Creating dedicated time
Putting off research is not an option
The life of a new faculty member involves a dizzying array of activities that stretch energies and time very thinly. It can be tempting to postpone long term projects in order to meet more immediate needs. Since research projects are likely long term projects, there may be a tendency to put them off. Unfortunately it is certain that there will still be immediate needs at that later time as well. Accomplished faculty members find ways to dedicate set amounts of time toward a research agenda from the outset of their careers, in order to be certain they are always making forward progress. New faculty members should be sure to find out the expectations for balancing teaching, research and service at the campus where they interview and eventually begin their careers and begin integrating research from their first day on campus.
Calendar 'time certain' for research
Once in a new faculty position, it is possible to be proactive about time management. One potentially revealing exercise is a calendar analysis to learn how faculty time is being allocated for a typical day, week or month. After tallying up the activities into the categories of “teaching, research or service,” including meetings, preparation time, reading and writing, it is possible to determine the relative time each category of activities is taking, and whether some activities are taking more time than intended, and which are not being addressed, and make adjustments. If expectations are to spend 1/3 of time on research and related activities, and through analysis only 1/10 is being spent, it is time to take action. Block the necessary time out in large chunks so that substantive progress is made, minimally two hours, but four is even more effective. After filling in classes scheduled to teach, calendar research activities including reading, writing, collecting data, analyzing data, and searching for calls for proposals or submissions to upcoming conferences and publications. This calendaring of dedicated 'time certain' creates time and space that gradually adds up to a completed research project.
Overlap teaching, research and service activities
Another strategy used by faculty members who find time for research is overlapping activities so that one activity accomplishes multiple goals simultaneously. Some examples of this include a research project studying one’s teaching practice, or research that integrates community service. In this way a single block of time contributes to activities in more than one of the three areas of academic life.
Buy some time
Accomplished faculty members who find adequate time for research commonly apply for external grant monies and buy out time for their research. Lecturers are then hired to teach the courses that a faculty member would have otherwise been assigned. Find out the cost of hiring a lecturer, and calculate from that the size of grant needed to accomplish research goals. A rule of thumb for the above example (1/3 of a faculty member’s time dedicated to research and related activities), would be the necessity to procure grant funding for about 1/3 of your salary. New faculty members who begin their career with these expectations will set up circumstances within which they establish and maintain a rigorous research agenda throughout their careers. The best strategy is to check out the expectations of a particular campus during the interview process, and once you obtain a position verify the details of the expected balance between teaching, research and service activities.
Collaborate with colleagues and students
Working with students as they conduct research is an integral part of faculty work. Doing so strategically can both increase the chances a student’s work will be published, and contribute toward a more broadly planned research agenda. By choosing to work with students whose research interests dovetail with your agenda, and setting an expectation that all collaborative research will be published, the number of agenda related publications and presentations increases. Similarly, new faculty members who work with colleagues whose research agenda parallels their own across departments, colleges, or institutions, increase the chances for publication and presentation to a larger audience. Collaborative research is an effective means of moving a research agenda forward and becoming part of the larger research dialogue. It is critical to determine how collaborative research is viewed in your department, college, campus and in your field of study before deciding if it is advantageous in your setting.
Be strategic
Carving out dedicated time for research takes some strategic planning but offers big rewards in completed research projects. New faculty members can become accomplished researchers from the outset of their career by finding strategies that work for the setting, knowing what is expected with regards to research agendas in that setting, and committing themselves to the dedicated time that they have set aside for research. Accomplished faculty members follow these guidelines or similar ones in order to be successful.
Managing Time
Time Management for New Faculty
Ailamaki, A., Carnegie Mellon University & Gehrke, J., Cornell University (June, 2003). SIGMOD Record, Vol. 32, No. 2, p.102-106
This article outlines techniques for time management for new faculty members, including advice on scheduling meetings, email, writing grant proposals, and teaching.
Creating Time and Space for Faculty Reflection, Risk-Taking, and Renewal
Chang, D.A. & Baldwin, R.G. (Summer, 2008). The Department Chair Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 1-3.
This article offers insights from studying the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Faculty Career Enhancement (FCE) program. The program was created in response to three identified needs: professional / personal balance, intellectual and social community, and innovation.
Making Time for Research
Early Career Geoscience Faculty, On the Cutting Edge, sponsored by grants from the National Science Foundation, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College
This is a comprehensive website that offers a collection of articles, books and tips from workshops on how successful Geoscience faculty find time for research.
Saving Research Time
Featherstone, R., Clinical Medicine Librarian (November 10, 2009). Slideshare
This powerpoint presentation offers many tips on streamlining time to fit in a rigorous research agenda.
Setting Expectations
Academic Scientists at Work: Giving It 110%
Boss, J.M. & Eckert, S.H. (February, 2004). Career Advice, Science Careers, AAAS
This article asserts that it is critical you know how much of your salary you are expected to recover in grants when deciding whether to take a faculty position.
