NEGOTIATING THE TRAJECTORY IN RESEARCH, PUBLICATION AND PROMOTION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

NEGOTIATING THE TRAJECTORY IN RESEARCH, PUBLICATION AND PROMOTION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF

NIGERIA

Pat Uche Okpoko

M

aiden Faculty of Arts Lecture Series

October 9, 2018

Slide2

Outline

Introduction

Background

Doing Research in the Contemporary World

Basic Qualitative Research

Characteristics

The Research

Process

Problem Formulation

Research

Design

Validity and Reliability

Coding

Data Analysis

Constructing Social Systems Model or Social

Explanations

Soft wares for Data

Analysis

…

Understanding the

Trajectory

Publishing in Quality

Journals

Conclusion

and Recommendations

.

Slide3

Introduction

Every

generation of academic staff

has

always

complained about promotion.

The Complaints

Delay

in the release of the outcome, particularly for the professorial cadre

,

Stringent

provisions of the statutes,

None

payment of accruable arrears and so

on,

Thomson Reuters

impact factor

and its shadows.

Questions

Do the

provisions

of the statutes run

counter to universally accepted

standards?

Are they objective

, pragmatic and realizable.

Slide4

Universal Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Academics the world over perform two pronged duties -

teaching and research.

Both

functions are believed to

be complementary.

research

supports teaching in some ways,

what

is often researched upon is

oftentimes

inspired by teaching.

Publication brings

to the scientific community and the public

the

outcome of

these experiences.

These are the

KPIs for academics globally.

In

some climes, the progression and remunerations

are

not uniform, but tied

to

individual contributions to knowledge epitomized by research and publication.

Slide5

Background History

The Yellow Book guides promotion of academic staff in the University of Nigeria

.

Review history

The

first review took place in April 1982,

Followed

closely by the second in 1984 due to the request of a Visitation Panel,

The

third edition in March 1994.

Following

the challenges posed by aspects of the Yellow Book, an addendum was added in 1997 to address them.

On

February 14, 2006,

the

4th edition took

effect,

and

Subsequently

the 5th edition in March 2015.

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Basic Features and Challenges

T

he

“pyramid structure

”,

in which the

space available became narrower as one ascended the academic ladder.

Each department was assigned slots according to its establishment.

The

establishment was so

limited that many academics

waited endlessly to be promoted.

Progression

depended less on one’s publications, and more on available establishment

.

O

ne

either waited for the person occupying the last available space to retire or die before one’s ascent.

Some staff left out

of frustration to the ministries and parastatals.

Globalization of pyramid structure

T

he

process was globalized along faculty

lines

in 1995.

M

any

staff got their promotion after many endless years.

T

he scramble for the new openings, and the indifference to article publication occasioned by the pyramid structure, resulted in new challenges.

self-publishing, with articles

published in

staff offices

;

manipulation

and/or manufacture of acceptance

letters,

weakening peer

review mechanism occasioned by

the

gradual erosion of official secret

policy

underlining the process.

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Impact Factor Regime without specified bodies

Basic features

The

quantitative measurement of the relative standing of publications and creative works, referred to as weighting factor enshrined in the recent edition.

Improvement

in the relative scores for double or multiple authors

.

No

specified impact factor rating body was adopted by the 4th edition of the Yellow Book as prima facie for promotion of academics from senior lecturer to professor.

Challenges

I

ts

hurried introduction and the attendant poor level of awareness about its provisions,

Faculties

implemented it

haphazardly as

the interpretation of the contents of the new rule became a matter for regular debate amongst members of the appraisal committees.

The

classification of publications into international, national, local, reputable and the like also constituted its own problem.

Indeed

, the criteria for determining whether a journal was reputable or not also generated debate and varied interpretations. In some cases, members were completely out of tune with the new reality.

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Impact Factor Regime with specified bodies, but without statutory backing

From

2009

,

two

impact factor rating bodies, namely

Thomson

Reuters and Scopus,

were specified as

the minimum benchmark for appraisal or promotion into the senior cadre.

This

was informed by the continued abuse of the promotion process by some recalcitrant staff

.

The process was so-abused, that all manner of impact factor rating bodies, including those that published articles overnight and without peer review, surfaced.

Quality was

jettisoned on the altar of number

.

Research

with which the academia is associated was thrown overboard

.

Nonetheless

, the contents of the 4th edition of the Yellow Book were not modified to reflect the specified impact factor bodies.

The

two bodies were merely adopted in principle and used at the whims and caprices of the administration. It was therefore subject to abuse

.

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Impact factor Regime with specified bodies and

statutory

backing

Retained Thomson

Reuters and Scopus or

Scimago

or SNIP impact

factors as the benchmarks for promotion of

senior academics.

Specified

the number of articles that must be published before aspiring for promotion to different cadres.

Specified

the minimum number of articles that must be published either as first-named or corresponding

authors.

Assigned

minimum points

to conference attendance, and

Removed dichotomy among the

above impact

factors

for the promotion

to

senior lectureship cadre only.

Provided

an

additional option

for staff specializing in Nigerian

languages.

