EVOLUTION OF THE RESEARCH MANAGER AND ADMINISTRATOR JOB AS A STAND-ALONE / SELF-CONTAINED OCCUPATION IN THE US UNIVERSITIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35433/pedagogy.1(112).2023.136-147Keywords:
research manager and administrator job, research administration roles, research management evolution, universities in the USAAbstract
This study aimed to explore and analyse the evolution of research administration and management as a profession using exploratory and thematic analysis. The exploratory research methodology used some features of a narrative review to collect statistical data. The thematic analysis was used as a qualitative research method to identify and analyse patterns or themes in data. By reviewing primary and secondary sources dedicated to the occupation, the study found that research management and administration has evolved significantly over the past few decades in the USA universities as a self-contained occupation, requiring specialized knowledge and skills to perform the role effectively. The analysis found that during the growth, professionalization, and globalization phases of the job, the topic of research managers and administrators being seen as servant leaders was discussed in the literature, and the job was linked to the positions such as mediator/expediter, mediator/regulator, and project manager. Professional education and certification, as well as international professional development, were used to educate and train research managers and administrators during the phases. Research development and the introduction of technology-mediated tools into research administration were identified as contributors to occupation evolution. The analysis of the technical aspects of the RMA job revealed that the main theme for the publications was policy, procedures, and process compliance, with the focus on regulation interpretation and application, intellectual property legislation, technology transfer/patent rights legislation, accountability issues, institutional evaluation, contract legislation, etc. Further research is needed in exploring the impact of external factors, such as changes in funding and policy environments, on the role of research managers and administrators. Another issue for further investigation is how the job responsibilities of research managers and administrators is changing nowadays due to the increasing use of technology in research.
References
Acker, S., McGinn, M.K., & Campisi, C. (2019). The work of university research administrators: Praxis and professionalization. Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, 1(1), 61-85. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.47989/kpdc67 [in English].
Campbell, D.R. (2010). The role and development of the research administration profession in higher education [Master Thesis in Arts in Educational Administration, Washington State University], CORE Website. Retrieved from: https://core.ac.uk/display/23997976 [in English].
Campo, M.A. (2014). Leadership and research administration. Research Management Review, 20(1), 1-6. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1038832.pdf [in English].
Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (2004). Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. Sage Publications Ltd. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446280119 [in English].
Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BLko [in English].
Editorial. (2021). Research managers are essential to a healthy research culture. Nature 595, 150. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01823-0 [in English].
Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research. Sage. Retrieved from: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-06059-000 [in English].
Gabriele, E.F. (1998). The struggle for shape and substance: A metaphor for the emerging identity of the research administrator. SRA Journal, 30(1/2), 31-36. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BK77 [in English].
George, T. (2023). Exploratory Research: Definition, Guide, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved from: https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/exploratory-research/ [in English].
Hansen, S.L., & Shisler, C. (1992). Research administration reconsidered. Research Management Review, 6(2), 49-55. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ476021 [in English].
Hansen, S., & Moreland, K.I. (2004). The Janus Face of Research Administration. Research management review, 14, 43-53. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BJg3 [in English].
Kerridge, S., & Scott, S.F. (2017). Research Administration as a Profession (RAAAP) – a snapshot of research administrators and their skills from around the world. In: NCURA 59th Annual Meeting, 5-9th August 2017, Washington DC. (Unpublished). Retrieved from: https;//doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5278195.v1 [in English].
Kerridge, S.R. & Scott, S. (2018). Research administration around the world. ResearchGate. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BHaH [in English].
Kiger, M.E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846-854. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030 [in English].
Kogan, M., Helly, J.J., & Rubeck, R.F. (1982). Research administration in universities and colleges. New York: John Wiley & Sons [in English].
Kulakowski, E.C., & Chronister, L.U. (2006). Research administration and management. Sudbury, Mass. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/researchadminist0000unse_k7i2 [in English].
Langley, D. (2012). Research management and administration: A reflection of where we are and where we need to go as a profession. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 16(3), 71-76. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2012.659289 [in English].
Langley, D., & Ofosu, M. (2007). Celebrating a profession: The global perspective. Journal of Research Administration, 38. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BK85 [in English].
Levin, S.G., & Stephan, P.E. (1991). Research productivity over the life cycle: Evidence for academic scientists. The American Economic Review, 81(1), 114-132. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2006790 [in English].
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BLkW [in English].
Nowell, S.L., Norris, J.M., & Deborah, E.W. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. Sage Journals, 16(1). Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406917733847 [in English].
Research Administration Tools. (2015). Research administration and grant management. Global Health Training Centre. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BH9v [in English].
Research Coordinator. (2015). The role of research administrators in proposal development: Pre-award, post-award and everything in between. Research Coordinator Blog. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BGRC [in English].
Sbruieva, A. (2010). Upravlinnia naukovoiu robotoiu v derzhavnykh universytetakh SShA: strukturno-funktsionalni aspekty [Management of research work in the Universities of the USA: Structural-Functional Aspects]. Porivnialno-pedahohichni studii – Studies in comparative education, 1-2, 68-76. Retrieved from: http://repository.sspu.sumy.ua/handle/123456789/3208 [in Ukrainian].
Smith, S. (2019). Research administration: The most important job no one knows about [Master’s Thesis]. Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BVHG [in English].
Streharsky, C.J., & Smith, C. (2002). Consider the stakeholders in research administration. The Journal of Research Administration, 33 (2), 83. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BLqu [in English].
Wedekind, G.K., & Philbin, S.P. (2018). Research and grant management: The role of the project management office (PMO) in a European research consortium context. The Journal of Research Administration, 49(1), 43-62. Retrieved from: http://bitly.ws/BGCh [in English].
White, V.P. (1991). The Paradoxical role of the research administrator. Journal of the Society of Research Administrators, 23, 7-10. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ441568 [in English].
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors published in this journal agree to the following terms:
a) The authors reserve the right to author their work and grant the journal the right to first publish this work under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to freely distribute the published work with a mandatory link to the authors of the original work and the first publication of the work therein magazine.
b) Authors have the right to enter into separate additional agreements regarding the non-exclusive distribution of the work in the form in which it was published by this journal (for example, posting work in an electronic repository of the institution or publishing as part of a monograph), provided that the reference to the first publication of the work is maintained therein. magazine.
c) Journal policy permits and encourages the submission of manuscripts by the authors on the Internet (for example, in repositories of institutions or on personal websites), both prior to submitting this manuscript to the editorial board and as it contributes to the emergence of productive scientific discussion, and has a positive impact on the promptness and dynamics of citing a published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
ISSN 
