Academic Research Productivity Research Articles

How Do You Say Your Name? Difficult-to-Pronounce Names and Labor Market Outcomes

We test for labor market discrimination based on an understudied characteristic: name fluency. Analysis of recent economics PhD job candidates indicates that name difficulty is negatively related to the probability of landing an academic or tenure-track position and research productivity of initial institutional placement. Discrimination due to name fluency is also found using experimental data from prior audit studies. Within samples of African Americans (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2004) and ethnic immigrants (Oreopoulos 2011), job applicants with less fluent names experience lower callback rates, and name complexity explains roughly between 10 and 50 percent of ethnic name penalties. The results are primarily driven by candidates with weaker résumés, suggesting that cognitive biases may contribute to the penalty of having a difficult-to-pronounce name. (JEL A11, J15, J23, J44, J71)

Sticky Floor, Broken Ladder, and Glass Ceiling in Internal Medicine Academic Ranking, Leadership, and Research Productivity.

Despite more women entering medicine, substantial gender disparities remain in various medical disciplines. This study explores the extent of these disparities in Canadian academic internal medicine, particularly in academic ranks, leadership positions, and research productivity. Cross-sectional. Faculty physicians within internal medicine and subspecialties. Data on faculty physicians with Medical Doctorate (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees were compiled from 17 internal medicine programs listed in the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Research metrics were obtained using Elsevier's Scopus, and analyses were performed with Stata v14.2. Among 5099 physician faculty members in internal medicine, 34% were women, and 66% were men. Among the faculty members holding leadership positions, 68% were men, and 32% were women. There was a significant difference in h-index between men and women physician faculty members (p ≤ 0.001), with men having a higher research output. Across all academic ranks, men faculty had higher median h-index values: Assistant Professor (12 vs. 9), Associate Professor (20 vs. 16), and Professor (40 vs. 30). Women were underrepresented in the procedural specialties, while only a few internal medicine subspecialties, such as palliative medicine and geriatrics, had a women predominance. Our study underscores existing gender disparity within academic internal medicine in Canada, aligning with global trends. Women remain disproportionately underrepresented in academic ranks, leadership positions, and research productivity. Addressing these disparities necessitates a systemic and multifaceted approach, encompassing policy reforms, mentorship, and fostering an inclusive work environment.

The h-Index Explained: Tools, Limitations and Strategies for Academic Success

The h-index, introduced by J.E Hursh in 2005, is a prevalent metric for assessing academic research productivity and impact. It evaluates a researcher’s cumulative impact by comparing the number of their publications to the number of citations they have received. Despite its straightforward computation, the h-index can be confusing for novice researchers. Various databases like Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate and Web of Science offer h-index computations, each with unique features and access requirements. For example, Google Scholar provides h-index information based on citations indexed by its service, while Web of Sciences offers a comprehensive profile including total citations and indexed articles. The h-index is widely used in academia for evaluating candidates for hiring and promotion. Studies reveal varying benchmarks for different career stages and disciplines, with higher h-indices typically associated with senior researchers. However, the h-index has limitations, such as favouring established researchers and not accounting for citation practices across different fields. Further, some fields tend to have more literature available than others and there it appears imperative that those fields with less literature will mostly likely attract less readership resulting in less citations and hence lower h-Index for researcher and academicians in such fields. It also does not reflect publication quality or contributions beyond citations. Researchers can improve their h-index by publishing in high-impact journals, making research open access, collaborating, staying active in their field, and promoting their work. Despite its utility, the h-index should be used alongside other metrics to provide a more holistic view of a researcher’s impact.

