Nurse educators' involvement in research.

Abstract

The purposes of the study were: (1) to determine the relationship between selected demographic characteristics of nurse educators and research productivity; (2) to identify barriers to faculty research; (3) to examine the support being provided by educational institutions for faculty research; and (4) to determine the use of research productivity in the evaluation of faculty members for tenure, promotion and salary increase. Research productivity was defined as: (1) the number of past research studies conducted in relation to degree requirements, (2) the number of past research studies conducted which were not in connection with degree requirements, (3) the number of research studies that have been published, and (4) the number of ongoing research studies. The study population was composed of nurse educators teaching in institutions granting a diploma, associate degree, baccalaureate degree or higher degree in nursing. A systematic random sample of 500 names was chosen from nurse educators who were members of the American Nurses' Association. The major findings of the study were: (1) only 25% of the sample indicated current involvement in research; (2) nurse educators holding doctorates are the most productive researchers; (3) nurse educators who have taught more than 20 years reported the smallest percentage of ongoing research studies; (4) the majority of the current research is being conducted by faculty teaching in schools which grant graduate degrees; and (5) educational institutions are providing minimal support for faculty research and 50% of these institutions do not consider research productivity in the evaluation of faculty members for tenure, promotion, or salary increase.