Determinants of Academic Staffs Participation in Research Activities in Ethiopian Universities: The Case of Wollega University

Abstract

Undertaking more research is widely considered as the most as it leads to creation of new knowledge, inventions and innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular, yet there are very few studies of the extent to which it fulfills this promise. In this paper we use survey data from Wollega University to understand the factors hindering research participation decision of academic staffs at university level. Faculty members’ participation in research helps in improving the quality of teaching faculty and the status of an institution. Decisions about promotion and tenure heavily rely on the quality and quantity of research productivity. A self-administered questionnaire has been used to gather data. The sample size comprises of 120 faculty members from two selected colleges. Data has been analyzed by using statistical techniques and logit model. We conclude that availability of publication incentives, work experience, speed of internet, accessibility to research funds and colleague collaboration on research participation all enhance the probability of academic staff’s research participation while teaching load is negatively related to the probability of academic staff’s research participation in the study area. Keywords : Research, Research participation decision, Institutional factors, Environmental factors, Personal career development factors, Demographic factors. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-1-02 Publication date: January 31 st 2021