Summary

One of the questions that has arisen from the publication of research quality scores for the tertiary education organisations (TEOs) that participated in the 2003 Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) quality evaluation is what factors determine the level of research performance. The question is of particular interest to those involved in planning, research management, human resources management and policy development in TEOs active in research. This is the question addressed in this report: What determines the research performance of staff in New Zealand's tertiary education sector?

This study is developed from statistical models of the research performance of around 7,700 PBRF-eligible staff who had their research performance measured across a number of dimensions during the quality evaluation. Statistical modelling allows the research performance of certain subgroups to be estimated once other demographic and employment-related differences are taken into account.

By taking account of employment and demographic differences, this study explores some interesting questions such as:

• How does the position and employment status of PBRF-eligible staff affect their research performance?
• How does the gender of PBRF-eligible staff affect their research performance?
• How does the ethnic group of PBRF-eligible staff affect their research performance?
• How does the research performance of PBRF-eligible staff vary between TEOs?
• How does the research performance of PBRF-eligible staff vary between subject areas?
• How does the research performance of PBRF-eligible staff vary by their full time equivalent status?
• How does the age of PBRF-eligible staff impact on their research performance?