Fields of Research (FoR) Codes

Overview of the Group-Level FoR Codes
FoR and SEO codes in Microsoft Excel format
ABS ANZSRC Fields of Research (FoR) website
ANZSRC document

The Classification

The Fields of Research Codes are part of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), which is jointly produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Statistics New Zealand (Statistics NZ). The ANZSRC document outlines this classification in greater detail.

ANZSRC is the collective name for a set of three related classifications developed for use in the measurement and analysis of research and experimental development (R&D) undertaken in Australia and New Zealand.

The three constituent classifications included in the ANZSRC are:

• Type of Activity (TOA);
• Fields of Research (FOR); and
• Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

The FOR classification follows a hierarchical structure

This classification allows R&D activity to be categorised according to the field of research. In this respect, it is the methodology used in the R&D that is being considered. The categories in the classification include major fields of research investigated by national research institutions and organisations, and emerging areas of study.

The FOR has three hierarchical levels, namely Divisions (at the broadest level), Groups and Fields (at the finest level). The Division represents a broad subject area or research discipline while groups and fields within represent increasingly detailed dissections of these categories. Divisions, Groups and Fields are assigned unique 2-digit, 4-digit, and 6-digit codes respectively. The FOR classification has 22 Divisions, 157 Groups and 1238 Fields.

The hierarchical structure of the FOR is as illustrated below: