Research at Two Small Canadian Universities: The Views of Faculty

Faculty members at two small Canadian universities were sent a ques- tionnaire in which they were asked about research activities and prefer- ences, views of themselves as researchers, and views about factors which they felt either constrained or facilitated research activities. Respondents were highly committed to research, though gave teaching an equally high priority. Views of influences were similar across univer- sities, with non-teaching commitments, teaching commitments, avail- ability of graduate students, and availability of library holdings seen as most detrimental. Personal motivation and university research offices were seen as positive influences. We consider how faculty views might affect university policy and suggest, among other things, that universi- ties might want to develop a formal policy in which individual faculty be allowed to specialize to some extent in research or teaching