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Issues in Educational Research, 2020, Vol 30(3), 965-987.
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Factors influencing academics' research engagement and productivity: A developing countries perspective

Kimkong Heng, M. Obaidul Hamid and Asaduzzaman Khan
The University of Queensland, Australia

Academics are under increasing pressure to publish, particularly in peer-reviewed journals. This external pressure is clearly expressed by the "publish or perish" dictum. Studies have shown that academics' engagement in research and their research productivity are influenced by personal as well as environmental factors. Based on an extensive review of literature, this paper demonstrates that the various factors affecting research engagement and productivity of academics can be classified into three different levels: individual, institutional, and national. All these factors can be schematically summarised into an analytical or conceptual framework to study research engagement and productivity, particularly in developing countries. Pointing to the "North-South" gap in knowledge production and its implications for building knowledge economies, the paper concludes with directions for further research.
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Authors: Kimkong Heng is a PhD candidate in education at the University of Queensland, Australia. His main research interests include TESOL, English teacher education, and academic research engagement.
Email: k.heng@uq.net.au

M. Obaidul Hamid is a senior lecturer in TESOL education at the University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on the policies and practices of TESOL education in developing societies. He is co-editor of Language planning for medium of instruction in Asia (Routledge, 2014).
Email: m.hamid@uq.edu.au

Asaduzzaman Khan is an associate professor in biostatistics at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is a public health researcher with interest in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and their inter-relationships with health and wellbeing.
Email: a.khan2@uq.edu.au

Please cite as: Heng, K., Hamid, M. O. & Khan, A. (2020). Factors influencing academics' research engagement and productivity: A developing countries perspective. Issues in Educational Research, 30(3), 965-987. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/heng.pdf


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