The influence of deans’ transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities: The mediating effect of workplace learning capability

This study examined the effect of transactional leadership behaviors on research productivity in public universities, with organizational learning capability serving as a mediating factor. A quantitative research approach focusing on correlational design was utilized. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to 519 respondents. Both measurement and structural model analyses were conducted, with deans, colleges, and individual academics serving as units of analysis. The findings revealed that deans’ contingent reward leadership behaviors significantly and positively influenced the research productivity of academics and colleges, even when controlling for workplace learning capability. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that deans’ contingent rewards and active-by-exception behaviors significantly and positively impacted workplace learning capability, accounting for 44.5% of the variance, with moderate and small effect sizes, respectively. Additionally, organizational learning capability exhibited a significant positive effect, explaining 54% of the variance in research productivity and demonstrating a moderate effect size, which indicates an unexplained variance of 46%. Bootstrapping tests confirmed that workplace learning capability partially and fully mediates the relationship between deans’ transactional leadership behaviors and research productivity. Consequently, it is imperative for college deans to enhance their contingent reward leadership behaviors and foster workplace learning capabilities to maximize their impact on research productivity.

Three-dimensional numerical simulations and experimental studies on the viscoelastic rheological and deformation behavior of polymer catheter in gas-assisted extrusion processing

Gas-assisted extrusion is an effective method for improving the deformation behavior of polymer catheters during extrusion. However, the underlying mechanisms that dictate how geometrical and constitutive models influence the complex rheological behavior of the melt are not yet fully understood, which hinders further utilization and optimization. In this study, the three-dimensional (3D) gas–liquid–gas model for catheter gas-assisted extrusion was constructed. Subsequently, the Bird–Carreau model and the Phan–Thien–Tanner (PTT) model were employed in finite element numerical simulations to analyze the complex behavior. For comparative analysis, simplified two-dimensional (2D) model numerical simulations were also conducted. Additionally, experiments on catheter gas-assisted extrusion and parameterization studies of key constitutive model parameters were performed. The findings indicate that the 3D model, when integrated with the PTT constitutive model, demonstrates superior predictability and aligns more closely with experimental results. Furthermore, as the flow rate increases, discrepancies among different models diminish, and the distance required for the melt and gas to achieve motion equilibrium decreases. The internal mechanisms behind these phenomena are elucidated through the analysis of velocity and stress field distributions. This research enhances our understanding of the complex rheological behavior in polymer catheter gas-assisted extrusion, providing valuable insights for both academic research and industrial production in this field.

Barriers to research productivity of academics in Tanzania higher education institutions: the need for policy interventions

Barriers to research productivity of academics in Tanzania higher education institutions: the need for policy interventions

Documenting and communicating the contributions of embedded statisticians: Show me the value!

Academic research productivity relies upon the contribution of statisticians, who are typically clustered in statistics and biostatistics departments, isolated from clinical researchers. Most academic health centres have created consultation hubs or research incubators to make statisticians available for individual collaboration to support the clinical research enterprise. Additionally, some clinical departments within academic health centres have recognized the value in colocating statisticians within their clinical departments to improve availability for collaboration with physicians/researchers. Embedded statisticians encounter the same challenges of isolated statisticians regarding professional support and networking, mentorship and clear role expectations. While for all collaborative statisticians, it is important to effectively communicate value to both collaborators and supervisors, this may be especially problematic for embedded statisticians in clinical departments where their supervisors may not have backgrounds in research or statistics. Previous papers have reported valuable metrics for statisticians, particularly those associated with Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design Cores. There is a knowledge gap regarding metrics tailored to meet the needs of the embedded statistician and clinical supervisors. This paper is a first step towards addressing this important need.In this paper, we explore (1) the critical role of collaborative statisticians and the benefits and challenges of the embedded statistician model, (2) the need for additional metrics specific to embedded statisticians which measure value and (3) how to design a value report. We offer a framework for evaluation of the contributions of the embedded statistician with the following domains: (1) collaboration, (2) research output/productivity, (3) mentoring and (4) education. Metrics that are particularly specific to embedded statisticians and that are not routinely captured include time from project initiation to completion/outcome, time from initial statistical consultation to statistical outcome completion and summary of level of contribution for manuscripts and presentations in addition to author order. We conclude with thoughts on future directions for development of metrics and reporting systems for statisticians embedded in clinical departments.

