Participation in university-based research centers: Is it helping or hurting researchers?

Meghna Sabharwal and Qian Hu

Research Policy, 2013, vol. 42, issue 6, 1301-1311

Abstract: In general, affiliation with a university research center is considered to be an activity that can improve the research activities of scientists and academics. Yet there have only been a few studies examining whether research centers are positive institutional structures for individual researchers. Our research examines how affiliation with a research center in the United States can impact research productivity, collaboration, and careers of faculty members in the multidisciplinary field of learning sciences. This study utilizes data from a curriculum vitae (CV) analysis of 402 faculty members who are currently employed at research universities. The results indicate that, on average, the research productivity of faculty members affiliated with a research center is higher than non-center affiliated faculty members. The effects, however, disappear when controlling for factors such as years since Ph.D., gender, post-doctoral status, quality of publications, and quantity of other research outputs. Senior tenured faculty members appear to benefit greatly from affiliation with a research center, while center affiliation does not positively correlate with the productivity of junior faculty members.

Keywords: University research center; Research productivity; Collaboration; Career trajectory; Multidisciplinary; CV analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:42:y:2013:i:6:p:1301-1311

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2013.03.005

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