Faculty Research Research Articles

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the productivity and career prospects of musculoskeletal researchers.

Academic researchers faced a multitude of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including widespread shelter-in-place orders, workplace closures, and cessation of in-person meetings and laboratory activities. The extent to which these challenges impacted musculoskeletal researchers, specifically, is unknown. We developed an anonymous web-based survey to determine the pandemic's impact on research productivity and career prospects among musculoskeletal research trainees and faculty. There were 116 musculoskeletal (MSK) researchers with varying demographic backgrounds who completed the survey. Of respondents, 48.3% (n = 56) believed that musculoskeletal funding opportunities decreased because of COVID-19, with faculty members more likely to hold this belief compared to nonfaculty researchers (p = 0.008). Amongst MSK researchers, 88.8% (n = 103) reported research activity was limited by COVID-19, and 92.2% (n = 107) of researchers reported their research was not able to be refocused on COVID-19-related topics, with basic science researchers less likely to be able to refocus their research compared to clinical researchers (p = 0.030). Additionally, 47.4% (n = 55) reported a decrease in manuscript submissions since the onset of the pandemic. Amongst 51 trainee researchers, 62.8% (n = 32) reported a decrease in job satisfaction directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. In summary, study findings indicated that MSK researchers struggled to overcome challenges imposed by the pandemic, reporting declines in funding opportunities, research productivity, and manuscript submission. Trainee researchers experienced significant disruptions to critical research activities and worsening job satisfaction. Our findings motivate future efforts to support trainees in developing their careers and target the recovery of MSK research from the pandemic stall.

Student and Faculty Research News

Student and Faculty Research News

Awareness and adoption of anti-plagiarism software in India: A case study of ShodhShuddhi

Background Academic writing is essential for researchers to present the research output in a legitimate manner with a precise and clear representation of research data, but few have mastered the art of writing well. Research and researchers are responsible for upholding academic honesty, integrity, and ethics. Needless to say, plagiarism has been around since antiquity, but it has never been as pervasive as it is now. Plagiarism is gradually ingraining itself into our educational system. Pupils are increasingly using the Internet and ICT-based tools to find quick “shortcuts” to the worthwhile but time-consuming task of preparing research papers. Being the third-largest publishing nation, it is the duty of the stakeholders to uphold and work for publication excellence with research ethics and honesty. Since there are so many research articles being published, it is important to understand publishing ethics and anti-plagiarism software in the research domain. If authors are taking ideas from previously published documents or other authors’ works, it is important to ensure acknowledgment and credit in terms of citations, bibliographical references, providing in-text citations, footnotes, and quoting them in any standard citation style. Plagiarism can also be defined as the paraphrasing and text recycling of documents. The challenges in research, which compromise ethics, are also from different stages of research, which include fabrication and falsification of data, AI-based text-generating tools, test recycling, ghostwriting, image plagiarism, audio-to-text-converting tools, etc. A one-stop solution to address all these issues on a single platform is not feasible as it involves multi-level checks and proper policy blended to be implemented at many levels. Objectivity In this paper, analysis and study examine the national awareness of anti-plagiarism software. The primary objectives of the study are to raise awareness and investigate the current state and status of the use of anti-plagiarism software in Bharat (PDS). Methodology The data was collected through the portals and websites of ShodhShuddhi, Shodhganga, and the INFLIBNET Centre. Initiated with 200 universities in the year 2015, about 1086 higher education institutions (HEIs) are provided with PDS under ShodhShuddhi, out of which 894 institutions are active in using software for checking similarities. Three years of usage by active institutions are taken for analysis and study by 1.3 lakh faculty members and research scholars. The increase in usage, even during COVID time, shows that awareness is created in the nation, and the percentage of similarity in first document submission is also coming down gradually in the nation. Character building in academic matters and innovations are key outcomes that can be achieved by addressing plagiarism to strive for a knowledge-based nation.

