Benchmarking the research track record and level of appointment of Australian dietetic academics.

Abstract

Research involvement is fundamental to the practice of dietetics. The present study aims to benchmark the research track record of Australian dietetic academics, and to provide insight into how research productivity informs the level of appointment of academics across the career pathway. Australian dietetic faculty websites and corresponding Scopus database profiles were used to support a bibliographic analysis of Australian dietetic academics' research track record. Current research productivity in relation to academic attributes, level of appointment, and institutional characteristics were explored. In Australia, dietetic academic level of appointment is logarithmically related to number of publications and relatively consistent across regions and university networks. Benchmarking provides universities with guidance regarding the performance to expect from academics at each academic level as well as feedback regarding recruitment and promotion practices. The present study provides an important benchmark for Australian dietetic academics and offers implications for individual academics and university management.