Journal of Research in Education Sciences (Dec 2024)
大學教師學術發表影響力之影響因素 Factors Influencing Publication Impact of Faculty
Abstract
學術論文發表與被引用次數是高等教育評估大學教師研究影響力的主要測量指標，常被視為教育政策擬定、大學重要決策與資源分配的參照值。目前學術發表影響力之相關研究大多以書目學或引文計量為主，本研究目的有二：一為從學院、系所、個人三個層次，考驗學院領域、系所生師比、個人學術年資、指導研究生畢業人數、職等、國內（或國外）博士學位，以及性別等社會因素與大學教師學術發表影響力的關係；二為考量教育資料之階層結構，應用廣義線性混合效果模型樹分析具有巢套和群集特性之數據，進而釐清各因素與大學教師學術影響力之影響效果，藉此提供高等教育發展和大學機構決策者實證取向之資料為依據，落實扶植與優化國內大學教師學術發表影響力之理念與措施。本研究以臺灣南部某研究型綜合大學之教師為研究對象，從九個學院中抽取50個系所的800名大學教師為樣本。研究發現：一、學院是影響教師學術影響力最重要的因素，相較於人文社會領域，以引文計量為測量指標之學術研究影響力對自然科學領域較為有利；二、系所的生師比僅對自然科學領域學院教師之學術影響力有影響；三、研究生畢業人數與學術年資對不同領域教師之學術發表影響力皆為正向；四、大學教師的學術發表影響力因職等與國內（或國外）學位而有所差異，性別則未呈現顯著差異。 Introduction Academic paper publication and citation count are primary indicators used to assess the research impact of university faculty, serving as benchmarks for educational policy formulation, major university decisions, and resource allocation. Bibliometrics or citation metrics are predominantly used in research on publication impact. Citation-based metrics provide several advantages, particularly with respect to reducing the subjective bias of peer review processes (Sternberg, 2018). These metrics are quantifiable measures that enable a comparative evaluation of scholars’ impact and standing within their respective academic fields (Ruscio et al., 2012). Therefore, metrics such as the h-index (Hirsch, 2005) have gained considerable research attention and serve as essential reference points in assessments of faculty scholarly output in major research databases such as the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Literature Review Various societal, organizational, and institutional factors contribute to the academic productivity and publication impact of university faculty members (Aboagy et al., 2021; Fisher, 2005; Golden & Carstensen, 1992). Despite their professional and research interests, faculty members’ academic research output and impact patterns are often shaped by the opportunities created and the requirements imposed by their affiliated institutions (Way et al., 2019). Consequently, a close connection exists between faculty publication impact and the research environment. A higher graduate student-faculty ratio suggests that faculty members must dedicate more time to teaching activities and student supervision, which may reduce their research productivity (O’Hara et al., 2019; Smeltzer et al., 2016). However, graduate students also serve as valuable human resources for faculty research (Buckner & Zhang, 2021). Therefore, the present study further explored the uncertain relationship between the student-faculty ratio of a department and its faculty publication impact, accounting for the college affiliation of faculty members. Studies have indicated that early involvement in academic work yields benefits in terms of accumulating research output and impact (Mishra & Smyth, 2013; Nosek et al., 2010; Sugimoto et al., 2016). However, Sinatra et al. (2016) discovered that scientific researchers randomly produce highly impactful works instead of following a systematic trajectory from their first publication. Full professors are often in advantageous positions in terms of having research resources and professional networks, which may aid them in accumulating research publications and impact (Colaco et al., 2013). Conversely, assistant or associate professors may be required to dedicate more time and effort to publishing research papers because of the pressures associated with earning promotions and tenure (Hesli et al., 2012). Furthermore, faculty members who earned their doctoral degrees abroad may have more opportunities for academic networking and international collaborations relative to those with domestic doctoral degrees (Huang et al., 2022), potentially leading to higher citation rates and greater visibility for their research works (Bauder, 2020). Faculty members often co-author research papers with their graduate students (Henriksen, 2016). When professors supervise graduate student thesis projects, their active involvement may result in them having co-authorship for the resulting publications, which indicates a potential connection between the publication outcomes of professors and the thesis projects they supervise (Corsini et al., 2022). Gender has also garnered considerable attention in this context because of its effect on faculty members’ publication impact (Abramo et al., 2019; Aguinis et al., 2018; Eloy et al., 2013; Jena et al., 2016). In academia, men often secure key positions, resources, and international collaboration opportunities more frequently than women do (Kwiek & Roszka, 2021), contributing to gender bias in academic research, with the problems and effects related to female representation often overlooked (Abramo et al., 2019). Such underrepresentation may adversely affect female scholars (van Veelenn & Derks, 2022). The present study investigated the influence of several factors on faculty publication at various levels, including college affiliation, the student–faculty ratio, academic seniority, graduate student supervision, academic rank, domestic (or foreign) doctoral degree, and gender. Additionally, given the hierarchical structure of educational data, this study employed generalized linear mixed-effect model tree analysis to examine data with nested and clustered properties. Method The present study enrolled faculty members from a research-intensive comprehensive university in southern Taiwan, establishing a sample of 800 university faculty members selected from 50 departments across 9 colleges (Bioscience and Biotechnology, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management, Medicine, Planning and Design, Sciences, and Social Sciences). Data were collected manually from the university websites and the National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan, with information such as the origin of degrees, academic rank, year of first publication, gender, and the number of supervised graduate students extracted. Results College affiliation was identified as the most significant factor in determining the academic research impact of faculty members. Faculty members were classified into two major domains: natural sciences and humanities and social sciences. In the humanities and social sciences domain, the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Planning and Design exhibited similarities, as did the College of Management and the College of Social Sciences. Academic rank was the second most significant factor influencing these two clusters, with significant differences in the h-index being identified between professors and associate professors/assistant professors. In the natural sciences domain, the student-faculty ratio of a department was the second most significant factor after college affiliation. Faculty members were further categorized by the student-faculty ratios of their affiliated departments and their college affiliation. Within clusters such as the College of Medicine and the College of Science, academic rank was positively and significantly correlated with h-index performance. Conversely, in clusters such as the College of Engineering, the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the College of Life Sciences, h-index performance was additionally influenced by whether a faculty member had a domestic or foreign doctoral degree. Discussion The publication impact of faculty members in the natural sciences domain was significantly higher than that of faculty members in the humanities and social sciences domain. This finding can be attributed to differences in collaborative research and funding. The student-faculty ratio substantially influenced the publication impact of natural sciences faculty, likely because of the prevalence of co-authorship in this domain. Academic seniority and graduate student supervision had varying effects across the clusters. Although full professors generally achieved a higher publication impact, assistant professors from specific departments also achieved excellent performance. Faculty members with foreign doctoral degrees had a higher publication impact, with this being particularlytrue for those in departments with higher student-faculty ratios. No significant gender-related differences were identified within the study sample. Conclusion Full professors from the College of Medicine and the College of Science, which are within the natural sciences domain, achieved the highest publication impact. By contrast, associate professors and assistant professors in the College of Planning and Design and the College of Liberal Arts, which are within the humanities and social sciences domain, are likely to encounter difficulties in building publication impact, according to citation metrics. Therefore, government agencies and universities should avoid directly comparing disparate fields when allocating resources. Additionally, researchers and relevant authorities must account for the potential varying effects of factors such as PhD origin and the number of supervised students across specific domains. Institutions can effectively optimize resource allocation to enhance academic productivity by adopting a nuanced approach to such allocation.
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