713,429 research outputs found
Assessing the overall perceived quality of the undergraduate students
Purpose
- The paper is twofold aimed: (i) defining and validating a scale to assess the quality
of the university experienced by students and (ii) analyzing the role of the aforementioned di-
mensions and their impact on students’ satisfaction.
Methodology/Approach
- A survey of 2,557 undergraduate students that finished their degrees
in 2013 at universities located in the region of Catalonia has been analyzed using Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM). An exploratory analysis suggests the final dimensions that were
confirmed in a confirmatory analysis. The psychometric characteristics of the scale are provided
to show reliability and validity of the constructs.
An extra model (also using SEM) assesses the impact of these dimensions on overall satisfac-
tion.
Findings
- The quality is a multifactor construct composed by: (i) “syllabus”, which refers to
the quality of the learning methods and the coordination efforts through the whole study period;
(ii) “skills development”, referring to the skills that students might acquire along their studies
and (iii) “services and facilities” of the university.
Moreover, the first and third factors act as “enablers” for the second factor one. Nevertheless,
only “Syllabus” dimension affects significantly on students’ satisfaction, whereas “services and
facilities” do not have a significant role, although they are necessary in order to provide a good
service.
Research Limitation/implication
- Although the sample is large enough to draw robust re-
sults, it is limited the Catalonia. The paper provides recommendations for university managers
and public administration authorities in order to allocate the available resources.
Originality/Value of paper
- In an era of global competition, universities are trying to adapt
to these new requirements by expanding they academic offer, introducing innovative teaching
methods, providing teaching resources to lecturers, and updating the general services of the
university among others. All these services will be considered when students evaluate their
experience at the university. The paper contributes with an assessment scale for the holistic
service provided by the university within the period that the student is in the university. These findings can be applied to help define attractive academic programs and provide useful insights
on how the supporting facilities should be designed to allow students take advantage of their
learning process at universities.Postprint (published version
Benchmarking citation measures among the Australian education professoriate
Individual researchers and the organisations for which they work are interested in comparative measures of research performance for a variety of purposes. Such comparisons are facilitated by quantifiable measures that are easily obtained and offer convenience and a sense of objectivity. One popular measure is the Journal Impact Factor based on citation rates but it is a measure intended for journals rather than individuals. Moreover, educational research publications are not well represented in the databases most widely used for calculation of citation measures leading to doubts about the usefulness of such measures in education. Newer measures and data sources offer alternatives that provide wider representation of education research. However, research has shown that citation rates vary according to discipline and valid comparisons depend upon the availability of discipline specific benchmarks. This study sought to provide such benchmarks for Australian educational researchers based on analysis of citation measures obtained for the Australian education professoriate
Citation Statistics
This is a report about the use and misuse of citation data in the assessment
of scientific research. The idea that research assessment must be done using
``simple and objective'' methods is increasingly prevalent today. The ``simple
and objective'' methods are broadly interpreted as bibliometrics, that is,
citation data and the statistics derived from them. There is a belief that
citation statistics are inherently more accurate because they substitute simple
numbers for complex judgments, and hence overcome the possible subjectivity of
peer review. But this belief is unfounded.Comment: This paper commented in: [arXiv:0910.3532], [arXiv:0910.3537],
[arXiv:0910.3543], [arXiv:0910.3546]. Rejoinder in [arXiv:0910.3548].
Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-STS285 the Statistical Science
(http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics
(http://www.imstat.org
Establishing Processing Priorities: Recommendations from a 2017 Study of Practices in US Repositories
Building upon archival scholarship and previous solutions addressing backlog collections, this study seeks to identify a comprehensive, integrated, and effective strategy to establish and maintain processing priorities. This study is based on supporting research, which includes the results of a survey of archivists and the findings of five focus group discussions about processing priorities. Using these findings, the authors (a) consider whether this focus on an old problem has motivated archivists to find innovative solutions; (b) determine whether archivists are using these tools; (c) consider whether and how archivists have changed processing priority practices and policies; and (d) seek to clarify current metrics to establish overall processing priorities
An empirical investigation of Network-Oriented Behaviors in Business-to-Business Markets
This study is concerned with the extent to which network-oriented behaviors directly and/or indirectly affect firm
performance. It argues that a firm's interaction behaviors in relation to an embedded network structure are key
mechanisms that facilitate the development of important organizational capabilities in dealing with business
partners. Such network-oriented behaviors, which are aimed at affecting the position of a company in the
network, are consequently important drivers of firm performance, rather than the network structure alone. We
develop a conceptual model that captures network-oriented behaviors as a driving force of firm performance
in relation to three other key organizational behaviors, i.e., customer-oriented, competitor-oriented and
relationship-oriented behaviors. We test the hypothesized model using a dataset of 354 responses collected
via an on-line questionnaire from UK managers, whose organizations operate in business-to-business markets
in either the manufacturing or services sectors. This study provides four key findings. First, a firm's networkoriented
behaviors positively affect the development of customer-oriented and competitor-oriented behaviors.
