Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Postgraduate students are assumed to develop the capacity to conduct research independently and to evaluate their own work as internal supervisors through the process of thesis supervision. Research capacity building amongst postgraduate students is evidenced by the successful completion of degree requirements or graduation, but student retention and throughput is a problem. The study aimed to establish an evidence base of filtered information on interventions addressing the successful completion of thesis requirements in postgraduate students. The study design entailed a systematic review that explored published findings about research reporting on capacity building strategies and initiatives respectively. The researcher made the following ethical considerations namely, transparency, non-bias during data extraction and using two independent reviewers to assist the principle researcher and avoidance of plagiarism as the proposed study is project based and a collaborative process, which are essential when using a systematic review approach. The proposed study forms part of a larger parent study, which aims to identify factors that facilitate or hinder research capacity development in postgraduate students and new academics. The present study used an adaptation of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses (PRISMA) statement, which is aimed at improving the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Extracted data were subjected to a meta-synthesis, which included descriptive meta-synthesis and theory-explicative meta-synthesis. Eight articles were identified as good quality articles based on methodological rigour. The good quality research identified 1) high quality supervision, 2) faculty modelling, 3) support and 4) protected research time as effective strategies or interventions that stimulate successful completion of the thesis requirement. The use of appropriate theoretical frameworks in understanding supervision was identified as integral to effective strategies. Limitations of the study were identified and recommendations for future research were provided.

This dissertation discusses research on Canada’s collaboration with emerging economies, specifically Brazil and India, in the field of health biotechnology. In recent years Canada has shown interest in engaging with emerging economies including Brazil and India in S&T fields. However, little is known about the levels and characteristics of such collaboration. Without greater understanding of this phenomenon it is difficult to inform public policy on how to best encourage collaboration. In this dissertation, the levels of Canada-emerging economies research and entrepreneurial collaboration are gauged. The motivations driving Canada-emerging economies research as well as entrepreneurial collaboration, its challenges and outcomes are examined. The roles of wider institutional actors – funding agencies, intellectual property experts, regulators, etc – in both Canada and the two emerging economies that support international collaboration are analyzed. The research reveals that north-south collaboration in health biotechnology has the potential to lead to a wide range of scientific and commercial benefits for both partners. They include access to expertise, technologies, biodiversity, as well as increasing potential to publish in high impact journals. The benefits are mutual. Northern academics and entrepreneurs are not necessarily in a dominant position in the partnerships, thus contradicting stereotypical notions of partners in north-south relationships. The systems of innovation conceptual framework is useful to uncover how institutions in both the north and the south shape S&T collaboration, and also to develop multi-pronged policy approaches to promote such partnerships and mitigate risks. The framework enables moving away from a donor-recipient, linear model of S&T interactions between the north and the south, and towards conceptualizing north-south collaboration as complex interplay of two innovation systems.

This dissertation discusses research on Canada’s collaboration with emerging economies, specifically Brazil and India, in the field of health biotechnology. In recent years Canada has shown interest in engaging with emerging economies including Brazil and India in S&T fields. However, little is known about the levels and characteristics of such collaboration. Without greater understanding of this phenomenon it is difficult to inform public policy on how to best encourage collaboration. In this dissertation, the levels of Canada-emerging economies research and entrepreneurial collaboration are gauged. The motivations driving Canada-emerging economies research as well as entrepreneurial collaboration, its challenges and outcomes are examined. The roles of wider institutional actors – funding agencies, intellectual property experts, regulators, etc – in both Canada and the two emerging economies that support international collaboration are analyzed. The research reveals that north-south collaboration in health biotechnology has the potential to lead to a wide range of scientific and commercial benefits for both partners. They include access to expertise, technologies, biodiversity, as well as increasing potential to publish in high impact journals. The benefits are mutual. Northern academics and entrepreneurs are not necessarily in a dominant position in the partnerships, thus contradicting stereotypical notions of partners in north-south relationships. The systems of innovation conceptual framework is useful to uncover how institutions in both the north and the south shape S&T collaboration, and also to develop multi-pronged policy approaches to promote such partnerships and mitigate risks. The framework enables moving away from a donor-recipient, linear model of S&T interactions between the north and the south, and towards conceptualizing north-south collaboration as complex interplay of two innovation systems.