Influence of cognitive styles on students� research activities

Relevance. Understanding how cognitive styles affect students' research activities is essential for optimizing educational strategies and improving academic performance. Purpose. This study assesses the impact of cognitive styles on students� research activities by identifying how behavioural patterns influenced by cognitive styles affect the quality and quantity of scientific papers produced. Methodology. The study employed a survey of respondents to gather versatile data on students� cognitive styles and research activities. Methods included system analysis, logical analysis, comparison, synthesis, deduction, and classification. Results. The findings highlight significant variations in research productivity based on cognitive styles. Students with intuitive and reflective cognitive styles demonstrated higher levels of research output, characterized by innovative problem-solving and thorough analysis. In contrast, students with impulsive or strongly visual cognitive styles faced challenges in structuring and synthesizing research findings effectively. Conclusions. This research confirms that different cognitive styles significantly influence students� academic performance and research productivity. Educational strategies should be tailored to accommodate diverse cognitive preferences to optimize learning outcomes. Keywords: educational strategies; student performance; research productivity; educational programs adaptation; behavioural patterns

The gap year for college students interested in medicine: Can they contribute to your mission?

Gap years taken between undergraduate completion and entrance into medical school have become increasingly popular. We examine the role of gap years among college graduates interested in medicine and how they might contribute to academic research productivity within clinical environments. Recently, academic faculty have struggled to balance increasing clinical responsibilities with their scholarly endeavors. Academic medical departments may have incentives to hire pre-medical students to help ease the research burden on faculty. Properly motivated pre-medical students may view research positions in academic medical departments as ideal opportunities to learn in areas that will broaden their scientific knowledge and help prepare them for medical school, while greatly enhancing their medical school applications through distinguishing themselves as co-authors published in medical journals. Our experience, with two co-authors working as research associates while preparing for their medical school applications and careers, suggests that pre-medical students can strengthen their medical school applications during their gap year(s) while proving instrumental in enhancing research output thus alleviating the workload of clinical faculty.

The Influence of Knowledge Acquisition on Research Productivity of Bottom-Level Academics

This study was undertaken to examine the influence of knowledge acquisition on research productivity of bottom-level academics. A total of 179 bottom-level academics from three universities located in Ogun State were surveyed using a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The findings suggest that the surveyed academics predominantly acquire knowledge through journals, books, databases and online webpages, and they do so to a high extent. They published most of their publications in learned journals, while their publications in conference papers and chapters in books were low. However, they faced challenges such as time constraints, knowledge hoarding by colleagues, and difficulties in organising knowledge from various sources when acquiring knowledge. When embarking on research publishing activities, they encountered challenges like insufficient research facilities, time constraints and manuscript rejection. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) evaluation of the model indicated that knowledge acquisition significantly affects research productivity. These insights could help policymakers and university management understand the factors affecting the research productivity of bottom-level academics.

Producing knowledge together: a participatory approach to synthesising research across a large-scale collaboration in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

BackgroundDespite that stakeholder participation in evidence synthesis could result in more useful outcomes, there are few examples of processes that actively involve them in synthesis work. Techniques are needed that engage diverse stakeholders as equal partners in knowledge co-production. The aims of this paper are to describe an innovative participatory process of synthesising a large body of academic research products and compare the findings of the participatory process against two traditional approaches to synthesis: a rapid review and a structured review.MethodsFirst, a rapid synthesis of all research outputs (n = 86) was conducted by researchers with in-depth knowledge of the collaboration’s research. Second, a team of researchers and service providers conducted a structured synthesis of seventy-eight peer-reviewed articles and reports generated by the collaboration. Fifty-five publications were brought forward for further synthesis in part three, a facilitated participatory synthesis. Finally, we explored the value added by the participatory method by comparing findings generated across the three synthesis approaches.ResultsTwelve researchers and 11 service providers/policy partners—8 self-identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander—participated in two facilitated workshops (totalling 4 h). Workshop activities engaged participants in reviewing publication summaries, identifying key findings, and evoked review, discussion and refinement. The process explicitly linked experiential knowledge to citations of academic research, clearly connecting the two knowledge types. In comparing the findings generated across all three methods we found mostly consistencies; the few discrepancies did not contradict but gave deeper insights into statements created by the other methods. The participatory synthesis generated the most, detailed, and unique findings, and contextual insights about the relevance of the key messages for practice.ConclusionThe participatory synthesis engaged stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and skillsets in synthesising a large body of evidence in a relatively short time. The participatory approach produced findings comparable to traditional synthesis methods while extending knowledge and identifying lessons most relevant for the participants who, ultimately, are the end users of the research. This process will interest other large-scale research collaborations seeking to engage stakeholders in evidence synthesis.

