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public interest research survey
Colleagues:
We would welcome your filling out this survey on public interest research
and scientific public service. Thanks so much!
Carolyn Raffensperger
Elizabeth Bird
INCENTIVES AND BARRIERS TO
PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC SERVICE
A Targeted Survey
PLEASE RETURN BY NOVEMBER 30, 1996!
Dear Participant:
Thank-you for agreeing to complete this questionnaire issued jointly by the
Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (CSARE), and
the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN).
CSARE is a member organization devoted to enhancing opportunities and
capacities for research and education in the service of a more sustainable
food and agricultural system. A key area of member concern is how
institutional reward structures promote or inhibit public interest research.
SEHN is a consortium of more than 40 organizations that have joined
together, among other things, to examine the way that scientific
information, and scientists, are used in environmental decision-making.
SEHN is interested in the barriers and incentives scientists face in
conducting public interest research or engaging in scientific public
service.
The information you provide will help us understand the incentives and
barriers that scientists face when they engage in public interest research
or in scientific public service. (We offer definitions of public interest
research and scientific public service in the body of the survey.) We will
use your responses to begin to assess institutional reward structures, and
engage our memberships and institutional leaders in developing strategies to
promote innovations and change as needed. We want to gather a broad picture
of incentives for, and barriers to, public interest research and public
service in the environmental, community health, and agricultural arenas.
This is a survey of select groups. We are interested in feedback that will
help us decide whether a broader, more random survey would be useful.
YOUR RESPONSES TO THIS QUESTIONNAIRE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND WILL BE
TREATED CONFIDENTIALLY. There has been little research in this area, and we
believe that the information you provide us will be extremely valuable.
We welcome as much information as you wish to give. The survey should take
about half an hour to forty-five minutes to complete. It has 40 questions.
If you find you do not have the necessary experience to respond to a
question, please go on to the next. We welcome responses from anyone who is
interested.
Please return this survey by E-mail, fax or mail. The fax number is
701-763-6286. E-Mail should be sent to 75114.1164@compuserve.com which is
Carolyn Raffensperger's address at the Science And Environmental Health
Network. Mail may be addressed to Rt. 1 Box 73, Windsor ND. 58424. Thank
you very much for your time and thoughtful responses.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Raffensperger, SEHN Coordinator
and
Elizabeth Bird, CSARE Organization and Development Director
*****************************************************
QUESTIONS 1 - 8 REQUEST BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
1) What is your area of expertise? (e.g., environmental policy,
horticulture, zoology, sociology, public health, animal husbandry, forestry,
etc.)
2) What is your age?
20-30___
31-40___
41-50___
51-60___
61-70___
71-80___
3) Are you
female ___
or
male ___?
4) Do you hold a faculty or research appointment at a university, college,
or a research institution? ____ Yes, go to number 5. ____ No, skip to
number 9.
5) Please tell us the name of the department or program with which you are
affiliated.
6) If you hold a faculty position in a land grant college, how is your
appointment divided?
___% research ___% teaching ___% extension
7) Are you tenured (or the equivalent) or in a tenure-track position?
___ Yes ___ No
8) What year did you receive tenure or security of employment?
9) If you do not hold a faculty or research appointment, please list your
occupation.
TO AID YOU IN FILLING OUT THE REST OF THE SURVEY WE OFFER THESE DEFINITIONS
OF PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC SERVICE.
Public interest research aims at developing knowledge or technologies that
have broad public benefit and advance the common good. The direct and
immediate beneficiaries are society as a whole, or specific "publics" too
large, diffuse or poor to organize or advocate for research on their own
behalf. The information or technologies resulting from public interest
research are freely available (not proprietary or patented). They often are
developed with collaboration or advice from members of the public.
Environmental protection, community health, sustainable farming systems and
food security are areas of substantial public interest research activity.
We define "scientific public service" much as lawyers define "pro bono
publico". That is, scientific public service is research or other
scientific activity for the good of the public or the welfare of the whole,
usually at the request of the public. Scientific public service is a
scientist offering his or her scientific skills to the community or to
groups seeking to advance the public good to solve problems within his or
her expertise.
THE NEXT QUESTIONS ASK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE REWARD STRUCTURE AT
YOUR INSTITUTION (or, if you do not hold a research appointment, the public
university with which you are most familiar).
10) Are you personally familiar with a situation in which a scientist or
faculty member has been ENCOURAGED within the academic or research
institution to undertake a scientific public service or public interest
project?