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / It is often assumed that postgraduate students and neophyte academics have the capacity to conduct research independently. Thus, upon qualification, it is expected of postgraduate students and academics to conduct research independently, publish their findings, meet publication targets and to supervise student research towards completion. However, the transition from postgraduate student or clinician to academia is considered very challenging as they are often not prepared for the multiple changes they will embark on upon entry into the Higher Education sector. As a result, various programmes and frameworks have been introduced to assist new academics in enhancing their research capacity. Such strategies included but were not limited to, writing retreats, peer monitoring, and dedicated time. However, these interventions reported on in literature are from primary sources and fail to comment on either the methodological rigour or the quality of the studies investigating these interventions. Thus there exists a gap in the literature for filtered information that has been systematically evaluated for methodological rigour and coherence. The present study aimed to establish an empirical base (filtered evidence) of literature reporting on strategies or interventions aimed at addressing research productivity in new academics. The study incorporated a systematic review methodology to identify appropriate literature for inclusion, evaluate literature for methodological quality and provide a meta-synthesis of the findings of included studies. The review considered studies, reporting on strategies or interventions with new academics during the period of 2000-2013. The review was conducted along three levels. Firstly, identification of potential titles, whereby keywords were combined and a comprehensive search of databases available at the University of the Western Cape library was initiated. Published research was also retrieved through mining the reference list of all included reports and articles. Secondly, a pair of reviewers worked together by screening the abstracts which were retrieved based on the titles identified, and thirdly, the abstracts that were successfully screened moved forward to full text reading. These studies were evaluated for methodological quality using the critical appraisal tool. Eligibility for inclusion was determined by a threshold score of 61%. As a result, the title search yielded a search result of 755, from these only 63 titles were selected for possible inclusion. The abstract screening resulted in the exclusion of 35 articles and 28 were included. After the critical appraisal, 15 articles were excluded. The findings of the present study revealed that there is good quality research on research capacity building for neophyte academics, as assessed on methodological rigour and coherence. Seven articles attained the threshold score (61% and above) for inclusion in the final summation and meta-synthesis. Evidence suggested that there are various interventions which have been implemented successfully to enhance research capacity building. The meta-synthesis revealed four core approaches to developing research capacity, namely mentoring approaches, theoretical formulations, research/evidence-based investigation as well as a multidimensional and integrated approaches. These approaches were aimed at bridging that gap between research and teaching and developing competent researchers. The core feature that emerged from these approaches was that successful or effective strategies have to include numerous components such as individual characteristics (motivation), effective leaders and institutional characteristics (rewards, incentives and resources). It was found that these components were integrated and often reciprocally influencing. Ethics clearance was obtained from the relevant committees at UWC. Furthermore, plagiarism and collaboration was taken into account as this study forms part of a larger project.

The need for an advanced research information literacy (ARIL) framework was motivated by challenges faced by several stakeholders at academic institutions to support postgraduate researchers in an academic context (e.g. supervisors, academic departments, academic libraries). This applies to the full postgraduate research trajectory stretching from master’s level to well-established researchers. Research must meet with institutional requirements, international standards and the expectations of industry and praxis. Information literacy skills are essential for successful conduct and reporting of research, as well as the dissemination of research results. What constitutes basic information literacy skills is well captured (although frequently revised) in standards of information literacy applied to various contexts, including the academic and workplace context. However, what constitutes ARIL remains a subject of research. This study therefore explored the concept from the subject literature before suggesting an ARIL framework that guided a case study with researchers on several levels of postgraduate research at a South African academic institution. Based on empirical findings, the conceptually inspired (based on a definition) ARIL framework was then reconsidered to recommend an ARIL framework for practical implementation that can also guide further research. Engineering researchers were selected for the empirical component as a group of researchers who need to meet the requirements of academic scholarship as well as industry. The study was guided by the following research question: How can an advanced research information literacy (ARIL) framework inform the development of programmes supporting the scholarly research process of engineers in a South African higher education environment? Six sub-research questions addressed various components of the research question: 1. What are the characteristics of introductory and advanced research information literacy programmes as reported in subject literature? 2. What are the documented information needs, information behaviour and information-related experiences of engineering researchers in academic institutions, as well as from industry? 3. What are the current self-reported ARIL skills of South African postgraduate engineering researchers? 4. How do information literacy skills, knowledge, and practices of engineers differ between master’s, doctoral, post-doctoral, established and expert researcher levels? 5. How can an ARIL framework assist to determine which skills need to be developed at various levels of the engineering research process? 6. Which guidelines and interventions are required to support the implementation of a comprehensive research information literacy framework for engineers? A mixed methods approach to a single case study was applied. Seven engineering departments from a South African institution with a leading faculty in engineering participated in the study. Data collection occurred between September and December 2015. A semi-structured, self-administered web-based questionnaire collected mostly quantitative data from 68 participants. Individual and focus group interviews collected mostly qualitative data. Twelve individual interviews were conducted, as well as three focus group interviews with 19 participants. A short, structured questionnaire collected demographic data from the interview and focus group participants. All participants gave written/electronically recorded informed consent for participation, as well as for the recording of interviews. Invitations were distributed to all master’s and doctoral students as well as staff in the department, through the department’s offices. