Construction and validation of a short multidisciplinary research performance questionnaire (SMRPQ)

Abstract

Abstract Research is often specialized and varies in its nature between disciplines, making it difficult to assess and compare the performance of individual researchers. Specific qualitative and quantitative indicators are usually complex and do not work equally well for different research fields. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop an economical questionnaire that is valid across disciplines. We constructed a Short Multidisciplinary Research Performance Questionnaire (SMRPQ), with which researchers can briefly report 11 quantitative and qualitative performance aspects from four areas (research quality, facilitation, transfer/exchange, and reputation) in relation to their peer reference groups (fellow researchers with the same status and discipline). To validate this questionnaire, 557 German researchers from Physics, History, and Psychology fields (53% male, 34% post-docs, and 19% full professors) completed it, and for the purpose of convergent and discriminant validation additionally made assessments regarding specific quantitative and qualitative indicators of research performance as well as affective, cognitive, and behavioural aspects of their research activities (perceptions of positive affect, help-seeking, and procrastination). The results attested reliable measurement, endorsed the postulated structure of the newly developed instrument, and confirmed its invariance across the three disciplines. The SMRPQ and the validation measure were strongly positively correlated, and both demonstrated similar associations with affect, cognition, and behaviour at work. Therefore, it can be considered a valid and economical approach for assessing research performance of individual researchers across different disciplines, especially within nomothetic research (e.g. regarding personal antecedents of successful research).