The More You Know: The Impact of Personal Knowledge on Interpersonal Treatment at Work

Employees often receive conflicting advice about sharing personal information in the workplace. They are told to “bring your whole self to work” but also to keep it professional and not share too much personal information with colleagues. Research has been equivocal in its overall guidance about sharing personal information at work: it may be either beneficial or harmful for work relationships. These inconsistencies are likely driven by the types of questions posed. Specifically, existing research has studied the impact of a particular piece of personal information and the specific details of what is learned, not what all of these pieces of personal information amount to. Instead, this paper takes a new vantage point to understand how the amount of personal knowledge (the quantity of information that one person knows across many aspects of a colleague’s personal life) influences positive interpersonal dynamics at work by humanizing the known colleague. Through a full-cycle research approach, I establish causal support experimentally and then replicate support for my hypotheses in the field, demonstrating a positive, persistent effect: having more personal knowledge—regardless of whether that knowledge conveys value incongruence or life-to-work interference—leads to a more humanized perception of the known colleague, resulting in increased responsiveness toward that colleague. These findings resolve an existing puzzle in the literature and also contribute to a more nuanced understanding of work relationships and interpersonal learning at work. Funding: This work was supported by Washington University in St. Louis (faculty research funds) and the University of Michigan (doctoral research funds). Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.15606 .

Implementing a Palliative Care Junior Faculty Visiting Professor Program: Pearls and Pitfalls.

Palliative Care (PC) is a small, relatively young interprofessional sub-specialty; hence mentorship for early-career research faculty is widely dispersed across schools and universities. We developed the Junior Visiting Professor Program (JVPP) to provide junior faculty in palliative care (PC) with opportunities to meet multidisciplinary PC researchers from other institutions and to advance their research through networking and presenting their work. We describe how we designed and implemented the program, and we report on the first cohort of participants. We invited PC research groups from US schools of medicine and nursing to participate in this 5-year interprofessional exchange program by nominating junior faculty and serving as hosts. We matched nominees to host institutions based on nominee training experiences, nominee research interests, and host institution faculty expertise. In addition, we provided logistical guidance on visit planning. Post-visit, we surveyed both hosts and junior visiting professors (JVPs) regarding their satisfaction, perceived value, and suggestions regarding the program. We recruited 13 schools to participate and matched 10 nominees to host institutions in our first year. Nine JVPs completed their visit; 6 JVPs and 8 host faculty/staff responded to the post-visit survey. Overall, JVPs were highly satisfied with their matches and the visiting professor experience. Hosts were generally satisfied with their matches and believed the program to be mutually beneficial. The most frequent suggestion was for greater administrative support to plan visits. Structured, well-supported opportunities for networking across institutions is beneficial for emerging PC researchers and for building PC research capacity.

Researchers Expectations Towards Library Research Support Services (LRSS)

This cross-sectional study is aimed to identify the expectations and problems faced by faculty members and research scholars at Maharshi Dayanand University regarding library research support services (LRSS) under seven service dimensions. The research outcome reveals that the service most anticipated by the participants was ‘Database Services’ having the highest mean score, followed by ‘Infrastructure Facilities’ and ‘Institutional Repositories’. The least expected service was ‘Scholarly Communication Services’ which had the lowest mean score. The only service with significant differences between gender and qualifications was ‘Infrastructure Facilities’. In terms of challenges faced, the most noteworthy problems identified included inadequate funding for Article Processing Charges and limited access to computers in the library. Other problems included a lack of training in research support tools and ICT skills, lack of accessibility to library services from home, poor Internet connectivity, and lack of training/ consultation to use services. The library staff was reported to be helpful and supportive. The study provides insights into the expectations and problems of users in the context of LRSS. The study also highlights the imperative need for adequate funding for APCs and improved computer facilities, alongside targeted training initiatives for optimum use of research support tools and enhancing ICT skills to improve the efficacy of LRSS.

