Article 17 December 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2 AJHPE Introduction Generating and disseminating knowledge through publication is general- ly considered to be one of the core activities of an academic. Publication of peer-reviewed articles is one of the primary methods of evaluating aca- demic faculty, programmes and institutions.1 Researchers have conclud- ed that the ‘measurement of research output of university academic staff is crucial in determining the contribution of staff to the overall research profile of the university’.2 However, the production of research articles among physiotherapy academics was identified as a cause for concern two decades ago.3 This could have been due to the clinical focus within the physiotherapy profession. There are indications that professions such as physiotherapy were becoming more actively involved in research and evidence-based practice. The past decade has seen considerable growth in physiotherapy schools with regard to research and postgraduate pro- grammes in South Africa.4 A literature search indicated that various pro- fessions have highlighted the research productivity of their professions and these included professions such as chiropractors,5 pharmacists6 and medicine.7-9 A few international studies assessing physiotherapy pro- ductivity were found.3,10 One study assessed the scholarly productivity of 19 physiotherapy programmes in the USA and the other assessed re- search productivity among physiotherapists in the USA and Puerto Rico between 1998 and 2002. Both studies concluded that research activity among physiotherapy academics was limited and every effort should be made to address this. However, the nature of publication output has not been measured among physiotherapy schools in South Africa. Research indicated that there is a need to ‘assess the impact of physi- cal therapy education on scholarly productivity’.10 The information of this current study has value for physiotherapy departments because it is the first to provide baseline information of physiotherapy academics research output in South Africa. Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the re- search productivity of the physiotherapy department at a local university in the Western Cape between 2002 and 2009. In this study scholarly or research productivity is measured by publications, postgraduate student through, research funding and conference presentations. The hierarchy of criteria (Fig. 1) was adapted and used as an analytic lens through which to evaluate the research productivity of academics currently employed in the department.2 A factor that the model does not include was also used, namely the amount of research funding generated by academics. Background to the study Setting The University of the Western Cape is one of the historically disadvan- taged tertiary institutions in South Africa. Before 1994, higher education institutions were segregated according to the apartheid vision.11 Institu- tions such as the University of the Western Cape were under-resourced Abstract Objective: Research productivity is an important activity among aca- demics. This study was done to document the research productivity of the academics of a physiotherapy department in South Africa. Method: An archival research design was used to document the re- search productivity for the physiotherapy department between 2002 and 2009. Data were analysed by two independent reviewers and con- sensus was reached on the information to be included in the study. Results: Among the nine academics there were 67 publications, 20 articles in progress, 7 under review and 63 conferences attended. While the overall research productivity of the department seems to be good, the bulk of the productivity rests in the hands of the senior academics. Conclusion: There is a need to facilitate the acquisition of research skills in academic staff, particularly in upgrading staff to PhD level and improving publication output. Research productivity of academics in a physiotherapy department: a case study J M Frantz, A Rhoda, P Struthers, J Phillips Department of Physiotherapy, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa Correspondence to: José Frantz (jfrantz@uwc.ac.za)   Fig. 1. Hierarchy of criteria (adapted from Uzoka, 2008).                                        