Assessment-Driven Research Opportunities Volume 1: PA Faculty and Scholarship

Welcome to a new series of Massey & Martin, LLC’s newsletters. I’m pleased that we will spend the next several letters discussing an issue that is ever-present and always important to education professions: the “publish or perish” phenomenon. 

No instructor of higher education is free from the pressure of proving to a wider audience that progress is being made; though the function of a PA program may be different than the halls of a standard state university, we still want to encourage our faculty to engage in scholarship. There are just so many benefits of doing so. Successfully doing so brings attention not only to the authors but to the program itself. Publication effectively shares findings, establishes reputations, and furthers research. Students can investigate publications generated by a program to gauge its mission and values, increasing the good reputation of the program.

Yet PA faculty often find themselves in a quandary about generating scholarship. Traditional bench research is rarely a solution, due to a lack of research PhD backgrounds of many faculty members. The good news is that with some creativity and mentoring, faculty can find opportunities for scholarship embedded within their everyday lives. 

Most of this newsletter series will be a reiteration of Chapter Nine of the book I co-authored with Helen Martin, CHSC, PA-C, DFAAPA, Learning to Love Data. The purpose of that book was to make data collection and analysis easier (and even enjoyable!) for PA educators. Thus, presenting and publishing outcome data is inevitably part of my information for readers. That is exactly where we will begin.

• The classroom provides a fertile laboratory for data collection and analysis. The scholar practitioner model (which focuses on the practical application of scholarly knowledge, i.e., how it works in the classroom) is arguably the most successful route for PA faculty to achieve tenure and higher rank. 
• Faculty can explore outcome data, like developing predictive models for student success. 
• Measuring outcome data following curriculum modifications is a fine opportunity for documenting and presenting successful innovations. 

Starting on a scholarship project

I began my academic career in 1991 without any previous experience in education. Although my advanced degrees were completed shortly thereafter, 14 years passed before publication of my first research article. The task of conducting and publishing educational research seemed overwhelming at the start.

PA faculty face a unique challenge in transitioning from the clinician model to the role of an academic. In many institutions, faculty are expected not only to meet the workload requirements but also to generate scholarships. How can new PA faculty find time to start a research agenda when they are teaching and advising students, serving on specific program committees, and learning a brand-new language and culture?

With the right support, PA faculty can prepare for the research process with confidence. Faculty should be assisted with and advised on the following three introductory steps:

Formulating a Research Question

The classroom is a living, productive laboratory, with daily opportunities to study the phenomenon of learning within a program. The first step of the research process is to conceptualize a simple question to study, then formulate it into a research question. 

Faculty should consider possible questions thoroughly, then settle on one main question. For instance, ask how the instructional model impacts students’ learning and knowledge base over time.

Most colleges and universities have some version of a center for faculty development. If establishing a clear research question is a struggle, faculty should make an appointment to use their assistance in a brainstorming session.

Seeking Out a Mentor

 In many PA programs, new PA faculty lack a research mentor to assist with the process of generating a research question that can be converted into a scholarly project. If you are a program director, you can assist greatly by providing information on these connections. Most experienced educators are happy to help new faculty early in their careers. New faculty may offer the opportunity for the mentor to be one of the co-presenters or contributing authors.  

Conducting a Literature Review

Once the research question has been formulated, faculty should ask the university/college librarian to conduct a literature search. Obtaining information about the existing literature before moving forward with the research idea and question is important. 

A bounty of information available on the subject shouldn’t discourage potential research, however. Scholarship may bring a new perspective, refute or support ideas in the mainstream, or shed light on a matter of debate. Being at “ground zero” in the classroom brings insight into why something works or doesn’t, or how to improve an established methodology.

Next time…

In our next newsletter, I will continue breaking down the process for your faculty to more easily approach scholarship, including creating study design, obtaining statistical assistance, and the progressive steps of publication.