The Sacred Spark of Academic Research

Abstract

Some faculty members are publishing celebrities. Others publish nothing. Why? This longitudinal study, which uses a panel of public administration faculty members, evaluates the causal influences on publishing productivity. Of special interest is the intrinsic joy that some faculty members derive from doing research - a factor we call their sacred spark. We also consider other factors, including ability of faculty members, prestige of their graduate programs, research support, and their sex. A theoretically derived causal model specifies various pathways to publishing success. This causal model is evaluated using seven years of publication activity for our panel of eighty assistant professors who accepted appointments in public administration programs beginning in 1990. Results indicate that, as predicted, faculty who have a sacred spark for research are more likely to become publishing celebrities. Results also suggest that men are slightly more likely to possess the sacred spark for research than women are.