The conflicting needs of now and forever: Designing streaming media services at an academic library

Fulfilling requests for media content in support of classroom and faculty research activities is demanding for academic libraries. Libraries strive to meet requests for media while working with challenges such as intellectual property license contracts, advances in digital communication technologies and copyright issues. This article provides an in-depth look at the changing demands of collections and services in addressing faculty requests for media, and outlines both a collection and a service strategy developed by librarians at the University of South Florida Libraries to provide faculty and students with access to diverse media titles in formats ranging from physical to streaming.

Health sciences faculty publication patterns and related information-seeking behavior.

This study aims to explore how health science faculty publication patterns at a large public research university have changed over time and examine how productivity relates to their information-seeking behavior and perception of the academic library. Two datasets were utilized: one consisted of publication records of health sciences faculty spanning a 15-year period, while the other was from a faculty survey exploring faculty's perception of and satisfaction with library resources and services related to their research. Health sciences faculty publication patterns have changed over time, characterized by greater productivity, collaboration, and use of literature in their publications. Faculty's literature use correlates with productivity, as evidenced by both datasets. The survey revealed that faculty with more publications tend to rely more on online journals and Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Similarly, the publication data indicated that less productive faculty tended to use fewer references in their publications. The publication data and survey results offer valuable insights into the health sciences faculty's information-seeking behavior and productivity. Online access to information has been effective in facilitating use of information, as indicated by the greater incorporation of references in publications. The study highlights the changing publication patterns and productivity of health sciences faculty, as well as the role academic libraries play in supporting their research and publishing activities. Although multiple variables influence faculty access to and use of information, faculty attitudes towards the library and use of the library are related to faculty research and productivity.

The impact of investor sentiment on stock liquidity of listed companies in China

Researchers have scrutinized the link between investor sentiment and stock market liquidity globally, yet few have delved into this dynamic in emerging markets, especially China. Utilizing a sample of 1,839 publicly listed companies in China from 2010 to 2019, this study applies firm- and year-fixed-effects models to explore the nexus between investor sentiment and stock illiquidity, employing the Amihud measure for stock illiquidity assessment. The outcomes of these fixed-effect regressions illustrate a significantly positive relationship between investor sentiment and stock liquidity in the Chinese market. The positive link is more evident in scenarios characterized by high firm leverage, rapid revenue growth, larger corporations, greater institutional ownership, higher stock volatility, and lower book-to-market ratios. Intriguingly, this analysis incorporates the quadratic term of investor sentiment to examine the potential for a nonlinear dynamic between stock illiquidity and investor sentiment. The findings elucidate that the effect of investor sentiment on stock liquidity diminishes at elevated levels of sentiment, revealing a nonlinear inverse U-shaped relationship. The positive correlation between investor sentiment and stock liquidity persists across the three divisions of the Chinese Shenzhen Stock Exchange and remains robust using alternative liquidity measures, such as Roll’s impact and zeros impact. Addressing causality concerns, current investor sentiment appears to influence subsequent liquidity levels. These results provide valuable perspectives for policymakers, business executives, and investors in the stock market. Acknowledgment This research was funded by the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province General Program [Y202353438], the Wenzhou Association for Science and Technology—Service and Technology Innovation Program [jczc0254], the Wenzhou-Kean University Student Partnering with Faculty Research Program [WKUSPF2023004], and the Wenzhou-Kean University International Collaborative Research Program [ICRP2023002].