Understanding stakeholders' perspectives on recent initiatives to promote research and development in higher education in Cambodia

This study aims to examine the perspectives of relevant stakeholders within Cambodian higher education on recent efforts to promote research and development in higher education in Cambodia. It draws on one-on-one interviews with 13 Cambodian policymakers, educational leaders, lecturers, and university students to collect in-depth qualitative data to understand how these stakeholders perceive the recent initiatives or projects to advance higher education research and development in Cambodia. The findings showed that all stakeholders were generally aware of the progress in research and development in Cambodian higher education; however, some of them could not identify specific initiatives or projects that had recently been introduced to promote research and development. The study highlighted major challenges that have constrained the advancement of research and development in Cambodian higher education, highlighting the challenging realities facing higher education in developing countries. It also offered some suggestions to foster greater research engagement and productivity of academics in Cambodia, which may be applicable to other countries with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The study concludes with a summary of key findings and discusses the study's limitations and implications for future research.

Flow rate measurement of gas-liquid annular flow through a combined multimodal ultrasonic and differential pressure sensor

Natural gas is an important strategic reserve resource for the country, also plays an important role in energy transition. During mining and transportation, natural gas has high liquid content and high-pressure characteristics, typically exhibiting gas-liquid annular flow state. Accurate flow metering of each individual phase without separation is significant to academic research and industrial production. Therefore, a combined ultrasonic and differential pressure sensor is presented to acquire flowing information. Based on the limited flowing information (liquid film fraction and gas velocity) measured by dual mode ultrasonic sensor, a two-fluid model is established to solve liquid velocity and droplet entrainment rate for calculating phase flow rates by analyzing the momentum balance between gas and liquid phases. The pressure drop by differential pressure sensor is introduced to make this two-fluid model closed and solvable. Considering the effects of system pressure and pipe diameter on pressure drop, a closed correlation for friction factor at the gas-liquid interface is established. Furthermore, the phase flow rates are calculated by the experimental measurement values obtained by dual mode ultrasonic sensor and the two-fluid model. The relative error of total flow rate is within ±10 % and the mean absolute percentage error is 5.220 %.

A Safe Separator with Heat‐Dispersing Channels for High‐Rate Lithium‐Ion Batteries

AbstractSeparators are becoming increasingly important in both academic research and industrial production as a means of enhancing the performance of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), particularly at a high rate. However, fast charge–discharge processes will produce local heat accumulation, which accelerates the local reaction rate of Li+ to form lithium dendrites. Commercial polyolefin separators fail to tackle the above issue due to inferior thermal stability. Herein, a core–shell structure is proposed to reinforce the polyvinylidene fluoride‐hexafluoropropylene (PVDF‐HFP) matrix through encircling carbon nanotube (CNT) by adherent polydopamine (PDA). The core–shell 3D structure with PDA avoids the short circuits caused by the electrically conductive CNT, and meantime, the CNT serves as an effective radiator for dispersing local heat sources verified through finite element analysis. The composite separator allows LIBs to achieve high Li+ conductivity (0.49 × 10−3 S cm−1) and Li+ transfer number (0.74), resulting in a high capacity retention of 87.35% after 800 cycles at 5C. In particular, the safety is confirmed that the composite separator avoids violent growth of lithium dendrites caused by local heat accumulation through phase‐field simulations. This work suggests a promising approach for the fabrication of core–shell nanotube composite separators for high‐rate and safe LIBs.

