Integrating Faculty Scholarly Productivity Indicators with Professional Network Development Strategies: New Inferences Generated from Mixing Methods.

INTRODUCTION

Professional network connections among health professions faculty are essential for engagement, innovation, and productivity. The research question was, "How do strategies for developing a professional network of early career health professions faculty contribute to our understanding of effective guidance for scholarly productivity?"

METHODS

The method was an explanatory sequential mixed method. Study participants were 50 full-time equivalent physical therapist faculty in their first 5 years at accredited institutions in the U.S. The quantitative strand included social network analysis and a Scholar Score (SS). The Scholar Score was calculated using variables from curriculum vitae (grants, publications, presentations) on a 1-25 quality scale. In-depth interviews were conducted. A grounded theory approach was implemented to explore the process of professional network development. Integrated results were used to examine differences in network development strategies.

RESULTS

Fifty participants completed the quantitative strand. Twenty were selected for an interview based on high/low SS and network effectiveness. Network interconnectedness for the high performers was 36% (SD 10.3) compared to 45% (18.2) for low performers. High Scholar Scores were linked to broader networks. In four categories, network development strategies differed between high- and low-performers: prior connections, new acquaintances at their current institution, unplanned encounters, and self-initiated approaches.

CONCLUSION

Scholar productivity is influenced by network development strategies. Study findings help inform mentors and early career faculty regarding the enhancement of scholarly productivity.