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A Millennial Benchmark of Nurse-Academics' Scholarly Productivity
Kathryn L Roberts
Professor of Nursing, Flinders University, SA
Beverley J Turnbull
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT
Abstract
The benchmark against which nurse-academics are judged primarily remains 'scholarly productivity'. This study sought to examine levels of scholarly productivity amongst Australian nurse academics: where they are putting their emphasis, and what progress they are making.
This quantitative study used a questionnaire survey technique that identified individual items of scholarship over a two-year period. The use of two author-developed rating scales, the General Scholarship Index (GSI) and the DEST Scholarship Index (DSI) enabled a comparison of nurse academics with other academic disciplines.
Findings from the study underscore the positive association between academic rank, qualifications and scholarly productivity. To facilitate increasing the latter to a level comparable with other disciplines, nurse academics may need to refocus their energies on DEST approved activities. A work climate more conducive to fostering the ethos and skills of academic 'scholarly productivity' is needed.
Keywords
scholarly productivity, academic rank, scholarship indices, publication
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