___ No ___ Yes
If Yes, please briefly describe the topic, circumstances and events below.
11) What incentives in the institutional reward system influenced the
scientist's ability to engage in the project?
12) Are you personally familiar with a situation in which a scientist or
faculty member has been DISCOURAGED within the academic or research
institution to undertake a scientific public service or public interest
project?
___ No ___ Yes
If Yes, please briefly describe the topic, circumstances and events below.
13) What barriers in the institutional reward system influenced the
scientist's ability to engage in the project?
14) In the past 5 years have you engaged in or pursued any of the following?
(Mark Y for Yes or N for No)
___ participatory research (with farmers or other lay people)
___ systems research (whole farm, ecosystems)
___ long-term studies (3 or more years)
___ community-based problem-solving research
___ team multi-disciplinary (multi-component) research
___ team interdisciplinary (integrated) research
___ independent interdisciplinary research
___ scientific public service
15) Have you published anything in the past ten years?
___ Yes (continue below) ___ No (If no, skip to #16)
Approximately what proportion of your publishing effort in the last ten
years has gone into the following publication categories? (Sum of
percentages need not equal 100).
VENUE AND AUDIENCE:
___ % Refereed journal articles
___ % Books or book chapters
___ % Research reports
___ % User- or policy-oriented publications (if distinct from above, e.g.
fact sheets, newsletter rticles, testimony, pamphlets, etc.)
___ % Popular publications (e.g. general audience magazine article)
AUTHORSHIP:
___ % Sole authorship
___ % Senior authorship
___ % Team authorship
16) Have you published the following types of research? (Mark Y for Yes or N
for No)
___ participatory research (with farmers or other lay people)
___ systems research (whole farm, ecosystems)
___ long-term studies (3 or more years)
___ community-based problem-solving research
___ team multi-disciplinary (multi-component) research
___ team interdisciplinary integrated research
___ independent interdisciplinary research
17a) Did you encounter obstacles to publishing the above types of research?
___ Yes (continue below)
___ No (skip to #18)
17b) What were the obstacles? (Check all that apply.)
___ appropriate journal
___ biased reviews
___ misunderstood goals of paper
___ uncooperative editors
___ review criteria
___ other (specify)
Comments:
THE FOLLOWING SET OF QUESTIONS ASKS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC PUBLIC SERVICE.
18) Are you volunteering now or would you be able and willing to engage in
scientific public service or community-based problem-solving?
___ Yes ___ No
19) Have you participated in any of the following activities? (Mark Y for
Yes or N for No)
___ Reviewed scientific documents for a group seeking to advance the public
good.
___ Testified in an administrative, legislative or judicial hearing for a
group seeking to advance the public good.
___ Written an editorial or opinion piece on behalf of a group seeking to
advance the public good.
___ Served on a scientific advisory board or panel, such as a National
Research Council committee.
___ Served on a science or education evaluation panel, such as a USDA/SARE
technical committee or administrative council.
___ Engaged in community-based research or extension education.
___ Answered an environmental, public health or sustainable agriculture
question posed on the Internet.
___ Spoken to the media about a scientific issue on behalf of a group
seeking to advance the public good.
___ Served on the Board of Directors of an environmental or other non-profit
organization
___ Other (please specify)_________________________________________
20) Is your public service
__ local?
__ regional?
__ national?
__ international?
21) Would you need to be compensated for time (wholly or partially) that you
contribute to scientific public service?
___ Yes ___ No ___ Uncertain
22) Would you need to be compensated for expenses that you incurred in
scientific public service?
___ Yes ___ No ___ Uncertain
23) Would your institution encourage a sabbatical or study leave to engage
in scientific public service?
___ Yes ___ No ___ Uncertain
24) Would your institution encourage work with a private client during a
sabbatical or study leave?
___ Yes ___ No ___ Uncertain
25) Have you had a sabbatical or study leave in the past 10 years?
___ Yes ___ No
26) WHAT DID YOU DO on your last sabbatical or study leave?
THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS SEEK MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR VIEW OF
INSTITUTIONAL REWARD STRUCTURES.
