Upgrading the Quality of Research Outputs of HEIs and Promoting a Culture of Scholarship among Filipino Educators by Dr. Danilo B. Largo

Upgrading the quality of research outputs of HEIs and promoting a culture of scholarship among Filipino educators
Danilo B. Largo
Director, Office of Research
University of San Carlos
Cebu City
01

Outline:
Defining research and research culture
Quality of research in HEIs and symptoms of weaknesses
Factors hindering the development of a strong research universities
101 ways to promote a culture of scholarship among Filipino educators
Research Performance evaluation
Benchmark of research quality
02

Three (3) core processes in the University
teaching, research, and extension
+ production
03

Research, defined
Researchis a systematic process of collecting and analyzing information following a set of procedures in obtaining new knowledge.
04

Research approach: vary depending on the field of specialization
Basically follow a step by step process of:
problem identification thru observation
making a hypothesis
constructing a theoretical framework
designing or adopting a method
gathering of data
processing the data, analyzing and interpreting, and
drawing conclusions and making recommendations
This is the Scientific Method
05

Research in a bigger picture:
Research is a cycle
06

but… is doing research a culture in itself?
Research by an individual for getting a degree (BS, MA/MS) is an initiation
Research done by an individual as a habit is an individualculture
Research done by a group of individuals in addressing a common problem is a groupculture
07

Research culture exists in the university if the following elements are present:
There is a critical mass of academics in a unit with a passion to do research.
Lack of funding is not a deterrence to do research.
Doing research is purpose-driven: to generate knowledge and filling one’s pocket, while desirable, is only secondary.
Publications of output generated are primary measure of research accomplishment.
There is a sense of bayanihan among the members of the research team; a community of researchers able to share talents and time with attention to quality of work.
08

Research culture exists in the university if the following elements are present:
Doing research is a tradition, like a habit.
Each member of a research team contributes to knowledge generation as a whole.
Inter- and intradepartmental collaboration exists.
A mentoring system exist – the senior faculty guiding the (neophyte) junior faculty who in turn guides the students.
09

Research culture cannot be imposed
but is evolved through time.
Enabling mechanisms supporting research
(policies) in the university hastens this evolution.
10

How then can a department in a university develop a research culture ?
It starts with the person– i.e. the faculty, students
By changing the traditional hiring policy of HAVING GOOD TEACHERS and NOT HAVING GOOD RESEARCHERS !
the Challenge isto have critical mass of good researchers
11

How a research culture develops in a department ?
Indoctrination in research starts with: - Faculty member’s exposure to department research, with peers acting as mentor, and - Faculty attending in professional organization’s annual meetings, symposia, conferences, etc.
Building confidence: - by having a research project and present findings in professional meetings.
12

How to get started?
Start at writing research proposals to get funding
Get to know some funding sources - govtfunding agencies (GFAs), e.g. CHED, DOST, - foreign sources – e.g. USAID, AusAid, GTZ, Ford Foundation, Sumitomo Foundation, etc.- in-house funding
Know the application format of each agency
Try for collaborative projects - one with seasoned researchers in the group
Start small research, like a laboratory or a class exercise
13

What else?
Get mentored. Mentors are senior faculty who has track record in research
Start writing a manuscript of your research output
Present your output in internal forums:
first, in regular round-table discussions of your department
then, in in-house R&D review organized by the university
Haveyour manuscript corrected (content, grammar) by your peers for improvement
Present in a higher level forums organized by professional organizations outside the university.
Publish your work and be known - i.e. in a professional journal, preferably peer-refereed/reviewed
14

What is the state of research in our HEIs?
Beyond thesis and dissertation the academe hasnot (yet) done enough in research to address current issues and problems that propel economic progress.
15

Symptoms of weaknesses
1. We are one of the lowest in Asia in the ff. indicators :
low number of PhDs, scientists and engineers
low number of publications in peer-reviewed journals,
low number of journals in science and technology published in the Philippines which are ISI indexed
low number of patents by own residents as applied to our IP Office
low number of foreign direct investments in the country
16

R & D Indicators Among ASEAN Countries
17

2. Patent landscape of PHL based on a 3-Yr Local Patent Applications (Source: IPO Phil)
18

3. Poor standing in the Global Competitiveness Index 2010-11.
Switzerland tops the list, out of 139 economies in the 2010-2011 GCI
followed by Sweden (no. 2), Singapore (no. 3) and U.S.A. (no. 4)
Philippines ranks no. 85
it ranked No. 87 in 2009-2010 and No. 71 in 2008-2009
aside from Singapore, Malaysia (No. 26), China (No. 27), India (No. 51), above us in ASEAN are Thailand (38), Indonesia (44), Vietnam (59), and even Vietnam (no. 59) and Sri Lanka (No. 62).
Rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum
19