Challenges

the

snail speed with which some journals with the above impact factors publish

the

exorbitant fees charged per article,

the

paucity of such journals for researchers in the humanities, law and education,

Thomson Reuters and its shadows have become a nightmare for scholars in these parts.

The minimum conference attendance provision has inadvertently elongated the statutory waiting period from three years to five years particularly for those that gained employment

as

lecturer 1.

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Notable Slogans and Quotes

“Publish or perish”

“Walk like a professor…”

“The tortuous pyramid”

“The fear of Thomson Reuters is the beginning of academic wisdom”

“A new generation of Igbo torture”

“Put my name”

Slide11

Doing Research in the Contemporary World

Research is essentially a systematic way of gathering and analyzing data.

It

is an attempt to solve societal problems or

fill gaps

in knowledge identified in one’s field.

In

the contemporary world, such work, be it quantitative or qualitative, must be done systematically, otherwise it will attract negative reactions from reviewers and therefore will not be published.

Variants

of qualitative research

participant

observation,

indepth

interviews,

documentary

research,

focus

group discussion,

case

study and

participatory

approaches of which rapid rural appraisal and participatory rural appraisal are more commonly used

.

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Basic

Qualitative Research Characteristics

1.

Design is generally based on a social construct.

2. Sample sizes are generally small and can be as small as one.

3. Its focus is broad and holistic, with emphasis laid on details.

4. Research questions guide the process.

5. Data collection involves interview, observation, and/or archival (contents) data.

6. Interpretation is based on a combination of researcher perspective and data collected.

7. It uses dialectic and inductive reasoning and the basic elements of analysis are words.

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Problem Formulation

(

i

)

Choice

of research topic

,

(ii) Clear statement of the problem,

(iii) Formulation of research questions,

(iv) Specification of

research objectives,

(

v)Outlining the

significance or

anticipated contributions,

and

(vi) A review of related literature.

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Research Design

Q

ualitative

research designs

are

not as rooted and structured as in quantitative

research,

T

hey

are a continuous process which requires that the researcher continually thinks through the strategy to be adopted, the instruments to be used, access and sampling frame, method of analysis and how these answer the research questions.

Guiding Principles:

Design

:

It is necessary to explain how the data is to be collected, the instrument to be used, how it will be used and the means for analyzing the data

collected.

Sampling

and Access:

This relates to the number of people to be interviewed or incidents to be observed, the number of institutions to be visited, the number of locations to be studied, and why, how to gain access, what guides the choice of number of people and institutions, why this particular number, and how the sample will be

stratified.

Handling

and Analyzing Data:

This deals with the kind of information you wish to present and how, the analytical principle(s) that will be adopted, how these relate to the sample strategy and method (

Mason, 2002

).

Slide15

Validity and Reliability

Validity

is concerned with the “truth” or “falsity” of an observation with respect to an external reality

”.

A

research is adjudged valid and

reliable:

if

the data is representative of the various segments of the research subjects;

if

each interviewee, asked the same questions by a different researcher, would…repeat the same answers; and

if

the data is applicable beyond the bounds of a given report (Clarke et al 1998 in

Walder

, 2000: 3).

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Coding

Coding is a process of organizing data by topics, themes or cases.

It

is both a categorizing and an

analysing

process, which sets out to group and regroup data in ordered categories using defined criteria.

Steps

in Qualitative Coding

(a)

Spell out

the objectives

and

important research questions to be answered and issues to be

resolved.

(b) Decide on the way of organizing,

or

classifying the subject matter that best suits

the

research objectives.

(c) Set up or develop appropriate classes, categories or units for

grouping

the

contents

of the

materials.

(d)

Identify

other alternative words and phrases that serve as

indicators

, pointers or cues to the various established categories.

(e)

Allocate

the contents to the

categories.

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Data Analysis

The analysis of data is a continuous process. It starts during the data collection stage.

Stages

(1) The creation of files and coding of field notes;

(2) Formulating hypothesis and noting of important themes throughout the study;

(3) Coding the data into separate incidents;

(4) Summarizing for each incident, a record of the observed

behavior;

(5) Correlating the information obtained during the various processes, and

(6) Reporting and

analysing

them in relation to the research questions and in the light of existing

literature

using words.

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Constructing Social Systems Model or Social Explanations

Qualitative research is about producing social explanations, or addressing intellectual

puzzles.

It entails engaging

the data and those to whom the arguments are directed in some kind of

discourse as

follows:

How

social process, social phenomena and social relationships and so on have

developed;

How

social phenomena and processes operate or are

constituted;

How

social phenomena compare in time and

space;

The

causal and predictive relationships between one social phenomenon and another (Mason, 2002).

Slide19

Soft wares for Data Analysis

Nvivo

: This is a computer software

designed

to sort, classify, examine relationships, structure and develop models for

analyzing non-numerical

data.

ATLAS

ti

: This is a computer

programme

that can be used for coding and analyzing transcripts and field notes in qualitative research. It is also invaluable in literature review, data management, creation of network diagrams and so

on.