120 Impact of Undergraduate Clinical Research Experience: Highlighting the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute Research Associates Program (CTSI-RAP)

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: CTSI-RAP is a professional development program that provides undergraduate students with clinical research exposure and training. Students support UCLA research faculty by assisting with all aspects of the research process, including recruiting participants, data management, and presentations. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: CTSI-RAP onboards a 15-20 volunteer student cohort annually in a competitive application and interview process with less than a 10% acceptance rate. Since the inaugural cohort in 2013, over 160 students have participated. The program engages hundreds of students each year through the recruitment process, campus clinical research events, and student-led conference opportunities. Evaluation surveys developed through REDCap in 2022 sought to assess the program’s impact on undergraduate experiences, professional development, and post-graduate careers. Surveys distributed to investigators and their study teams evaluated the student’s clinical research knowledge and engaged student involvement. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Based on evaluation surveys, the CTSI-RAP program received excellent reviews from both students and their assigned study teams. 100% of students and faculty would recommend the program to a friend or colleague. 30% of students present or publish annually, indicating a wealth of meaningful contributions made by students. 90% of students go on to attend medical school, health-related graduate school, or other health-related employment. Several students continue working in clinical research through gap-year employment. As demonstrated by the high caliber of student and faculty experiences, CTSI-RAP has created an esteemed and valued symbiotic infrastructure to support clinical research endeavors at UCLA. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Through clinical research career exploration and professional skill-building in undergraduate careers, the CTSI-RAP program produces highly-trained future leaders in the field and benefits the capacity of UCLA research. CTSI-RAP provides a model for similar programs to be funded and implemented in other institutions.

Apprenticeship of Observation in Kinesiology: Undergraduates’ Perceptions of Faculty Roles

ABSTRACT While kinesiology scholars have focused on how future faculty members are socialized, recruited into, and prepared for academia, limited attention has been given to the apprenticeship of observation for faculty roles when college students first develop impressions and initial understandings of faculty work. This qualitative study aimed to understand undergraduate kinesiology students’ perceptions and beliefs about faculty roles and careers in higher education. Data were collected from 58 undergraduate kinesiology students at a large doctoral-granting institution in the Midwest region of the U.S. The findings were communicated through three themes: (a) incomplete understanding of faculty work limits motivation to pursue faculty careers; (b) positive associations but distal relationships with faculty through coursework; and (c) research involvement fosters an understanding of research process and faculty work. This study has implications not only for the recruitment and socialization of future faculty, but also for building public trust in kinesiology and higher education.

Research Productivity of Faculty Members in Selected Private Colleges in the Province of Albay: Basis for Enhancing Research Culture

The study aimed to assess the research productivity of the faculty members in five private colleges in the province of Albay. This study used a multi-method approach in determining the research productivity, factors affecting the research productivity of respondents, and significant agreement on the factors affecting the research productivity of respondents among the private colleges in the province of Albay. A survey questionnaire, document analysis, statistical analysis, and literature review were incorporated. The study found varying levels of research productivity across the institutions. Researchership, institutional support, motivation, leadership practices, and research orientation all notably impact research productivity. The top areas influencing research productivity are time management, research-related development opportunities, and alignment of research agenda with institutional strengths. There is a statistically significant agreement on the factors affecting the research productivity of the respondents. Specific areas for interventions could aim to strengthen leadership practices that provide professional development opportunities, effective time management, research funding, faculty research writing aptitude, and a clear research agenda. A Research Development Program was designed based on the findings of the study. The components of this program are mentorship pairs and collaboration, internal research funding, seminar series, research facilities and resources, and research excellence recognition.

Opportunities to Increase the Efficiency of Universities’ Research and Innovation Activities: Scientometric Evaluation of Researchers' Work under External Information Constraints

The development of research and innovation should be a strategic direction of state policy in the sphere of education. This imposes additional functions connected not only with fundamental and applied research, which is the traditional type of research work of universities, but also with the inclusion of universities' research activities into the unified innovation process of the creation and practical application of new knowledge to obtain new goods or services with new properties. The aim of the article is to determine the ability of international scientometric databases to assess the research and innovation activity of Russian universities. The key research method is regression analysis used to establish the relationship between the Hirsch index values for research papers in the Scopus and Google Scholar databases. The paper shows the possibility and expediency of using Google Scholar to evaluate the results of research and innovation activities of medical universities' faculty. This allows increasing the efficiency of the scientometric evaluation of researchers under external information constraints. This corresponds well to the principles of functioning of an entrepreneurial university. The advantage of Google Scholar is the consideration of Russian-language publications in the indexing.