Secondly, they also foster relationship coordination with its important business partners within the network.
Thirdly, the effective management of the firm's portfolio of relationships is found to mediate the positive impact
of network-oriented behaviors on firm profitability. Lastly, closeness to end-users amplifies the positive effect of
network-oriented behaviors on relationship portfolio effectiveness
Proposed methods for reviewing the outcomes of health research: the impact of funding by the UK's Arthritis Research Campaign
Background: External and internal factors are increasingly encouraging research funding bodies
to demonstrate the outcomes of their research. Traditional methods of assessing research are still
important, but can be merged into broader multi-dimensional categorisations of research benefits.
The onus has hitherto been on public sector funding bodies, but in the UK the role of medical
charities in funding research is particularly important and the Arthritis Research Campaign, the
leading medical charity in its field in the UK, commissioned a study to identify the outcomes from
research that it funds. This article describes the methods to be used.
Methods: A case study approach will enable narratives to be told, illuminating how research
funded in the early 1990s was (or was not) translated into practice. Each study will be organised
using a common structure, which, with careful selection of cases, should enable cross-case analysis
to illustrate the strengths of different modes and categories of research. Three main
interdependent methods will be used: documentary and literature review; semi-structured
interviews; and bibliometric analysis. The evaluative framework for organising the studies was
previously used for assessing the benefits from health services research. Here, it has been
specifically amended for a medical charity that funds a wide range of research and is concerned to
develop the careers of researchers. It was further refined in three pilot studies. The framework has
two main elements. First, a multi-dimensional categorisation of benefits going from the knowledge
produced in peer reviewed journal articles through to the health and potential economic gain. The
second element is a logic model, which, with various stages, should provide a way of organising the
studies. The stock of knowledge is important: much research, especially basic, will feed into it and
influence further research rather than directly lead to health gains. The cross-case analysis will look
for factors associated with outcomes.
Conclusions: The pilots confirmed the applicability of the methods for a full study which should
assist the Arthritis Research Campaign to demonstrate the outcomes from its funding, and provide
it with evidence to inform its own policies
The metric tide: report of the independent review of the role of metrics in research assessment and management
This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment and Management. The review was chaired by Professor James Wilsdon, supported by an independent and multidisciplinary group of experts in scientometrics, research funding, research policy, publishing, university management and administration.
This review has gone beyond earlier studies to take a deeper look at potential uses and limitations of research metrics and indicators. It has explored the use of metrics across different disciplines, and assessed their potential contribution to the development of research excellence and impact. It has analysed their role in processes of research assessment, including the next cycle of the Research Excellence Framework (REF). It has considered the changing ways in which universities are using quantitative indicators in their management systems, and the growing power of league tables and rankings. And it has considered the negative or unintended effects of metrics on various aspects of research culture.
The report starts by tracing the history of metrics in research management and assessment, in the UK and internationally. It looks at the applicability of metrics within different research cultures, compares the peer review system with metric-based alternatives, and considers what balance might be struck between the two. It charts the development of research management systems within institutions, and examines the effects of the growing use of quantitative indicators on different aspects of research culture, including performance management, equality, diversity, interdisciplinarity, and the ‘gaming’ of assessment systems. The review looks at how different funders are using quantitative indicators, and considers their potential role in research and innovation policy. Finally, it examines the role that metrics played in REF2014, and outlines scenarios for their contribution to future exercises
Does Criticism Overcome the Praises of Journal Impact Factor?
Journal impact factor (IF) as a gauge of influence and impact of a particular journal comparing with other journals in the same area of research, reports the mean number of citations to the published articles in particular journal. Although, IF attracts more attention and being used more frequently than other measures, it has been subjected to criticisms, which overcome the advantages of IF. Critically, extensive use of IF may result in destroying editorial and researchers’ behaviour, which could compromise the quality of scientific articles. Therefore, it is the time of the timeliness and importance of a new invention of journal ranking techniques beyond the journal impact factor
Comparing alignment factors in SMEs and large organizations: a planning integration perspective
Measurement of the alignment between business strategies and information systems (IS) has demonstrated positive impact for the organizational performance. The factors that have proved relevant when assessing the maturity level of alignment are: communication, competency/value measurement, governance, partnership, architecture & scope, and skills. Existing research, however, has focused on the assessment of these factors on large organizations and has barely explored their impact on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). This paper uses the data provided by 127 participants from large and SMEs in order to identify whether the aforementioned factors are also relevant for assessing the level of alignment maturity in SMEs. The results from this research suggest that there are not significant differences between large organizations and SMEs when assessing those factors. In addition, this research also explored the relation between different planning integration of alignment (independent, sequential and simultaneous) in order to measure the perceived relevance of the factors. The results suggest that the planning integration identified on SMEs and large organizations has a positive correlation on how these factors are ranked. For both SMEs and large organizations where the formulation is simultaneous, the relevance of the factors is higher perceived than it is for those where the formulation is independent or sequential
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