Faculty Research Productivity at Addis Ababa University. Doctor Of
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FACULTY RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY AT ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY Mehary T. Stafford, B.A., B.TH., M.A. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2011 APPROVED: Marc Cutright, Major Professor Michael Lawson, Minor Professor Ron Newsom, Committee Member Janice Holden, Chair of the Department of Counseling and Higher Education Jerry R. Thomas, Dean of the College of Education James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Stafford, Mehary T. Faculty research productivity at Addis Ababa University. Doctor of Philosophy (Higher Education), May 2011, 86 pp., 33 tables, 1 figure, references, 66 titles. This study explores the research productivity of Addis Ababa University (AAU) faculty. AAU was established in 1950 and is the oldest modern higher educational institution in Ethiopia. Recently AAU took steps to transform itself to become a pre-eminent African research university. One of the characteristics of a research university is the focus on the amount of research conducted by the institution’s faculty. Academic institutions measure research productivity primarily based on published work. The purpose of this study was to analyze the research productivity of AAU faculty, and to examine the differential predictive effects of individual and environmental variables on faculty research productivity. This quantitative study used a theoretical framework and instrument, Faculty at Work. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to Addis AAU faculty in person and 298 questionnaires were returned resulting in a 74.5% response rate. After exclusion of 12 cases with missing information, 286 cases (71.5% response rate) were analyzed. Most of the respondents were men (M = 92.1%, F = 7.9%). The average age of AAU faculty was 44. A hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the ability of six sets of independent variables (sociodemographic, career, self knowledge, social knowledge, behavior, and environmental response) to predict research productivity (publication output). Results indicated that there are productive researchers at AAU, and the theoretical framework explained 67.6% of the variance in publication output. Copyright 2011 by Mehary T. Stafford ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wrote the dissertation with the guidance and support of so many people around me. I would like to say thank you to Dr. Marc Cutright, Dr. Michael S. Lawson, and Dr. Ron Newsom for their contribution to this research and their mentorship. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Addis Ababa University faculty who participated in this study. I would like to say thank you to Dr. Shimelis Admassie, Professors Andreas Eshete, Brook Lemma, Fekade Azeze, and Endashaw Bekele. I am also thankful to Dr. Janet H. Lawrence for allowing me to use the Faculty at Work instrument. I am honored to have a supporting family in Ethiopia and the United States of America. Your support sustained me through the years and I am forever grateful to all of you. My special thanks goes to my wife Paige and our two children Kaitlyn and Ashlyn. The journey was long but it was all worth the time and effort invested in it. Finally, I would like to give all the glory and honor to the Triune God who gave me life through faith in the salvific work of Jesus Christ alone. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Statement of Research Problem .................................................................................................. 2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 3 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 3 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical Foundation ............................................................................................................... 5 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................................. 6 Delimitation of the Study ............................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................................. 8 Measures of Faculty Research Productivity ............................................................................... 8 The Variation in Research Productivity ...................................................................................... 9 Individual Characteristics ..................................................................................................... 12 Sociodemographic Variables ............................................................................................ 13 Career Variables ............................................................................................................... 15 Self Knowledge and Social Knowledge Variables ........................................................... 17 Environmental Characteristics .............................................................................................. 18 Research Productivity in an African Context ........................................................................... 20 iv page Research Productivity at Addis Ababa ..................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3. METHODS AND PROCEDURES ....................................................................... 27 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Participant Characteristics ........................................................................................................ 28 Procedures for the Collection of Data ....................................................................................... 29 The Instrument .......................................................................................................................... 30 Study Variables ......................................................................................................................... 30 Procedures for the Analysis of Data ......................................................................................... 35 Reporting of the Data ................................................................................................................ 36 CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA ................................................................................ 37 Data Screening and Descriptive Results ................................................................................... 37 Study Participants by Sociodemographic Variables ................................................................. 37 Study Participants by Career Variables .................................................................................... 38 Study Participants by Self Knowledge Variables ..................................................................... 40 Interest and Preference to a Role .......................................................................................... 40 Personal Preference ............................................................................................................... 40 Commitment to Research ...................................................................................................... 41 Self-efficacy (Competence) .................................................................................................. 41 Self-efficacy (Influence) ....................................................................................................... 42 Psychological Characteristics (personal disposition for research)........................................ 43 Satisfaction and Morale ........................................................................................................ 45 Study participants by Social Knowledge Variables .................................................................. 45 v page Credence ............................................................................................................................... 45 Social Support ....................................................................................................................... 46 Collegial Commitment .......................................................................................................... 47 Material Support/Financial Support ...................................................................................... 48 Institutional Preference/ Perceived Institutional Preference ................................................. 49 Study Participants by Behavior Variables ................................................................................ 49 Study Participants by Environmental Response