4. Philippines lag behind in SEA in no. of research output.
(all disciplines)
20

Factors hindering development of a strong research universities
23

Limited national budget
only 0.12% of our GDP
mainly goes to personnel services and very little for capital expenditures
24

Where are we?
25

R&D Expenditure / GDP (%) in Asian Countries
Source: JICA Seminar on National R&D Projects, Feb. 13-Mar. 18, 2001, Tokyo.
26

2. Weak state policies and framework in research results in the poor generation of intellectual property outputs
results to our poor standing in the Global Competitiveness Index of WEF
27

3. Weak generation and protection of Intellectual Property
IP as driver of economic development
IP as creation of the human mind in the various fields
IP as intangible asset when created, becomes tangible asset in the form of product – WIPO
IP types:
Copyrights, trademarks, patents, utility models, trade secrets, industrial designs, lay-out designs (in integrated circuits)
An IP-conscious academe helps drive the economy.
28

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Reportindicates a correlation between the protection of intellectual property rights and national competitiveness. In 2004, the 20 countries that were perceived as having the most stringent intellectual property protection were classed among the top 27 in the WEF’s growth competitiveness index. Conversely, the 20 countries perceived as having the weakest intellectual property regimes were ranked among the bottom 36 for growth and competitiveness.
International Chamber of Commerce
22
Copyright, Office of Research

4. Unattractive salary package and lack of incentives (e.g. in publications) for our researchers
results in brain-drain contributing to less and less people engaged in research, including a low ratio of scientists and engineers per million population
29

5. Lack of emphasis on research in university curricula
results to weak research culture among faculty and students
30

6. Little weight given to research performance vs. teaching in policies on ranking and promotion
leads to poor research quality and the ability to innovate which are needed to develop new technologies
31

7. Proliferation of gray literatures because of difficulty maintaining a peer-refereed journal due to:
lack of capable person to lead (as editor)
lack of reviewers
little or no budget allocated for its maintenance
32

8. Weak leaders and lack of dedicated and well-trained research mentors (who are not publishing)
Only result to weak researchers
33

9. Institution’s tendency to assign faculty members who have PhD in administrative or management posts, instead of assigning them in the laboratory
this breeds only “disk researchers” instead of cutting-edge researchers
34

10. Lack of Institutional Code of Ethics in Research
which only results in poor research management.
35

101 ways to promote a culture of scholarship among Filipino educators
63

Improve research policies & frameworks
Policy on faculty recruitment should give track record in research as priority criteria; hire only faculty with at least a master’s degree in the field.
Develop research agenda that address national, regional and local issues/needs
Institutionalized research in the academe thru policies that include: - reasonable budget - a Manual ofResearch with provisions for giving incentives, e.g. cash reward for publication, for awards and recognition received in research, etc.

64

Implement an institutional Code of Ethics in Research that will guide researchers:
- in the proper use of IP’s to avoid misconducts such as infringement, plagiarism, fabrication and falsification of data
- in dealingwith authorship issues in publications
- of ethical practice in research involving humans and living animals as participants/subjects in research
Implement academic policy that requireadvisers of theses and dissertation to have track record in research, esp. those with publications in peer-reviewed journals.
65

Revisittheacademic policy of giving “Deloading” – why not “ResearchLoad” to make research comparable to teaching in terms of compensation package.
No more Non-thesis programs (esp. in sciences)- this only promotes graduates without research skills that is counterproductive to developing research-oriented graduates.
66

2. Promote intellectual property system in the university: for economic gain
Change the academic mindset in S&T fields: from “publish-or-perish” to “patent, publish and profit” (to borrow IPO’s dictum)
Promote entrepreneurship as a mindset among researchers (e.g.- Silicon Valley started from university-based entrepreneurship)
Strive to publish - original research outputs in peer-refereed journals - textbooks, manuals, and other forms of copyrightable materials
67

3. Faculty/human resource development
HEI’s should have only faculty members with graduate degrees
getting a masters or doctoral degree give opportunities to learn research the way it should be.
68

4. Administrator’s call
Discourage the proliferation of gray literatures in the university, rather encourage development of more peer-reviewed journals.
Give weight to research performance as with teaching to encourage more faculty engaging in research.
Assign returning scholars to the research labs - to practice what they have learned rather than giving them admin positions.
69

