Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication: Survey Findings from the University Of California

The Office of Scholarly Communication, University of California recently released a report "Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication: Survey Findings from the University Of California." This report is an analysis of over 1,100 survey responses covering a range of scholarly communication issues from faculty in all disciplines and all tenure-track ranks.

Full Report; 124 pages [download PDF]
Executive Summary and Summary of Findings; 10 pages [download PDF]
Survey Instrument; 10 pages [download PDF]

Results From the Executive Summary:

• Faculty are strongly interested in issues related to scholarly communication.
• Faculty generally conform to conventional behavior in scholarly publication, albeit with significant beachheads on several fronts.
• Faculty attitudes are changing on a number of fronts, with a few signs of imminent change in behaviors.
• The current tenure and promotion system impedes changes in faculty behavior.
• On important issues in scholarly communication, faculty attitudes vary inconsistently by rank, except in general depth of knowledge and on issues related to tenure and promotion.
• Faculty tend to see scholarly communication problems as affecting others, but not themselves.
• The disconnect between attitude and behavior is acute with regard to copyright.
• University policies mandating change are likely to stir intense debate.
• Scholars are aware of alternative forms of dissemination but are concerned about preserving their current publishing outlet.
• Scholars are concerned that changes might undermine the quality of scholarship.
• Outreach on scholarly communication issues and services has not yet reached the majority of faculty.
• The Arts and Humanities disciplines may be the most fertile disciplines for University sponsored initiatives in scholarly communication.
• Senior faculty may be the most fertile targets for innovation in scholarly communication.