Fig. 1. Hierarchy of criteria (adapted from Uzoka, 2008). Article Article 18 December 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2 AJHPE and offered limited courses. In addition, the research was not uniformly supported across the higher education sector. There are eight physiother- apy schools in South Africa and the physiotherapy department at UWC is located within the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences. At the end of 2009 the department had nine full-time academic staff members of whom 3 were associate professors, 1 senior lecturer and 5 lecturers. The demographic data of current staff members are presented in Table I. Re- search productivity is one of the areas considered for promotion among academics at the University of the Western Cape. The academic staff at the department is actively engaged in research activities as the promotion of academic staff is partially dependent on academic publications. At the time of the study (2009), the department had 3 academics with PhD degrees and 5 with Master’s degrees. The de- partment currently offers an undergraduate programme, a 2-year course work Master’s programme, Master’s by thesis programme and a PhD programme. Eighty students have graduated from the Master’s by thesis and course work programmes and four students have obtained doctoral degrees in physiotherapy. Methods An archival research design was used. Archival research methods include activities used to facilitate the investigation of documents and textual materials produced by and about organisations. This case study drew on contextual information provided through the analysis of documents relat- ing to data on the Master’s and PhD graduates between 2002 and 2009 from the archives and the website of a local university in the Western Cape. Research productivity of the academics was determined using document analysis (annual reports, research files, faculty CVs) available at the institution and records indicating research publications. Informa- tion recorded included the journal, dissertations, year of publication and authors. Although every attempt was made to obtain accurate informa- tion for this study, the possibility does exist that all information might not have been available as the research design indicates that the original information gathered was not for the purpose of the study. Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape and head of the physiotherapy department. Information was recorded on a data capture sheet based on the hier- archy of criteria mentioned earlier. The documents were reviewed inde- pendently by two people and consensus was reached on the information to be included in the study and the additional information that needed to be followed up. Academics and graduates were followed up via telephone or e-mail to identify any publications or other relevant information that could have been missed in the documents that were analysed. Results During the period of assessment, the department had successfully gradu- ated 80 Master’s and 4 PhD students from various African countries. In addition, two senior academics (2002 - 2006) left the department and four junior academics joined the department between 2006 and 2007. The document analysis found that the current academics (academics employed in the department at the time of the review) had been fairly productive between 2002 and 2009 in terms of the number of graduated Master’s students and publications based on student work (see Table II). A total of 74 articles were published by academics and their Master’s or PhD students during the identified period. Of the articles published (N=74), 34 (46%) were co-authored with Master’s or PhD student gradu- ates. All of the articles that were published had been submitted to peer- reviewed journals and 42 (57%) were published in accredited journals. Accredited journals in South Africa are journals which the Department of Education recognises and rewards the university money for any publica- tions in these journals. Research productivity as it relates to publications (published, submit- ted and in progress) of the current staff in the department is reflected in Table III. Records reflected that the academics published from their own Table I. Demographic data of the participants Level Years in academia Highest qualifica- tion Years on contract at HEI Years permanent at HEI Gender Race Lecturer 1 2 years MSc (2008) 2 years None Male White Lecturer 2 4 years MSc (2007) 2 years 2 years Female White Lecturer 3 4 years MSc (2005) None 4 years Female Black Lecturer 4 4 years MSc (2005) None 4 years Female Indian Lecturer 5 12 years MSc(2005) 6 years 6 years Male Coloured Snr lecturer 9 years MSc (2002) 1 year 8 years Female Coloured Ass prof 1 11 years PhD (2006) 3 years 8 years Female Coloured Ass prof 2 11 years PhD (2006) None 11 years Female White Ass prof 3 13 years PhD (2005) 4 years 9 years Female Coloured Table II. Publication output for the period 2002 - 2009 of current staff Academic Master’s students graduated by current staff Publications Publications from student work Lecturers (5) 6 9 3 (33%) Senior lecturer (1) 11 10 5 (50%) Associate professors (3) 33 55 26 (47%) Article 19 December 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2 AJHPE research work (postgraduate studies and projects), as well as being sec- ond author to publications of their students work. A summary of the research productivity of the department accord- ing to Uzoka’s (2008) evaluation of research productivity is presented in Table IV. The majority of the publications were in local journals, but the academics were also publishing in national and international