University Faculty Research Competence: A Systematic Literature Review of Core Components, Distinctions, and Measures
Year: 2025
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Recent studies identified that faculty research productivity increased when they felt competent in conducting research. Faculty level of research competency varies due to academic training, context, country, discipline, and experiences; however, what is faculty research competency? The core competencies of faculty research are unclear; thus, the current study systematically reviewed the literature. Researchers used Boolean searches of four popular databases to identify 553 articles for first-level screening. These yielded 46 peer-reviewed journal articles for full-text analysis, six of which focused on faculty populations (40 on non-faculty). Six core components of faculty research proficiency were identified: finding and reviewing literature, planning a study, collecting and analyzing data, writing research, disseminating research findings, and managing research projects. Compared to non-faculty populations, faculty are uniquely more engaged in research project management. Researchers also identified 18 sub-competencies that will help to measure faculty research competency more reliably in the future. Finally, as the identified studies relied on self-reported measurements that may carry self-representation bias, an aspirational implication is to develop a competency-based diagnostic test for measuring faculty research competence.
Authors: Muhammad Salahuddin, Robert H. Stupnisky
Institution: University of North Dakota
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $200
OpenAlex ID: W4407600570