Democratizing Law Librarianship: Reducing Barriers to Entry through Alternative Pathways to the Profession and Increased Support to Students. A Call to Action

Law librarianship is a constantly evolving profession driven by the evolution of law practice, legal education, government, and law itself. Changes in these drivers are in turn influenced by factors such as technology, culture, client needs, American Bar Association Standards, bar exams, diversity and access efforts, faculty research, instructional trends, and law school rankings. Law librarians proudly keep up with these changes—and even stay ahead of them—as we impart new knowledge and skills to users of law libraries and legal information resources. As we proceed through the third decade of the twenty-first century, the legal information profession is engaged in dialogue about the perpetually shrinking pools of qualified candidates for law librarian positions. Additionally, law librarians have been lamenting for decades that the legal information profession does not accurately reflect the diversity in our communities. The literature reflects that those conversations began in earnest in the 1970s and continue today. This article addresses both compelling issues and offers concrete strategies to tackle them simultaneously, thoughtfully, and intentionally. The entire profession is invited to play a role in this effort.

A Mixed-Methods Study of How a Critical Race Theory-Informed Undergraduate Research Experience Program Provides Equitable Support for Aspiring Graduate Students

Numerous studies document the benefits of participating in undergraduate research experiences (UREs), including greater odds of enrolling in graduate school. However, there is a lack of understanding about how UREs support student success. This study examines survey and interview data from a multi-year program evaluation of a National Institutes of Health-funded biomedical training program to consider whether and how participating in a URE fosters students’ sense of belonging, which is an important predictor of retention and graduation. Analyzing the quantitative survey data revealed that participating in the URE was positively associated with a sense of belonging even after controlling for students’ background characteristics, including gender, race or ethnicity, first-generation status, commuting burden, and age. Additionally, there was a positive relationship between a sense of belonging and odds of applying to graduate school. Path analysis suggests that the URE has an indirect relationship with applying to a graduate program that operates through the URE’s direct relationship with sense of belonging. Interview data offered insights into how the URE supported an increased sense of belonging. Specifically, we found that the URE fostered a sense of belonging when (1) faculty research mentors develop authentic, personal, and caring relationships with mentees, (2) the URE program welcomes, cultivates, and supports women and racially diverse students, and (3) the URE is embedded within a university environment that allows for faculty and peer engagement.

An Investigation on the Use of Electronic Resources by Faculty and Research Scholars of National Law Universities of North India

The purpose of this study is to examine how research scholars and faculty at National Law Universities of North India use and are aware of electronic resources for legal information. The parameters used to determine the level of awareness of e-resources include the easiest way to access legal e-resources, obstacles and difficulties encountered when doing so, the most popular online legal database, and recommendations for e-resource promotion. A well-structured questionnaire intended for faculty members and research scholars at a select National Law Universities of North India was used to gather the necessary data for the study. According to the study, the most popular online databases are Manupatra and SCC Online, while the most popular e-resources are law reform reports and case law databases. Upgrading of ICT facilities, the acquisition of new databases and e-resources, and the planning of end-user training programs are all ways to improve end-user awareness and utilization of e-resources. The study further highlighted the need for NLUs to maintain a set of guidelines and policies regarding encouraging users to use electronic resources in order to improve usage.

