Relationship between satisfaction of work-related needs and forms of motivation for the pursuit of scholarly activity by chiropractic faculty

This study sought to determine whether chiropractic faculty were extrinsically, introjectedly, or intrinsically motivated to pursue scholarship; if satisfaction of a faculty member's work-related needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness correlated with intrinsic motivation to pursue scholarly activities; and to identify barriers to faculty participation in scholarship.

An anonymous online survey was administered to full-time faculty at 2 chiropractic institutions in the United States. Survey items assessed whether faculty perceived their work-related needs as met, which motivation type they displayed, and perceived barriers to performing scholarly work. Pearson correlation was used to measure the relationships between satisfaction of the work-related needs and intrinsic motivation. Content analysis was used to analyze faculty responses regarding perceived barriers.

On average, survey items indicating extrinsic motivation received 52.2% of positive responses, those indicating intrinsic motivation received 47.8% of positive responses, and those indicating introjected motivation received 26.7%. Intrinsic motivation was positively correlated with each of the work-related needs (autonomy: r = .34, p = .067; competence: r = .52, p = .004; relatedness: r = 0.34, p = .063). Four categories of barriers were reported: time constraints, lack of knowledge, lack of support, and lack of interest.

In this sample, chiropractic faculty most frequently identified with survey items indicating extrinsic motivation. Satisfaction of each of the 3 work-related needs was positively correlated with intrinsic motivation; however, competence showed a significant correlation indicating as competence is satisfied faculty are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to pursue scholarship. Perceived lack of time, knowledge, and support were reported barriers to the pursuit of scholarship.