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Organizational Culture for Research Integrity in Academic Health Centers. Jim Vander Putten (University of Arkansas-Little Rock) Carol R. Thrush (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) Paper presented at the 2006 Research Conference on Research Integrity, December 1-3, Tampa.
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Organizational Culture for Research Integrity in Academic Health Centers Jim Vander Putten (University of Arkansas-Little Rock) Carol R. Thrush (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) Paper presented at the 2006 Research Conference on Research Integrity, December 1-3, Tampa.
Background and Purpose • Research involving human participants • Social and behavioral sciences • Survey of faculty perceptions of academic organizational culture and climate characteristics for research integrity One primary research question guided this pilot study: 1. What are academic health center faculty perceptions of the organizational culture and climate for research integrity?
Theoretical Framework Two areas of research literature informed this study: • Organizational culture and climate in higher education; • Productivity in the responsible conduct of research. Organizational Culture and Climate: Institutional Culture: “basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by the organization” OrganizationalClimate: “current patterns of organizational life and members' perceptions of them” Together, culture and climate both exert powerful influences.
Methods • Data Source • 26-item fixed response survey instrument • Respondents rated characteristics of their immediate work unit, rather than self-assessments of individual research integrity • Work unit: “your department or unit, and the people with whom you work on a day-to-day basis” • Procedures/Participants • 43 health professions faculty from one medical school in the South. • Data Analysis • three one-way ANOVAs • principal components factor analysis
Results ANOVAs: • Academic health center faculty consistently rated 'pressure to publish' as highly characteristic • Academic health centerfaculty rated 'socialization to research integrity' as relatively uncharacteristic • No significant differences by gender or faculty rank. Factor analysis: • Leadership/Communication (10 items for 33% of the variance ) • Awareness of IRB Resources and Procedures (5 items for 24%) • Faculty Research Productivity (3 items for 14%) • Total variance explained: 71%.
Conclusions • Two primary limitations: • small convenience sample of volunteers • single-institution research design • Results provide initial insights into dimensions of institutional culture • Help us understand how faculty perceive characteristics of the organizational culture • Help academic leaders understand dimensions of their institution’s campus culture for research integrity