Predictors of Research Productivity Among Academics in Ireland Dr. Jonathan Drennan Dr. Marie Clarke Professor Abbey Hyde Dr. Yurgos Politis University College Dublin Paper Presented at ECER 2012, Cadiz, September 17-21

Higher Education in Ireland The first university in Ireland, The University of Dublin, with one constituent college, Trinity, was founded in 1592 and remained the only university on the island for over 250 years. By the 1840s colleges had been created in the major cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast. On the creation of the Irish Free State the three former colleges became the constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland. By the 1950s universities in Ireland were expanding in relation to the number of academics employed, courses available and students admitted. By the 1980s two other statutory universities were formed, the University of Limerick and Dublin City University.

Higher Education in Ireland The substantial growth in the higher education sector in Ireland is exemplified by the fact that in 1965 there were approximately 19,000 full-time students in the higher education sector; by 2010 this had risen to 170,529 (Department of Education 2011). Kelly (2001) describes the growth in student numbers from the 1960s to today as a move from the elite phase to the mass phase where thirty per cent of the eighteen year olds now go onto higher education. The growth in student numbers in Ireland is now in the third phase, the universal phase, where there is fifty per cent or greater participation by school- leavers in the third-level sector.

Universities in Ireland

Academic Profession in Ireland There is a paucity of research on the academic profession in Ireland. The system of academic appointments is similar to that in European countries with universities and colleges having four grades including; professor, associate professor, senior lecturer and lecturer. This paper is the first to explore the research function of academics working in the Irish higher education system.

Background Research, along with teaching, is viewed as a central component of academic work. However, not all academics engage in this component of their role or, if they do, there is variation to the extent to which research is implicit in academic work (Brew and Boud 2009).

Background Indicators of research productivity, such as publication rates, are a determining factor in decisions related to promotion, tenure and the granting of research funding. Research outputs also impact on the reputation of universities and other institutes of higher education as well as affecting the career trajectories of academics. The investment in research has been aligned to the economic goals of countries and is explicitly stated in policy documents at European Union (EU) level. There is also worldwide evidence that faculty research productivity is a central component in a number of areas of ascertaining the quality of higher education institutions (Teodorescu 2000).

Measuring Outputs A number of methods have been used to measure the outputs from research and the extent to which academics are involved in research: Number of peer reviewed publications Conference presentations Research proposals prepared and submitted. Recently, other outputs have been considered such as creative works which include exhibitions and films produced (see Hortaet al. 2012). However, the primary measures of research productivity remain publications in peer- reviewed journals and book chapters.

Models of Research Productivity A number of models of determinants of publications have been previously developed. Essentially, models developed, measure a similar number of variables that are grouped under three headings: demographic predictors, academic predictors and: institutional predictors.

Models of Research Productivity Shin and Cummings (2010) theorised that research outputs were related to the extent to which academics preferred research over teaching, time spent on research and teaching, research collaboration, research training, rank, time since completion of PhD, gender, number of children and discipline. Porter and Umbach (2001: 181) developed an explanatory model of research productivity that consisted of five variable groupings. They hypothesised that research outputs were a ‘function of human capital, personal tastes, career status, teaching workload, demographics and academic discipline’. Teodorescu (2000) developed a regression model that predicted research productivity that consisted of three blocks of variables: individual academic, individual achievement and institutional characteristics.

Aim This paper presents an analysis of the research productivity of academics in Ireland. Based on previous research a multiple regression models was conducted to determine the linear combination of variables that best predicted publication outputs for full time academics in the University sector. Variables were entered in three blocks: 1) demographic variables, 2) academic variables and, 3) institutional variables

Methods - Sample Independent samples were drawn from higher education institutions in Ireland. It was estimated that a sample of at least 800 would be required. A design effect of 2.0 was factored into sample size calculations. It was estimated that 1,600 academics needed to be surveyed. A conservative response rate of 30% was estimated. Therefore 1,600 x (100/30) = 5,333 (rounded up to approximately 5,500 academics were surveyed). 1,185 final responses were achieved.

Methods – Data Collection The survey instrument used was based on the Changing Academic Profession Questionnaire. This questionnaire has previously been used in surveys of the academic profession but never in Ireland; therefore it allowed findings from the Irish study be directly compared with findings from other countries in Europe.

Outcome Publications (log transformed) - Average of books authored/co-authored, edited/co-edited and articles published over a 3-year period. Demographic Age, gender Academic Years in higher education, academic rank, tenure, job satisfaction, workload – teaching, research, administration, time teaching – undergraduate/graduate, research collaboration – national/international, research involvement – membership of national/international committees. Institutional Work environment, rating of institution, research funding, managerial support, importance of discipline/institution

Results The overall European average output was 6.14 (SD = 8.9) articles per academic published in a book or journal and 5.92 (SD = 8.6) papers presented at a scholarly conference in the last three years. In Ireland, the average output was 7.1 articles published in a book or journal. Academics working in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy reported the highest average number of publications in the last three years in the academic press.

