Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A researcher who completed their PhD 4 years ago with 18 months of career break recorded — within ECR window for UKRI
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A researcher 15 years post-PhD is not an ECR under any current funder definition
Editorial commentary
ECR definitions vary by funder and country: UKRI uses 8 years post-PhD allowing for career breaks; the European Research Council ‘Starting Grant’ eligibility is 2-7 years post-PhD; some funders count from first independent position rather than from PhD award. Most narrative-CV regimes require the ECR window to be calculated allowing for documented career interruptions.
References
- UKRI Definition of Early Career Researcher (2024)
- ERC Starting Grant Eligibility Criteria
Also known as
ECR · Junior researcher
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
xml
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Early-career researcher (ECR)"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/early-career-researcher" />json
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Early-career researcher (ECR)",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/early-career-researcher",
"description": "A researcher within a defined number of years (typically 5-8) of their first doctoral degree, or — for researchers without a doctorate — within an equivalent period of full-time research practice, accounting for career breaks and part-time work.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/mentorship-training-and-career-stages/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/early-career-researcher",
"sameAs": [
"ECR",
"Junior researcher"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
