Abstract
This article distinguishes between six tasks related to the academic researcher role: (1) networking; (2) collaboration; (3) managing research; (4) doing research; (5) publishing research; and (6) evaluation of research. Data drawn from surveys of academic staff, conducted in Norwegian universities over three decades, provide evidence that the researcher role has become more demanding with respect to all sub-roles, and that academic staff have responded to increasing external and internal demands by enhancing their role performance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aksnes, D. W., Frølich, N., & Slipersæter, S. (2010). Science policy and the driving forces behind the internationalization of science: The case of Norway. Science and Public Policy, 35, 445–457.
Becher, T., & Trowler, P. R. (2001). Academic tribes and territories. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Bentley, P., & Kyvik, S. (2011). Academic staff and public communication: A survey of popular science publishing across 13 countries. Public Understanding of Science, 20, 48–63.
Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., & Tight, M. (1998). Writing on academic careers. Studies in Higher Education, 23, 281–295.
Bok, D. (2003). Universities in the marketplace. The commercialization of higher education. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Calvert, J. (2000). Is there a role for basic research in Mode 2? Vest, 13, 35–51.
Cooper, M. H. (2009). Commercialization of the university and problem choice by academic biological scientists. Science, Technology and Human Values, 34, 629–653.
Dunwoody, S. (1986). The scientist as source. In S. Friedman, S. Dunwoody, & C. L. Rogers (Eds.), Scientists and journalists. Reporting science as news (pp. 3–16). New York: The Free Press.
Enders, J. (2001) (Ed.). Academic staff in Europe. Changing Contexts and Conditions. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Etzkowitz, H. (1992). Individual investigators and their research groups. Minerva, 30, 28–50.
Gornitzka, Å., & Langfeldt, L. (Eds.). (2008). Borderless knowledge. Understanding the “New” internationalisation of research and higher education in Norway. Dordrecht: Springer.
Gulbrandsen, M., & Kyvik, S. (2010). Are the concepts basic research, applied research and experimental development still useful? An empirical investigation among Norwegian academics. Science and Public Policy, 37, 343–353.
Hage, J., & Powers, C. H. (1992). Post-industrial lives. Roles and relationships in the 21st century. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications.
Henkel, M. (2000). Academic identities and policy change in higher education. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Katz, J. S., & Martin, B. R. (1997). What is research collaboration? Research Policy, 26, 1–18.
Kyvik, S. (2003). Changing trends in publishing behaviour among university faculty, 1980–2000. Scientometrics, 58, 35–48.
Kyvik, S. (2005). Popular science publishing and contributions to public discourse among university faculty. Science Communication, 26, 288–311.
Kyvik, S. (2007). Changes in funding university research. Consequences for problem choice and research output of academic staff. In J. Enders & B. Jongbloed (Eds.), Public-private dynamics in higher education: Expectations, developments and outcomes (pp. 387–411). Bielefeldt: Transcript Verlag.
Kyvik, S. (2012). Academic salaries in Norway: Increasing emphasis on research achievement. In P. Altbach, L. Reisberg, M. Yudkevich, G. Androushchak, & I. Pacheco (Eds.), Paying the professoriate. A global comparison of compensation and contracts (pp. 255–264). New York: Routledge.
Kyvik, S., & Olsen, T. B. (2008). Does the aging of tenured academic staff affect the research performance of universities? Scientometrics, 76, 439–455.
Kyvik, S., & Smeby, J. S. (1994). Teaching and research. The relationship between the supervision of graduate students and faculty research performance. Higher Education, 28, 227–239.
Langfeldt, L., & Kyvik, S. (2011). Researchers as evaluators: Tasks, tensions and politics. Higher Education, 62, 199–212.
Melin, G. (2000). Pragmatism and self-organization. Research collaboration on the individual level. Research Policy, 29, 31–40.
Merton, R. (1968). Social theory and social structure. New York: The Free Press.
Nowotny, H., Scott, P., & Gibbons, M. (2001). Re-thinking science: Knowledge and the public in an age of uncertainty. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Nowotny, H., Scott, P., & Gibbons, M. (2003). ‘Mode 2’ revisited: The new production of knowledge. Minerva, 41, 179–194.
Olsen, T. B., Kyvik, S., & Hovdhaugen, E. (2005). The promotion to full professor—Through competition or by individual competence? Tertiary Education and Management, 11, 299–316.
Schuster, J. H., & Finkelstein, M. J. (2006). The American faculty. The restructuring of academic work and careers. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Sivertsen, G. (2010). A performance indicator based on complete data for the scientific publication output at research institutions. ISSI Newsletter, 6, 22–28.
Smeby, J. C., & Trondal, J. (2005). Globalisation or europeanisation? International contact among university staff. Higher Education, 49, 449–466.
Stokes, D. E. (1997). Pasteur’s quadrant. Basic science and technological innovation. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
Ylijoki, O. H., Lyytinen, A., & Marttila, L. (2011). Different research markets: A disciplinary perspective. Higher Education, 62, 721–740.
Zuckerman, H., & Merton, R. K. (1972). Age, aging, and age structure in science. In M. W. Riley, M. Johnson, & A. Foner (Eds.), Aging and society—Volume three: A sociology of age stratification. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kyvik, S. The academic researcher role: enhancing expectations and improved performance. High Educ 65, 525–538 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9561-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9561-0