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the quantitative data and thematic analysis to the qualitative data. Data collection was guided by typical phases in the full research lifecycle, including conceptualising a research topic, obtaining research funding, discovery of information, management and organisation of information, data collection/generation and analysis, data curation, creation of information formats, management of intellectual property rights, dissemination of findings and measurement of impact in a field of study. The thesis reports on findings for each. Three key themes are conspicuous: • Commitment to a culture of quality in postgraduate engineering research • Progression from dependent to independent and expert researchers • Preparation and positioning for impact in a specific field of study. The findings and recommendations from this study describe practices that could inform both theoretical and practical issues relevant to ARIL support for engineering researchers on all levels from master’s study to expert research. Keywords: Advanced research information literacy; Case study; Engineers; Engineering research; Information literacy skills; Postgraduate research; Research capacity building. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Information Science / DPhil / Unrestricted

The purpose of the study was to explore researcher experiences of community engagement as part of a long-term higher education community engagement (HECE) partnership with rural schools. The theoretical framework that guided the study was grounded in the construct global citizenship. The instrumental case design followed the qualitative approach from a constructivist epistemology. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection with purposively sampled researchers (n=16), comprising male (n=3) and female (n=13) researchers, including local (n=14) and international (n=2) researchers, who completed their research in the conveniently sampled HECE project. Following thematic analysis, two main themes emerged, namely: researcher perspectives on capacity development in higher education community engagement, and researcher perspectives on higher education community engagement as a core function of higher education institutions. Findings indicated, from researchers’ perspectives, that HECE benefits from collaborative partnerships, and that researchers have opportunities for personal and professional development. Researchers felt that such capacity development was necessary to ensure project sustainability. According to researchers, HECE project challenges or barriers need to be addressed to ensure project sustainability. Higher education requires a community engagement policy that guides the establishment of platforms for knowledge generation, human capacity development and collaborative partnerships in order that the core functions of higher education institutions could be performed. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Over one billion of the world’s population are smokers, with increasing tobacco use in low-and middle-income countries. However, information about the methodology of studies on tobacco control is limited. We conducted a literature search to examine and evaluate the methodological designs of published tobacco research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the past 50 years. The first phase was completed in 2015 using PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. An additional search was completed in February 2017 using PubMed. Only tobacco/smoking research in SSA countries with human subjects and published in English was selected. Out of 1796 articles, 447 met the inclusion criteria and were from 26 countries, 11 of which had one study each. Over half of the publications were from South Africa and Nigeria. The earliest publication was in 1968 and the highest number of publications was in 2014 (n = 46). The majority of publications used quantitative methods (91.28%) and were cross-sectional (80.98%). The commonest data collection methods were self-administered questionnaires (38.53%), interviews (32.57%), and observation (20.41%). Around half of the studies were among adults and in urban settings. We conclud that SSA remains a “research desert” and needs more investment in tobacco control research and training.

Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) are reporting low levels of research application in everyday practice, causing a low frequency of evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation (Krueger et al., 2020; Myers, 2019a). A review of the literature demonstrates that individual level factors, such as lack of knowledge, skill, time, and resources for research use, coupled with organizational factors, such as low priority, support, and expectation for EBP, act as barriers to EBP (Wang et al., 2019). This doctoral project aims to build the capacity for research use at both the practitioner and the organization levels through an evidence-based multifaceted intervention program. It will impact the knowledge and skill for understanding and applying research evidence in practice and the frequency of research use in daily practice among school-based occupational therapy practitioners (Sb-OTPs), as well as the organization’s resources, priorities, and environment to support EBP. A mixed-methods design will be used, with a convenience sample of nineteen Sb-OTPs employed at a therapy agency that provides services through contract positions to local school districts. The program consists of four main components of education, provision of resources, working in groups, and organizational supports. The Knowledge-To-Action (KTA) framework (Graham et al., 2009) provides a context-focused iterative process to the program design, from problem identification to sustainability. Continual involvement of all stakeholders, assessment of barriers to tailor the intervention, and adaptation of the knowledge for use in the practice context are KTA-based core program features. The education component is informed by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986), brain-based learning strategies (Willis, 2006; Yee & Boyd, 2018), and literature supporting blended learning and digital health education formats (Brown et al., 2020; Hew & Lo, 2018; Liu et al., 2016). The program description, implementation, research evaluation plan, and program funding and dissemination are described in detail.