27) For EACH activity listed, please indicate whether you believe your
institution's reward structure encourages it or discourages it. Place an X
in front of the number you choose. [1 = strongly discouraged by reward
structure; 3 = reward structure neutral, neither encourages nor discourages;
5 = strongly encouraged by reward structure]:
Discouraged Neutral
Encouraged
a) teaching (resident instruction) 1 2 3 4 5
b) extension or community outreach 1 2 3 4 5
c) applied research (solving practical problems) 1 2 3 4 5
d) systems research (whole farm, ecosystems) 1 2 3 4 5
e) multidisciplinary (multi-component) research 1 2 3 4 5
f) interdisciplinary (integrated) research 1 2 3 4 5
g) basic or fundamental research 1 2 3 4 5
h) team research 1 2 3
4 5
i) long-term research (3 or more years) 1 2 3 4 5
j) participatory research (with farmers or other lay people)
1 2 3 4 5
k) community-based problem-solving 1 2 3 4 5
l) other scientific public service 1 2 3 4
5
m) Other (please specify) 1 2 3 4
5
Comments:
28) Do you believe your institution's reward structure is consistent with
its stated mission? Please explain.
29) In your understanding, how important are the following criteria for
annual review and advancement or for promotion and tenure rewards at your
institution? How important should they be? Please rank each 1-5. 1 = Not
important; 5 = Very important. Place an X in front of the number you choose.
Not important Very important
1 2 3 4 5
a) Number of sole- or senior-authored articles in the most prestigious
refereed journals within the faculty member's profession
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
b) Quality and significance of sole or senior-authored publications
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
c) Number of other refereed journal publications
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
d) Quality and significance of other refereed journal publications
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
e) Number of "public consumption" or constituency oriented publications
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
f) Quality and significance of "public consumption" publications
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
g) Excellence in teaching
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
h) Grants, contracts, or other support received
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
i) Evidence of "scholarship", regardless of arena
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
j) Doing applied or problem-solving research in the public interest
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
k) Doing applied or problem-solving research for private constituencies
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
l) Excellence in extended education
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
m) Engaging in scientific public service
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
n) Advancing the societal purposes of the institution
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
o) Other (please specify):
Is Now: 1 2 3 4 5
Should Be: 1 2 3 4 5
Comments:
30) Does your institution offer awards or rewards (other than promotion and
tenure) that encourage scientific public service or public interest
projects? Please describe.
31) Do you know of specific changes occurring in institutional reward
structures that affect opportunities for scientific public service or public
interest research? Please describe.
THE REMAINING QUESTIONS ADDRESS OTHER REWARD SYSTEM AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM
ISSUES.
32) How adequate are funding opportunities from all public and private
sources for the following activities? Place an X in front of the number you
choose.
Marginal Adequate Abundant
participatory research 1 2 3
systems research 1 2 3
long-term studies 1 2 3
community-based problem-solving research 1 2 3
team multidisciplinary (multi-component) research 1 2 3
team interdisciplinary (integrated) research 1 2 3
independent interdisciplinary research 1 2 3
scientific public service 1 2 3
Comments:
33) Please consider topics of research or extended education within your
area of expertise that you believe are important for environmental
protection, sustainable agriculture, or community health and socioeconomic
well-being.
a) Which topics are Well Rewarded?
b) Which topics are Not Well Rewarded?
34) Have you encountered or witnessed efforts to divert or dissuade you, or
any public university employee, through the threat of sanctions or
withholding of some type of benefit, from engaging in the following: (Mark Y
for Yes or N for No)
___ public speech on a controversial issue?
___ action on a controversial issue?
___ research, extension or teaching in a particular subject area?
___ research for a particular client?
___ publication of controversial research results?
35) Please describe the speech, research, or action.
36) What was the type of sanction or withheld benefit?
PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS SURVEY.
37) Do you encounter other important incentives or barriers that we have not
addressed in this survey? Please describe.
38) Do you have any other comments about this questionnaire? We are
particularly interested in suggestions for improving it.
39) Would you like a copy of the results of this questionnaire? If yes,
complete address information below.
40) Do you have recommendations about the next steps SEHN and CSARE might
take to increase the rewards and reduce the barriers academic and agency
scientists face in doing public interest research and scientific public
service?
WE MAY WISH TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM YOU, AND PERHAPS TELL YOUR
STORY AS A CASE STUDY (PROTECTING ANONYMITY IF YOU PREFER). IF YOU ARE
WILLING TO WORK WITH US FURTHER, PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN REACH YOU.
ALSO, PLEASE ENCLOSE YOUR VITA OR RESUME.
Name:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
Facsimile number:
E-mail address:
THANK YOU!