Publications

Comparison of Senior and Junior Academics On average European professors published 8.09 (SD = 10.75) academic papers. The highest rate of publication in the academic press was among professors working in Germany (mean = 12.1, SD = 14.3) and Switzerland (mean = 11.9, SD = 11.8). In Ireland, professors publish, on average 9.9 (SD = 11.2) papers.

Comparison of Senior and Junior Academics In comparison to professors, junior academic staff working in the university sector had lower rates of publications over a three period with a mean of 4.2 (SD = 6.2) publications reported per junior academic. There was some country variation in the level of publications by junior academic staff with the average number of publications ranging from a mean of 3.0 (SD = 9.1) in Austria and 3.1 (SD = 3.5) in Norway to a mean of 6.9 (SD = 8.9) for junior academics working in the Netherlands and a mean of 7.2 (SD = 6.5) in Italy. In Ireland, junior academics published, on average 3.8 papers over a three year period.

Publications by Grade

Predictors of Research Productivity Research productivity has been defined as: ‘the totality of research performed by academics in universities and related contexts within a given time period’ (Print & Hattie 1997: 454). Research productivity was measured by a composite variable composing of the average number of books authored/co-authored, edited/co-edited and articles published in the three years prior to the CAP survey. The composite variable was log transformed to approximate a normal distribution.

Predictors of Research Productivity in Ireland Predictors of research productivity in Ireland were multifactorial and included: Time spent working on research/research involvement. Stating a preference for research over teaching. Holding a tenured position. High levels of satisfaction with the work environment.

Predictors of Research Productivity Ireland – Demographic Variables Gender or age were also not found to be a predictor for productivity in Ireland. Contrary to the view that gender (being male) is a predictor of publication, this analysis found that it was moderated by other factors including research collaboration, stating a preference for research over teaching and involvement in the wider research community. A number of studies are supportive of the changing trends in relation to gender and publication and counter the argument that women publish less than men. A recent study (Lee and Bozeman 2005) reported that in the early to mid stages of academic careers in science men have a higher productivity rates, however this reverses in the mid to later stages of career. Lee and Bozeman (2005) also concluded that, overall, gender was not a significant predictor of publication rates.

Predictors of Research Productivity Academic Variables The strongest academic determinants of publication outputs identified in the model included: a stated preference for research over teaching; involvement in the wider research community and; holding a tenured position. Involvement in the research community through peer reviewing, membership of scientific committees and editorial positions was the strongest predictor for publication productivity in Ireland.

Predictors of Research Productivity Ireland – Non-significant variables Teaching and administration workloads were not found to be a predictor of publication productivity. The number of undergraduate and graduate courses taught was also not identified as a determinant of publication productivity. Our analysis is similar to that of Shin and Cummings (2009) who identified that the number of hours an academic was required to teach had a zero-order correlation with research productivity. However, other studies have identified that teaching may negatively affect research outputs, especially if teaching does not involve graduate students (Hortaet al. 2012).

Predictors of Research Productivity Ireland – Non-significant variables Job satisfaction was also not identified as a predictor of publication outputs. Few studies have identified this variable as a predictor of publication outputs and those that have examined the relationship between satisfaction and publication rates have also found no correlation (Lee and Bozeman 2005). However, as Lee & Bozeman (2005) argue this may be due to the way the construct job satisfaction is measured. In the CAP study only a single item measure of satisfaction was used to measure this concept.

Predictors of Research Productivity Ireland - Infrastructural Infrastructural support related to research (satisfaction with facilities, resources and personnel) was a predictor of outcomes in Ireland. Shin and Cummings in an analysis of research productivity in South Korea, also identified that institutional factors impact on outputs.

Conclusion Factors associated with research productivity were identified as being multi-dimensional. In the regression models the strongest predictors of research productivity were identified as individual academic factors and these accounted for the greatest variance in each of the three blocks of variables evaluated (demographic, individual academic and institutional).

Conclusion A strong predictor of research productivity in Ireland was a stated preference for research over teaching. This may indicate that internal motivation and ability related to research lead to greater research productivity (Porter and Umbach 2001). Tenure was also a strong predictor and adds to the research that ‘suggests that the tenure track system is playing its role as a means of guaranteeing prolific production along the academic career’ (Hortaet al. 2012: 183).

Acknowledgements European Science Foundation. Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The EUROAC team.