Project topics and materials
Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »
Ethical considerations
Qualitative researchers usually face many ethical issues that surface during data collection in the field and in the analysis and dissemination of information. In this study ten research leaders were interviewed and the interview included sharing of personal and professional views and circumstances. These participants were all employed in public institutions and although not named or directly linked to an institution, one is mindful of the fact that those whose lives and expressions are portrayed, are placed at some considerable risk of exposure. Hence in the words of Stake (2005) the researcher was “a guest in the private spaces of the world” of the research participants and that necessitated a “disclosing and protective covenant, usually informal but best not silent, a moral obligation” (p. 459).
Before the research began, permission was obtained to undertake the research in each institution (Institutional Ethical Clearance Protocol). This was provided by the various institutions as explained earlier in this chapter. One institution was withdrawn from the original sample because of the additional processes that were required to be followed for ethical clearance. Permission was also obtained from the NRF to extract data from their databases that are protected, namely, curriculum vitae and rating information and grant funding applications. After a clear explanation of the research study and its possible benefits over risks, identified research leaders were invited to participate voluntarily. Each research leader interviewed signed a letter of consent that gave permission to use some of their NRF records for secondary data collection as required but also indicating that the researcher would also have to provide participants with a right to privacy of their information and anonymity so that they are not necessarily easily identified through the study.
To achieve this, pseudonyms have been used for researchers and as far as possible direct institutional affiliation is avoided in the text.
As pointed out earlier, a participant raised some concerns about possible personal negative repercussions if the transcribed interview became more widely available or certain parts of the interview were quoted verbatim. One mentee requested that the completed questionnaire should not be shared with the research leader as it was not clear whether he or she was aware of the mentee’s ‘less than positive’ experiences in some areas of leadership.
These concerns were addressed individually with the participants and the mentees concerned and the issues of anonymity were reinforced after the data collection process as well. Where information that was supplied was deemed to be critical of the institution or the research sector, the participant is not named if that text is used. Instead, in these instances the text refers to ‘one of the leaders said’ in efforts to protect the participants. Although confidentiality has to be assured as the primary safeguard against unwanted exposure, watertight confidentially is, however, difficult to achieve; this is especially so within a research community that is relatively small, where each of the participants came from different disciplines that are clearly stated and where the NRF list of rated researchers is publicly available information from both the NRF and various higher education institutions themselves.
Significance of the Study
As highlighted earlier, this study focuses on the leadership of the academic work of the research enterprise, in particular research with special attention to how this influences research performance. It explores the dynamics of leadership and influence in the research enterprise. In particular, it aims to understand the nature of quality research leadership and to identify a range of leadership factors or indicators contributing towards research productivity and, in doing so, highlight likely areas of difficulty as well as opportunities for improvement. This exploratory, generative research is of significance since the literature shows that there is a dearth of academic leadership studies in the South African context. Our own policies have not addressed the importance of research leadership or focused on its development. Certain leadership development courses have been introduced at institutional level (e.g. University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Cape Town) or more broadly by organisations such as Higher Education South Africa (HESA). However, none of the available interventions directly addresses the broader research context of understanding what makes quality research leadership work in the SA research environment. This research can thus help to inform the development and support of research support interventions by institutions and funding agencies.
Research trajectories
The research leaders in this study are all at different life and career stages. The majority of the sample can be considered to be established researchers whose academic identity and leadership roles have been clearly established. For these researchers this study provided an opportunity for ‘looking backwards’. The overall career path of each researcher is initially summarised in Table 10 in terms of research qualification and training and current academic positions occupied. This data was obtained from the curriculum vitae of researchers and the discussion of their research pathways that follows will be contextualised within the South African research environment.
CHAPTER ONE
Rationale and Background
1.1 Introduction
1.2. Rationale
1.3. Research Questions
1.4. Brief overview of chapters
CHAPTER TWO: SETTING THE SCENE
The South African Research Context
2.1. Introduction
2.2. South African Research Context (Post 1994)
2.3. South African Research Leadership Context
2.4. Concluding remarks
CHAPTER THREE
Literature Review
3.1. Leadership
3.1.1. What is leadership?
3.2. Research Productivity
3.3. Concluding remarks
CHAPTER FOUR
Towards a model of research productivity and leadership: A theoretical framework
4.1. Factors affecting research productivity
4.2. A Conceptual Framework
4.3. Concluding Remarks
CHAPTER FIVE
Research Design and Methodology
5.1 Grounded theory research
5.2. Case study design
5.3. The sample
5.4. Participants in the study
5.10. Significance of the Study
CHAPTER SIX
Becoming a Researcher
6.1. Research trajectories
6.2. Early influences
6.3. Career moves
6.4. Complexities of Gender
6.5. Management/Research
6.6 Funding
6.7. Synthesis of chapter
CHAPTER SEVEN
Fully Engaged Leadership
7.1. Intellectual leadership – the credibility of personal scholarship
7.2. Personal scholarly recognition and prestige among peers
7.3. Leadership of the People
7.4. Synthesis of Chapter
CHAPTER EIGHT
Preparation of the next generation of research leaders
8.1. Attracting new researchers and scholars
8.2. Mentoring and supervision
8.3. Driving enhanced research performance
8.4. Cutting the umbilical cord: creating new research identities
8.5. Concluding remarks
Analysis, Summation and Recommendations
9.1. Revisiting the Research Process – case selection
9.2. Exploring research career pathways
9.3. Notable differences
9.4. Reflections on the Conceptual Framework
9.5. Answering the research question
9.6. Challenges for research leadership
9.7. Directions for Future Research
LIST OF REFERENCES
