Relationship of Personal and Institutional Factors with Research Productivity among Faculty Members of Public and Private Sector Universities of the Punjab

Abstract

Research is a vital part of university. Personal and institutional factors are the main components which enhance the research productivity of teachers. The aim of this study was to explore relationship of personal and institutional factors with research productivity among public and private universities teachers. The main objectives of this study were; explore the relationship of personal factors with research productivity of teachers, explore the relationship of institutional factors with research productivity of teachers, find out the difference between public and private universities regarding relationship of personal attributes with research productivity, and find out the difference between public and private universities regarding relationship of institutional attributes with research productivity. A mixed methods research designs was used for this study. Sample of the study was six hundred and twenty five teachers of public and private universities. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select universities. Census sampling technique was used to select teachers from selected five departments of universities. To conduct interviews, forty teachers were selected randomly from sample of the study. Two instruments were used for data collection: Questionnaire and semi-structured interview for teachers. These instruments were self-developed by the researcher, and piloted on a small sample of 70 university teachers in order to ensure the reliability of the instrument. Validity of the instruments was checked by expert opinions, and reliability of the instrument was also ensured by Cronbach Alpha. The value of Cronbach Alpha of quantitative questionnaire “Relationship of personal and institutional factors with research productivity” was 0.925. Data were analyzed in two phases. In phase one quantitative data were analyzed. For the quantitative part of the study, descriptive statistics Frequencies, Means, and Standard deviations were calculated. While in inferential statistics, Pearson-r for correlation, regression analysis, independent sample t-test, and One-way ANOVA tests were applied to get the required results. In the second phase qualitative data were analyzed. The researcher took the main themes from interviews and then evaluated and incorporated those themes in the report manually. The findings of the study indicated that there was a considerable correlation between teachers personal and institutional factors with their research productivity. There was a positive correlation between designations of teachers and research productivity. It is also concluded that there was a moderate, positive correlation between teachers’ teaching experience and qualification with their research productivity. The findings of the qualitative part in the study indicated that majority of the teachers agreed that their family responsibilities were a hurdle in conducting research. It is concluded that poor research environment is a factor which influences research publication of university teachers. It is also concluded from the study that majority of the teachers suggested that institutions should provide proper funds, appropriate resources and material supports, appreciation letter and acknowledgement of the work from the Head of department, and adequate chances for promotion.