University scientific production: The case of the Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (Bogotá, Colombia)

The research and scientific production of Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A was analyzed based on the intellectual capital approach, global academic rankings, research, and scientific production in the last 40 years. The Scimago Graphica tool and the VOSviewer software were used for the bibliometric and content analysis of the scientific publications available in the Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis showed that there are 534scientific documents in the Scopus database, with at least one author affiliated with U.D.C.A. Of these, 84 % can be found in SciELO and 56 % on Publindex. Most documents (70 %) are in English, and 27 % are in Spanish. The citations of 7 articles account for 64.4 % (37,147) of the total citations. Authors with affiliation U.D.C.A have collaborated with researchers from 72 countries. Based on intellectual capital and scientific production, U.D.C.A is currently in model 2.0 and is transitioning towards model 3.0, drawn by three areas: Medicine, Environmental Sciences, and Veterinary. These areas have focused on inter-institutional cooperation, internationalization, regionalization, and globalization. However, they must incorporate business development, digital technologies, virtual learning, knowledge capitalization, and entrepreneurship. The other areas of knowledge need to reconsider the type and scope of research they develop to be relevant to the academic community and society.

Academic Staff Research Productivity in Private Universities in Southwestern Nigeria

Research productivity (teaching, research, and community service) in any university is the totality of academic staff academic achievement within a given period of time which is partly used for university ranking. There has been a renewed interest in the debate about the quality and quantity of research output and the factors which influence the output of university lecturers at the same time. Therefore, this study assessed the level of academic staff research productivity in private universities in Southwestern, Nigeria. The survey design of the correlational type was adopted. Proportional to size and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 30% of academic staff across the various ranks in the selected universities, making a total of 657. Academic staff research productivity (= 2.02) was low as against the norm test of 3.00. Low research productivity can be overcome if investment in research at private universities is increased and academic staff utilise them in line with the emerging digital trend in universities around the world.

Diversity Within the Field of Orthopedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review.

Orthopedic surgery is among the least diverse specialties in medicine. This systematic review analyzes gender, racial, and ethnic diversity within orthopedic sports medicine and aims to raise awareness and provide guidance for future strategies that support underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMs) and women in joining the orthopedic sports medicine workforce. We hypothesize that at all tiers of training, there is a lack of gender, racial, and ethnic parity in academic rank, leadership positions, and research productivity. A search of all published literature in the English language from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus databases, between January 1, 2010, and August 18, 2023, was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Included studies presented demographics regarding diversity within orthopedic sports medicine and provided trends in applicants, attendings, leadership, and/or research. Bias was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) study checklist. Thirteen studies published between 2016 and 2023 with STROBE scores 15.5 to 21.5 (70.5% to 97.7%) met criteria, and pertinent data were extracted. The percent of female orthopedic sports medicine surgeons from 2010 to 2019 increased from 5% (n = 138) to 6% (n = 206) with a compound annual growth rate of 0.2% (r2 = 0.97; p < 0.001). Females and URMs are underrepresented at the highest levels of orthopedic sports medicine leadership including department chair (female: 0% [n = 0]), division chief (female: 4% [n = 4]; URM: 3% [n = 3]), and fellowship director (female: 3.3% [n = 3]; URM: 4.4% [n = 4]). Studies from prominent orthopedic sports medicine journals (American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, and Sports Health) show a 12.1% increase in female involvement in orthopedic sports medicine research from 1972 to 2018; however, this increase captures 59.3% (n = 2,953) females with degrees other than an MD. Although increasingly more females and underrepresented minorities are joining orthopedic sports medicine, the rate of diversification remains slow and current involvement in leadership and research is minimal. Targeted efforts aimed at increasing research opportunities and inspiring interest through mentorship for URMs and females in orthopedics is essential to drive change toward parity. Level IV. Systematic Review. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Warnings of declining research productivity: Does Italy buck the trend?

