a blank response (due to lack of outcomes).
Further detailed guidance (external)
The Researchfish website contains the answers to frequently asked questions, including:
- how you can get help using the Researchfish system
- what you need to report
- how to start the process of entering data
- webinars.
Email support
Questions pertaining to the Researchfish platform: support@researchfish.com (external)
Questions specific to the University of Reading: researchfunding@reading.ac.uk (internal)