Academic leadership in higher education in the 21st century is very different and more multifaceted than it was just a decade ago. Thus, given the multilayered, dynamic nature of higher education leadership at individual, group and organisational levels, a more nuanced understanding of its role in driving excellent research performance remains paramount. Hence, this study explores the professional and personal nature of research leadership that enables and stimulates high quality research performance. The research explores the research career pathways of ten researchers from various disciplinary fields who had been rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and who were recommended by their education institutions as research leaders. The ten leaders were each interviewed about their research careers. Postgraduate students (47 in total) whom they had supervised were invited to answer an email questionnaire about their personal experiences of the leaders’ mentorship and leadership. In addition, information about the leaders and mentees was obtained from various documents such as curriculums vitae, research training records, institutional annual reports and web sites. The data collected and analysed in the study showed that the research career pathways of the research leaders were highly diverse and were affected in various ways by the historicalpolitical and social context of South Africa. However, across the career pathways, the research leaders had the following features in common: 1) the presence of strong research-centeredness throughout all career phases; 2) they lead by example of personal scholarship and intellectual leadership; 3) their research is locally relevant and globally competitive; and 4) their personal dynamics influence a confident and dynamic people-centred leadership approach. The most notable differences in research leadership across the sample could be traced to disciplinary contexts which ranged from distributed leadership across large teams and entrepreneurial networks to the more prevalent one-on-one mentor-mentee relationships. Leaders who were most influential in driving research performance were highly regarded scholars with extensive academic experience, had served a variety of leadership roles, confidently embraced the complexity of academic leadership and created stimulating research environments. The research also reveals a number of challenges that still remain for research leadership in addressing the human resource transformation requirements of the South African higher education research context. These include issues of 1) individualism and competition; 2) equity and excellence; 3) race and gender; and 4) research career exit and entry paths. The South African higher education system is characterised by pockets of scientific excellence in some disciplinary fields, as illustrated by the career trajectories of leaders in this study, but much work remains to be done in order to build a fully representative research-performing professoriate for South Africa. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Many Low and Middle Income Countries (LAMICs) still lack sufficient health research capacity to build a local evidence-base with which to inform policy and improve population health. Recognising this, The 2013 World Health Report called for all nations to be producers of health research. To achieve this, new strategies that can develop sustainable locally-led capacity are required. Among the health research capacities needed, ability to conduct clinical trials is important. However, there is no evidence-informed guidance on the best ways to develop locally-led trial capacity. This thesis aims to fill this gap. Three cases-studies using qualitative methods to explore the barriers and enablers to locally-led trial conduct were conducted in Ethiopia, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. Current and potential local trial researchers and health research system stakeholders were recruited. A synthesis of the health research capacity development literature was conducted to compare the case-studies’ findings with wider published perspectives. These data permit an examination of the key issues facing the development of locally-led trial capacity in LAMICs. Barriers and enablers to locally-led trial conduct were found at macro, institutional and individual levels. Although different country research systems, and institutions and individuals within them, were variably successful at conducting trials, the key issues and mechanisms influencing successful trial undertaking were largely similar. Agreement among the case-studies and with the diverse literature suggests that many of the findings will be transferable to other LAMICs, and are also of relevance to other health research methods. A conceptual framework explaining the antecedents and consequences of locally-led trial undertaking in LAMICS is presented. This identifies the following factors as important for supporting locally-led trial undertaking: awareness and appreciation for health research and clinical trials; motivation to conduct clinical trials; availability of human resources with trial knowledge and technical skills; research leadership capabilities; ability to form collaborations, effective teams and acquire resources; trial management dedicated to sustainable capacity development and producing useful research; and system-wide prioritisation of health research. The theories of change presented within this framework are used to develop practical recommendations for development of locally-led trial capacity in LAMICs. These recommendations have four inter-related goals: fostering pro-research cultures in stakeholder institutions; developing trial leaders and staff; providing a facilitative operational environment for trials; and ensuring trial research has an impact. However, to create the will to enact change, advocacy from research champions and conducting trials in a way that benefits local institutions and population health is needed.