CDC

Ez

-text: This software is designed to create, manage and analyze semi-structured qualitative

data.

LEXIMANCER

: This is a tool used for analyzing textual collections and documents.

ENDNOTE

: This is a software that makes references and bibliographies seamless to produce when writing articles.

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Plagiarism

Trackers

There are also soft wares to check plagiarism so as to protect the copyrights of scholars and creative artists

.

some

error margins

of 15

to 20%

are acceptable.

Grammarly

Keyboard

This is a computer application that uses online facilitation to check grammatical errors, contextual spellings, vocabulary use and punctuation marks so as to ensure an error-free and seamless writing.

The

app

enhances

the quality of our works,

improves

our skills and

helps

understand avoidable mistakes in subsequent

works.

However

, since this app works effortlessly with other apps, its critics wonder if it will not compromise sensitive

passwords.

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Understanding the Trajectory

We

need to engage ourselves in three kinds of

dialogue to understand the trajectory:

the

complementarity of teaching and research,

the

intrinsic linkage of the duo to publication

and

the

convergence of the trio.

There

is need to understand

the

interaction amongst the three variables and how they

connect

and translate to promotion.

The

trio can be said to be

interdependent

and contingent on the action of each other. This interconnectedness is expressed in the model below.

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Slide23

Teaching

and

publication

have their

weightings

in the Yellow

Book, but research

is the hub around which they revolve.

Research

is therefore fundamental to our success in this

endeavour

as no meaningful teaching takes place without research, neither can any article be meaningful for publication without research.

Publication

in itself can also enhance our skills in research since the review processes and continued efforts back and forth by authors help to shape and sharpen them as they proceed.

Criteria

for promotion of academic

staff

(1) Academic Qualifications

(2) Publications and creative works

(3) Teaching and professional experience

(4) Conferences

(5) Administrative experience and other contribution

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Publishing in Quality Journals

grammatical considerations

conceptualization

of the

research,

the

audience to which an article or research appeals

to,

the

findings

must have

policy or practical implications that are meaningful beyond the immediate context of the

research,

Can the

findings be generalized, replicated and used to address global or regional problems or both?

The

method employed to execute the research must also be well stated, and in clear and unambiguous terms.

P-J

Eze

(2014) outlined the reasons for rejection of articles by editors as follows:

poor

conceptualizations, in terms of the building blocks, assumptions or theories,

(

2) methodological weakness, which has to do with the

rigour

, clarity

and appropriateness

of the methods employed to achieve stated objectives,

(

3) inappropriate bibliographical protocol, in terms of the journals referencing styles and preferences, and

(

4) poor use of language, which considers whether the message has effectively been communicated in grammatical terms and the packaging of the write up.

Slide25

Proposed

structure or

guide

Abstract,

which must be shown to have a problem statement, research

objective,

methods employed and findings. Some recommendations can also be

presented

here

.

Introduction

: This encapsulates the problem and objectives or research

questions.

Literature

review: This can stand alone or be included in the introduction. Strive to minimize the definition of concepts, but give meaning to your work using empirical or case study

reports.

Materials

and Methods: Here the study domain and approach adopted should be explicitly stated. In this case, you are not expected to regurgitate what you read in literatures, instead effort is made to state what you wish to do and how you intend to proceed. The study domain or area can also be treated separately

.

Presentation

of Data or Results: This represents an account of what you found in the field without being judgmental

.

Discussion

: This is an attempt to support the findings with literary works by making reference to the literatures reviewed. Theoretical suppositions can be used to buttress the discussion. All this must be done in line with the research

objectives.

Conclusion

: Must be drawn from the work and not your general notion on the subject. Recommendations should also be derived from the

research.

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Conclusion

A

number of considerations informed the

decision

to review the Yellow Book through time.

to

introduce more objective criteria for the assessment of academic staff.

to

ameliorate its stringent conditions as typified by the globalization of the pyramid structure and removal of the dichotomy between impact factor rating bodies while establishing prima facie for senior lecturers.

to

block the loopholes exploited by recalcitrant staff to circumvent the promotion process.

Nevertheless

, while we recommend that the university administration promotes global best practices and national appeal in both the contents and processes of promotion, we must remind ourselves that we need to play by the rules always. The current “put my name syndrome”, in which staff contribute little or no idea to publications they purportedly co-authored, must

stop.

Each author must be seen to have made an

input

in each article published even when two authors or more agree to work individually and produce more papers.

Slide27

Recommendations

Mentorship

and capacity building

programmes

at regular intervals

.

Collaborative

research with supervisors, colleagues and other

specialists.

Revitalization

of faculty research groups along with the establishment of new ones with purposeful and pragmatic contents

.

Linkage

of the university library with other university data bases across the globe to make research materials readily available and make research seamless

.

Strengthening

of local journals to make them competitive and in addition have the required impact factors

.

Funding

of researches and conferences through a seamless

and responsible process.

Attraction

of funds by professors to support budding researchers in their various fields.

Removal

of the dichotomy between Thomson Reuters and other impact factor rating

bodies for all cadres.

Slide28

Thank You