journals. Figs 2 and 3 illustrate the number of articles published for the pe- riod 2002 - 2009 according to academic rank and the journals commonly published in during this period. Between 2004 and 2006 there were no associate professors in the department. The 8-year output of the physio therapy department indicates an average of nine articles per year and the increase in seniority of academics increased per year. The most common journals in which publications featured was the faculty’s in-house journal, The Journal of Community and Health Sciences (N=35, 47%), South African Journal of Physiotherapy (N=21, 28%), African Journal of Physical Health, Education, Recreation and Dance (N=10, 14%). The rest were single publications in various jour- nals. Of the journals in which the academics published, only one journal was a discipline-specific journal. namely the South African Journal of Physiotherapy. Academics over the last 7 years regularly attended and presented at conferences. Of the total number of conferences attended (N=63), 48% were national conferences, 38% were international conferences and 14% were African conferences; 40% of the national conferences were attend- ed by junior lecturers and 96% of the international conferences were at- tended by the more senior academics. Discussion Research plays an important role in helping academics to identify the gaps in knowledge through critical appraisal of available literature. The proc- ess of publication allows academics to develop as researchers through a peer-review process that scrutinises their work and acceptance for publi- cation acknowledges the value of the research and the contribution to the area. The aim of the current study was to highlight the research produc- tivity of academics in a physiotherapy department in South Africa. In the current study there is evidence of a consistent annual publica- tion output within this physiotherapy department. This annual output by academics in the department of physiotherapy could assist in increasing the academic standing of the department in South Africa and even Af- rica. The consistent output of this department could possibly be attributed to the existence of the postgraduate programmes within the department which graduates Master’s students annually and the commitment to con- vert these theses into publications. This idea could be supported by the fact that many of the articles published were co-authored by Master’s and doctoral graduates and their supervisors. Other researchers have highlighted that the presence of doctoral degrees and a thesis component in training programmes assists academics with publication output.12 In a study among academic nurses the lack of scholarly publications among the nurses at a Malawian university could be due to the lack of Master’s degree programmes at the institution.13 This was confirmed by another study which reported that the strategic recruitment of dedicated PhD academics does assist in increasing research productivity.14 It is evident from the current study that the academics who had a PhD had an in- creased number of publications in relation to the more junior academics. Thus the presence of postgraduate programmes and staff members with PhDs seems to have a positive effect on departmental academic research output. Another reason for the increased research output in this department could possibly be the availability of a local in-house journal. The limited number of physiotherapy journals in South Africa and even Africa would Fig. 2. Publications according to academic level.                                       Fig. 2. Publications according to academic level. Fig. 3. Academic level v. publisher.                Fig. 3. Academic level v. publisher.                     Fig. 3. Academic level v. publisher. Table III. Publications among academics Level Years in academia Highest qualification Publications Submitted In progress Lecturer 1 2 years MSc (2008) 3 1 3 Lecturer 2 4 years MSc (2007) 2 2 1 Lecturer 3 4 years MSc (2005) 2 2 1 Lecturer 4 4 years MSc (2005) 0 1 2 Lecturer 5 12 years MSc(2005) 2 1 1 Senior lecturer 9 years MSc (2002) 10 2 1 Associate prof 1 11 years PhD (2006) 15 2 3 Associate prof 2 11 years PhD (2006) 17 3 5 Associate prof 3 13 years PhD (2005) 36 5 5 Article 20 December 2010, Vol. 2, No. 2 AJHPE make it difficult for physiotherapy academics to publish. This could be the reason for the increased number of publications in journals not di- rectly linked to the physiotherapy profession. This idea was supported by other studies which indicated that professional journals did not common- ly publish articles from other professions.13 However, the low number of articles published in international journals could be that the research conducted by the academics was not of interest to a global audience. It is however evident from the current study that a higher level of research productivity was more prevalent among senior academics. This is highlighted in the statistics for