Abstract The paper takes a scientometric approach to measure the change in research productivity of Italian academics before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. We propose a composite output/input bibliometric indicator and apply it at the field level, conducting a longitudinal analysis. Although the number of academics in the national academic system has decreased, we register very strong growth in both the number of publications and their scholarly impact. The growth in productivity, with only rare exceptions, crosses almost all fields. However, in areas that are traditionally very internationalized (Biology, Physics, and Chemistry), growth is less sustained than overall average, and also the variability of productivity across fields seems reduced. The main reason for this detail would be the smaller margins for improvement in the fields that had already reached high international standing. What emerges from the analysis goes counter to some alarms of declining scientific productivity at the global level. The Italian case is partly explained by the historic adoption of policies aimed at strengthening competitive mechanisms, in particular through the introduction of systems of performance-based research funding, and bibliometric accreditation for professorship.

Studying the gender gap in academic research production among Canadian university professors using the multilevel approach to gender inequalities framework

ABSTRACT The gender gap in academic research production has been demonstrated through various methods and geographical contexts. Previous research has yielded conflicting results concerning the effect of gender as a stand-alone variable on research production and primarily focused on other individual and organizational variables to explain this gap. We seek to clarify the influence of gender-related variables on academic research production, operationalized as journal article equivalents published three years prior to the survey. Using a stratified sample of 2,968 full-time Canadian university professors (49% men, 49% women; 30 to 89 years of age, M = 56, SD = 10.17) from the Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society survey, we analyzed the effect of 15 gender-related predictors on research production and measured the variance of research production explained by the combination of these predictors. Through multiple linear regressions, our findings indicate that gender as an isolated variable is a weak yet significant predictor (ß = .04; p < .05) of research production, and that a large proportion of variance (R 2 = .33) is explained by a combination of gender-related variables, such as collaborations, workload division and academic rank. Contrary to what has often been assumed, the gender gap in academic research production is not adequately understood through the effect of gender as a stand-alone variable and gains clarity when we use the ‘multilevel approach to gender inequalities’ conceptual framework, which enlightens the understanding of this phenomenon as a part of the intersection and reinforcement of individual, interactional, organizational, systemic, and cultural institutional factors.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Researchers at Different Levels &amp; Strategies to Achieve it

Purpose: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) serve as essential tools for academic researchers across various stages of their careers, from PhD research level to the post-doctorate research level, and even for research supervisors. These quantitative and qualitative metrics play a pivotal role in guiding and evaluating research endeavours, fostering accountability, and enhancing the overall quality and impact of academic work. KPIs play a critical role in shaping the trajectory of academic researchers' careers. They provide a structured way to measure and enhance research productivity, impact, and collaboration, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge and the overall enrichment of the academic community. It is academically interesting to know KPTs for PhD scholars’ level, post-doctorate scholars level, and research supervisors level. Methodology/Approach: The exploratory research method is adopted to analyze, compare, evaluate, interpret, and create KPIs at different academic research levels. The information is collected from scholarly articles using listed keywords with the help of search engines like Google.com, Google scholar, Organizational websites, and AI machines like ChatGPT and Bard. Using this relevant information, KPIs at different research levels are obtained. These KPIs at different academic research levels are further analysed using ABCD analysis framework. Findings/Result: Many KPIs are identified and listed at PhD scholars’ level, post-doctorate scholars level, and research supervisors level. Using ABCD analysis framework, these KPIs are analysed and evaluated. It is believed that the identified KPIs systematically in this research are going to be guiding policies for academic researchers at PhD scholars level, post-doctorate scholars level, and research supervisors level. Originality/Value: For the first time, the key performance indicators (KPIs) are identified systematically and presented using exploratory research method. It is believed that like in business organizations of other industries, these key indicators are expected to be guiding principles to enhance the academic research productivity of higher education and research institutions at PhD scholars level, post-doctorate scholars level, and research supervisors level. Type of Paper: Explorative Policy Research.