Development and pilot study of a university research culture questionnaire

A positive working environment and culture are essential for researchers as these enable them to conduct valuable, high-quality research. Yet, university staff frequently report their research culture as less than ideal. To understand researchers’ experiences of research culture to inform tangible change, several surveys have been conducted by research-related organizations and individual universities. However, despite a plethora of studies, there does not appear to be a widely adopted research culture questionnaire, with variation in content and length in those used to date. A 37-item research culture questionnaire was developed based on the extant literatures. It was piloted in one small-medium sized university with 177 academic staff across a range of disciplines engaged in research. Qualitative questions were included to provide a richer insight into current research perceptions. Exploratory factor analysis identified eight factors, providing an initial framework of research culture. This consisted of: School Research Value, University Research Value, Research Support, Research Knowledge, Collaboration, Wellbeing & Inclusivity, Open Research and Research Integrity. Whilst it will require further testing and refinement, a preliminary psychometric analysis provides initial indications of internal structure and internal reliability. The factor set provides insight into research culture drivers which can be used to target effective interventions. This type of research culture questionnaire would allow universities to not only assess their own culture but also benchmark their results against other universities. A standardized research culture measurement process (e.g. questionnaires, narratives), feeding into research evaluation activities, may have wider implications for those looking to facilitate research culture changes.