Invest in faculty development.
Incentivize research such as giving of cash rewards for every publications in peer-refereed journals, patents acquired, recognition and awards received, etc.
Increase collaboration with research institutions - link with foreign institutions to imbibe new ideas - write joint research proposals with partners – for capability building
Hold regular small-group roundtable discussion on research among peers
70

Reorient university-based R&D towards systematic and purposive utilization of research
Maintain a pool of good researchers, with good learning attitude as well as being team players – this is where a strong research culture develops
Improve the mentoring system - involve students in research projects (e.g. as research assistants, field/laboratory assistants, etc.) – for them to gain experience and build confidence
71

5. Researcher’s appeal
Increase the national budget for research
Entice more Filipinos to return and help build the culture of research (more than the Balikscientist program)
Welcoming environment for returning scholars; provide opportunities to engage in research in their field of expertise.
72

Philippine’s mainstream media to have more research writers (esp. in science) who can bridge the information gap between scientists and the public.
Better coordination among government agencies to avoid redundancy in research programs resulting only to unnecessary waste of funds.
73

More incentives to Filipino researchers
- e.g. adopt the Technology Transfer Act of 2009 and a Magna Cartafor Scientiststo encourage more researchers to stay home
- e.g. give institutions tax relief for imported research equipment
74

A strategy to strengthen research
Research performanceevaluation- benchmarking -
75

Research performance evaluation (benchmarking)
To answer such questions as:
What is the relative standing of Institution A in important subject areas?
Has this changed over time?
How does the rate of research growth compare?
How does the picture look in important niche areas?
76

Search Tools- tracks citation counts for published articles
Google Scholar
Thompson ISI WoS
SCOPUS– now called the SciVerse Scopus
77

Publications output and citation by InstitutionBased on Scopus AFFIL search
79

Benchmark of Research Quality
36

Benchmark of Research Quality :
Publications in peer reviewed journals
Papers produced per faculty
Citations per faculty
37

1. Peer review
Traditionally plays a central role in quality assurance of scientific research
38

2. Papers produced per faculty
tells of the critical mass of researchers a university has
39

3. Citation per faculty
Supplementary information for peer review
Help to monitor the quality and integrity of the peer-review process
Help identify the most suitable peer reviewers
Relatedness of research
Standing in field
40

Popular Ranking Systems include research performance quality in ranking
THE-QS World University Rankings
QS.com Asian University Rankings
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities
Asian University Research Rating System
41

Overall ranking
Asian ranking
Subject area rankings:
Arts & humanities
Life sciences and biomedicine
Natural sciences
Social sciences
IT and Engineering
42

43

QS.com Asian University Rankings
44

Original goal was to discern what kind of research gap existed between Chinese and “world-class” universities
Institutions are compared and ranked on a strictly quantitative basis, with no room for subject impressions
Academic and research performances are measured the following indicators and weighting:
45

46

Asian University Research Rating System
Focused only on research
Objective criteria
Permits self-monitoring
Designed for Asian research environment
A collective effort of the academic community
Intended to support universities to strengthen their research
Bench-marking to help with resource allocation decisions
Performance monitoring
Shows complementarities to facilitate collaboration
47

Results of the 2010 THE-QS World University Rankings
48

THE-QS World University Ranking (2010)- Overall ranking
49

Results of the QS Asian University Rankings
50

Table . Top 200 Asian Universities – Overall ranking
51

Top 100 Asian Universities - Subject area
Natural Science
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
52

Top 100 Asian Universities - Subject area
IT & Engineering
Arts & Humanities
Social Sciences
53

Top 100 Asian Universities - Citations per paper
54

Top Asian Universities - Academic Peer Review
55

Top Asian Universities - Papers per faculty
56

Top Asian Universities - Citations per paper
57

What do these ranking figures mean to us?
It means that:
majority of our universities are not in the map of the best universities in the world, not even in Asia!
majority of our universities are dysfunctional, as far as research quality is concerned.
58

What do these few Phl universities have in common?
All of them have developed a
Culture OFresearch.
59

Institutions which overcome the barriers in developing research culture and constantly evaluating their research performance thru benchmarking are the ones likely to succeed into (Asia’s) Top Universities rank.
82

Thank you for listening.
83

http://ejournals.ph	251
http://ejournals.com.ph	11
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	2

Upgrading the Quality of Research Outputs of HEIs and Promoting a Culture of Scholarship among Filipino Educators by Dr. Danilo B. Largo

by Philippine E-Journals (PEJ) on Jan 31, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 264

Statistics

Upgrading the Quality of Research Outputs of HEIs and Promoting a Culture of Scholarship among Filipino Educators by Dr. Danilo B. Largo Presentation Transcript