Research collaboration amongst Egyptian library and information science faculty members

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the potential for research collaboration amongst Egyptian library and information science (LIS) faculty members.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was used, which ran from the beginning of June to the middle of July 2021.FindingsMale respondents made up slightly more than half of the total, with ages ranging from 30s to 40s and the majority holding PhDs. According to all respondents, the most important reasons for collaborating on research authorship were “to gain more experience”, followed by “to gain more knowledge”. More than half of respondents rated the collaborative research as “Good”, with “Very Good” coming in second. Almost all respondents stated the most common types of collaboration amongst the respondents were “a research paper”, “a case study”, “a review” and “a book chapter”. All faculty members stated that challenges such as “The research collaborator does not contribute equally to the same motivation” and “The research collaborator does not do what is expected of him/her to complete the research” were at the very least significant to the respondents.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study have significant implications for higher education research and publishing in Egypt, particularly in terms of encouraging collaborative research amongst Egyptian researchers, particularly in the field of LIS.Originality/valueThis is nearly the first study of the kind in the Arab and Egyptian contexts. This study is described as a pioneer amongst the studies concerned with this topic that were conducted in the field of joint authorship, especially at the local and regional levels, because this study is one of the few studies on partnership and research cooperation amongst Egyptian faculty members in the field of LIS.