Human-centered participatory co-design with children and adults for a prototype lifestyle intervention and implementation strategy in a rural middle school

PurposeThe significance of regular physical activity (PA) in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is widely acknowledged. However, children in rural areas encounter specific barriers to PA compared to their urban counterparts. This study employs human-centered participatory co-design, involving community stakeholders in developing a multi-level PA intervention named Hoosier Sport. The primary hypothesis is the co-design sessions leading to the development of a testable intervention protocol.MethodsTwo co-design teams, each consisting of six children and six adults, were formed using human-centered participatory co-design facilitated by research faculty and graduate students. The process involved five co-design sessions addressing problem identification, solution generation, solution evaluation, operationalization, and prototype evaluation. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes and intervention components.ResultsChild co-designers (n = 6) ranged from 6th to 8th grade, averaging 12.6 years (SD = 1.8), while adult co-designers (n = 6) averaged 43.3 years (SD = 8.08). Thematic analysis revealed children emphasizing autonomy, the freedom to choose physical and non-physical activities, and the importance of building peer relationships during PA. Adult interviews echoed the importance of autonomy and choice in activities, with a focus on relatedness through positive role modeling.ConclusionThe prototype intervention and implementation strategies developed constitute a testable intervention aligned with Phase 1 of the ORBIT model. This testable prototype lays the groundwork for a collaborative campus-community partnership between the university and the local community, ensuring mutual benefits and sustainable impact.

Group peer mentoring is effective for different demographic groups of biomedical research faculty: A controlled trial.

Improved mentoring of midcareer researchers in medical schools has been identified as an important potential avenue for addressing low vitality and high burnout rates in faculty, and the scarcity of both underrepresented minority (URM) faculty and women in biomedical research. To address the need for widescale effective mentoring, we sought to determine whether a group peer mentoring intervention (C-Change Mentoring and Leadership Institute) for early midcareer research faculty was effective for different demographic groups in a controlled trial. Thirty-five diverse early midcareer faculty and 70 propensity-matched (PM) control subjects matched to intervention subjects on a) study inclusion criteria; b) gender, race, and ethnicity, degree, rank, years of experience, publications, grants; and c) pretest survey outcome variables, participated in the intervention. The C-Change Participant Survey assessed vitality, self-efficacy in career advancement, research success, mentoring others, valuing diversity, cognitive empathy, and anti-sexism/anti-racism skills at pretest and intervention completion. Analysis using multiple regression models included outcome pretest values and indicator variables for intervention, gender, URM status, and MD vs. PhD. Hypotheses regarding differential effectiveness of the intervention by demographic group were tested by including cross-product terms between the demographic indicator variables and the intervention indicator. Missing data were addressed using chained equations to create 100 data sets. The intervention participants had significantly higher (favorable) scores than PM controls for: self-assessed change in vitality; self-efficacy for career advancement, research, and mentoring others; cognitive empathy; and anti-sexism/racism skills. The benefits of the intervention were nearly identical across: gender, URM vs non-URM faculty, and degree MD/PhD, except vitality significantly increased for non-URM subjects, and not for URM faculty. Self-assessed change in vitality increased for URM and non-URM. The intervention worked successfully for enhancing vitality, self-efficacy and cross-cultural engagement across different demographic groups of biomedical research faculty.

Fulbright‐Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship (ED)

Fulbright‐Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship (ED)

Interventions to support fellowship application success among predoctoral physician-scientists.

A critical element of physician-scientist training is the development and practice of core competencies that promote success in research careers. The ability to develop compelling training and research proposals is one such foundational skill. The NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) individual fellowship for dual-degree students (F30, F31, or F31-Diversity) creates an ideal opportunity to provide formal instruction in grant-writing skills to physician-scientists early in training. In the guided process of preparing a predoctoral fellowship application, students learn to formulate clear short- and long-term research and training goals; construct a comprehensive, well-reasoned, and rigorous proposal; become familiar with funding agency priorities; and gain strategic insights into the peer review system. Beyond building scientific writing skills, the application process for an NRSA F30 or F31 is an opportunity for trainees to strengthen mentor-mentee relationships, identify learning opportunities key to their scientific development, and build effective research and mentoring teams. These skills also apply to developing future postdoctoral mentored K applications or faculty research program grants. Here, we outline key features of the structured proposal development training developed for students in the Yale MD-PhD Program and review outcomes associated with its implementation.