STEM Faculty Members' Self-Determined Motivation for Research Predicts Publication and Citation Counts

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Recent Research on Faculty Teaching, Evaluation, and Development (San Diego)

Abstract

Do motivated faculty publish more research papers? The current study tested if multiple types of self-determined motivation predicted bibliometric indicators of research productivity and scholarly impact. A negative binomial regression analysis of 651 faculty from 10 US institutions revealed that autonomous motivation (enjoyment, value) was the strongest predictor of faculty publications and citations; specifically, a one-standard deviation increase in autonomous motivation (answering approximately a half Likert scale option higher) related to 11.63% increase in (8.67 more) publications and a 22.57% increase in (34.79 more) citations over a three-year period. Controlled motivation (guilt, rewards), job characteristics, and social-environmental covariates had comparatively limited predictive effects. The results suggest that faculty autonomous motivation for research contributes to measurable gains in research activity.

Authors

• Robert H. Stupnisky, University of North Dakota

• Vincent Lariviere, University of Montréal

• Nathan C. Hall, McGill University