publication output as well as the confer- ence attendance. Studies conducted among chiropractors reported that academics with higher qualifications and also more senior status tended to produce more publications.5 In addition, the average number of articles per staff member per year in this current study is approximately one arti- cle, with the average among senior staff members being two articles per year. This was similar to other studies6 which reported an average of two articles per year among only 5% of their staff. It would thus be impera- tive for this department to ensure that all academics, especially younger academics, obtain doctoral degrees in order to ensure an increase and steady growth in the departmental publication output. ‘Success in schol- arly productivity is based on a complex interaction between individual faculty members and the departmental culture in the context of the global institution.’10 Thus the success within this department could be enhanced by a good interaction between senior and junior staff as well as a cul- ture of research evident from the successful postgraduate programme and publication output. Conclusion Research productivity among physiotherapy academics is important for the physiotherapy profession. The three pillars of evaluation among aca- demics include teaching, research and administration and it has become imperative that all academics find a balance. If the research productivity among junior academics is to be improved, strategies need to be put in place that will encourage this. Strategies that could assist in this process are mentoring of junior academics by senior academics in the form of joint publications, dedicated time for research and writing for publication workshops. References 1. Holden G, Rosenberg G, Barker K. A potential decision making aid in hiring, reappointment, tenure and promotion decisions. Social Work in Health Care 2005;41:67-92. 2. Uzoka F. A fuzzy-enhanced multicriteria decision analysis model for evaluating university academics’ research output. Information Knowledge Systems Manage- ment 2008;7:273-299. 3. Holcomb J, Selkar L, Roush R. Scholarly productivity: a regional study of physi- cal therapy faculty in schools of allied health. Physical Therapy 1990;70:66-72. 4. Louw Q, Grimmer-Somers K, Crous L, Marais M, Amosun S. Framing a vision for physiotherapy research: synthesizing educators view points in Cape Town. In- ternet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice 2007;5:2 (ISSN 1540-580X). 5. Hoskins W, Pollard H, Reggars J, Vitiello A, Bonello R. Journal publications by Australian chiropractors: are they enough? Chiropractic and Osteopathy 2006;14:13 doi:10.1186/1746-1340-14-13. 6. Coleman C, Schlesselman L, Lao E, White C. Number and impact of published scholarly works by pharmacy practice faculty members at accredited US colleges and schools of pharmacy (2001-2003). American Journal of Pharmacy Education 2007;71(3):44. 7. Han M, Lee C. Scientific publication productivity of Korean medical colleges: An analysis of 1988-1999 Medline papers. Journal of Korean Medical School 2000;15:3-12. 8. Petrak J, Bozikov J. Journal publications from Zagreb University medical school in 1995-1999. Croatian Medical School 2003;44:661-669. 9. Dakik H, Haidbey H, Sabra R. Research productivity of the medical faculty at the American University of Beirut. Postgraduate Medical Journal 2006;82:462-464. 10. Richter R, Schlomer S, Krieger M, Siler W. Journal publication productivity in academic physical therapy programs in the United States and Puerto Rico from 1988 – 2002. Physical Therapy 2008;88:376-386. 11. Council on Higher Education. Higher education monitor: access and throughput in South African Higher education: three case studies. Higher Education Monitor 2010; No 9. 12. Cooper M, Turpin G. Clinical psychology trainees’ research productivity and publications: An initial survey and contributing factors. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 2007;14:54-62. 13. Muula A. Status of scholarly productivity among nursing academics in Malawi. Croatian Medical Journal 2007;48:568-573. 14. Chung S, Clifton J, Rowe A, Finley R, Warnock G. Strategic faculty recruitment increases research productivity within an academic university division. Canadian Journal of Surgery 2009;52:401-406. Table IV. Research productivity N Reputation of publisher Institution based 32 Professional society based 21 Other (SA/African/inter- national) 21 Publication type Published journal articles 74 Submitted papers 7 Papers in progress 20 Authorship Single author 17 Double author 34 Triple author 14 Multiple authors 9 Place of publication Local (institution) 32 (published papers) Regional (South African) 23 International (African/ international) 19 Conference presentations National 30 African 9 International 24 Students graduated Mini-thesis 50 Full Master’s thesis 17 Research funding gener- ated Local university research funding 9 NRF funding 2 MRC funding 2 International funding 2