Productivity of KU’s faculty members dips
Lack of resources cited
KUWAIT CITY, July 17: A recent academic study revealed that the scientific productivity of faculty members in Kuwait University has declined relatively in the last three years, despite their positive attitudes toward research, indicating the university teachers consider that preoccupation with nonresearch activities and lack of material, moral and material incentives as well as resources are among the most important obstacles to scientific research, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The study conducted by professor of information systems at the Faculty of Business Administration Dr Omar Khalil said that faculty members in the health sciences faculties such as Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences are the most productive in research in the university. The information is based on the measurement of research production in consideration of ‘quantity’ in funded research projects and scientific papers presented and published in scientific conference publications. Where are the ingredients? It pointed out that teachers need more than personal motivation and the intention of research to become research producers. It pointed out that lack of availability of necessary elements of research such as time, research skills, and knowledge in the field of research explains the decline in research production. Teachers are also engaged in heavy teaching tasks, stressful management tasks, and periodic meetings that consume the time which should have been invested in scientific research as an alternative. Personal factors On the impact of personal factors, it indicated that “although male and female professors differ in their research attitudes, there is no difference between them in research productivity”. The research output of younger faculty members is lower despite having stronger intentions than the older ones to conduct research as they advance in age. It reaches its peak between 41-50 years, and then gradually returns to decline.