Factors Affecting and Inhibiting Scientific Productivity from the Viewpoint of Faculty Members of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: One of the main indicators in the scientific development of many countries is their scientific production. In this regard, universities and faculty members, as the most critical factors in research and scientific areas, play the most significant role.

Methods: The current study attempts to identify the critical factors and obstacles involved in the production of science at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) from the viewpoint of the faculty members. The study method comprised of a descriptive-survey and the statistical community composed of 250 faculty members of KUMS. Two checklists of contributing and inhibiting factors were distributed among the active and semi-active university faculty members. Each checklist consisted of 5 sections: research system, administrative factors, financial and logistic procedures, researchers and research culture. Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test was used for data analysis.

Results: The faculty members regarded that attaching importance to research priorities in approving research projects, presence of resources and databases and easy access to them, accessibility of research facilities and equipment, reducing the activity of faculty members in the training and treatment domain, and existence of a collaborative and inter-sectorial atmosphere are the contributing factors in science production. In addition, factors such as lack of trained manpower as research assistants, absence of research projects based on the society requirements, lack of appropriate instruments and low research awards and budget, poor command of English language on the part of researchers, and lack of culture of transferring and presenting the prominent researchers’ experiences to the young researchers were determined as the inhibiting factors in the production of science.

Conclusion: The results showed that except for two factors, the presence of resources and databases and easy access to them and positive attitude of executive managers toward the production of research, there was no significant difference between the opinion of the active and semi-active faculty members.