Competency and Satisfaction on Resources of Private Higher Education Institution in Conducting Research : Basis for Plan of Action

| ABSTRACT This descriptive research aimed to determine the faculty competency and satisfaction on the available resources in the private higher education institutions in the Philippines in the conduct of research. Using a self-developed survey questionnaire, data were gathered from 35 college faculty that served as final respondents of the study. Results showed that the respondents’ average age was 44.63 years old, majority were females, married, college degree, earning a monthly salary of 10,001 – 15,000, had 1-10 years of teaching experience and attended 1-2 seminars/trainings related to research. The research competency of the respondents indicated that they were competent relative to the conduct of research in terms of technical aspects, producing major parts of research paper in introduction, review of related literature and studies, methodology, results and discussion, summary, conclusions and recommendations, and including the other parts. Satisfaction of the respondents on the availability of facilities and resources relative to the conduct of research were found to be slightly satisfied.

Further, professional programs have an obligation to improve the knowledge basis of professional work through research (research-based knowledge production). It is important in order to enhance evidence-based knowledge. It develops highly valued competencies. More research-based teaching can also make teaching more attractive for academics and can make teaching instrumental to the academics' own research.

Research Competencies of Faculty
Research Competencies include the competencies of research methods and techniques, designing and carrying out research in teachers' fields. They s upport collaboration with colleagues and other specialists or people who are interested in curriculum studies and education. Research competencies are influential for teachers in following the developments in their fields and developing themselves based on these developments. Besides, the research competencies of teachers are of great importance for students in gaining scientific thinking and scientific process skills. The research competencies help improve all of the teachers' competencies and support research-based teacher education, which is a new approach in teacher education (Niemi & Sihvonen, 2006). Hazelkorn (2004) describes that research is a basic element of Higher Education Institutions. The number of research activities that are produced reflected its quality and status. These institutions face many problems to develop the research culture, i.e. Low, level institutional set-up, no resources for research activities, the stress of teaching workload, and faculty don't have the required research skills.

Different Factors in Conducting Research
According to Memon (2007), the research develops curiosity and provides relevant solutions to concerned problems. One problem is that only a specific group of people are involved in research-related activities. Other problems are the lack of research funding and facilities that become a hindrance in the development of research culture. These problems are trying to be solved by the provision of research funds to public sector universities in Pakistan, but the results are not up to the mark. These problems refer to environmental, institutional and personal factors. Personal factors include research knowledge, research experience and encouragement for research activities (Meigounpoory & Ahmadi, 2012). Some faculty members do not conduct research activities due to a lack of research skills. Research skills enhancement programs are needed to arrange not only for senior faculty members but also for junior faculty members (Salazar-Clemena & Almonte-Acosta, 2007)

Methodology
A total of 35 full-time or permanent college faculty of the research locale were initially forwarded with a questionnaire. The research site is a private higher education institution (HEI) situated in Central Luzon. A descriptive research design was used in the study. In presenting the data, a quantitative method is employed. Self-developed questionnaires were distributed to the respondents after the approval of the proper authority was sought.
Data collected were tallied, analyzed and distributed through frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation.

Socio-Demographic Profile
Respondents' average age was 44.63 years old; the majority were females, married, had a college degree, earned a monthly salary of 10,001 -15,000, had 1-10 years of teaching experience and attended 1-2 seminars/training related to research.

Research Competency
Research Competency of the respondents includes technical aspects, producing major parts of a research paper in terms of introduction, review of related literature and studies, methodology, results and discussion, summary, conclusion and recommendation and other parts of a research paper. The result showed that the research competency of college faculty had an overall mean of 3.82 and was described as competent. This indicates that respondents were capable of conducting research. According to Niemi and Sihvonen (2006), teachers are competent in research methods and techniques, designing and carrying out research in their fields. Introduction. In producing the major parts of the research in terms of introduction, with a pooled mean of 3.98 described as competent. Results showed that the faculty had the skills in writing an introduction, creating research problems, formulating objectives of the study, hypothesis, writing the study's significance, and formulating the study's scope and limitation.

Review of Related Literature and Studies.
In terms of producing the review of related literature and studies, the pooled mean was 3.50, described as competent. The faculty were able to conceptualize, write and summarize the review of related literature and studies.
Methodology. In the methodology, the pooled mean was 3.42, described as competent. It was the least among the parameters on research competency of the respondents (Table 1). However, the result indicates that faculty had the capability in finding appropriate theoretical framework, writing conceptual framework, formulating conceptual paradigm, conceptualizing appropriate research design, developing research instruments and applying appropriate statistical instruments. Results and Discussion. In generating the results and discussion of a research paper, the pooled mean was 3.96, described as competent. The respondents can present the data gathered, interpret and analyze the results, and correlate studies to affirm or negate results.

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation.
The pooled mean was 4.11 and described as competent. The highest mean was gained in the research competency of the respondents (Table 1). In producing the summary, conclusion and recommendation of a research paper, respondents had the ability to summarize the results, express additional value or importance to the existing facts, and formulate a recommendation to address the research problem and gaps found in the study.

Other Parts of a Research Paper.
In producing the other parts of a research paper, it has a pooled mean of 3.86 and is described as competent. Other parts of the paper dealt with clearly stating the research focus, summarizing the research methods used, outlining the results and discussion of the study, summarizing conclusions and recommendations of the study, using the abstract format, presentation/format of the references, and accessing available and updated materials. The respondents were able to generate other parts which are necessary relative to the conduct of a research paper.

Satisfaction on the available resources relative to the conduct of research
Results revealed that the satisfaction on the available facilities and resources relative to the conduct of research had a pooled mean of 2.54, described as slightly satisfied. This implies that the respondents had very limited resources for them to use in conducting their research. Data were presented in Table 2. The statement "Computer units for research purposes" got the highest mean of 4.04, described as moderately satisfied, followed by "Training area for in-house/small seminars" with a mean of 2.75, described as satisfied. And the statement "Budget for research publication" got the lowest mean of 1.89, described as slightly satisfied.
Limited financial resources for conducting research, publication, and publication remuneration prevent some faculty members from publishing. Even the few faculty members who may have the know-how and have the zeal to publish may lose their passion when they find that there is little to no financial support. After all, it is also for the credibility of the institution that their faculty members publish scholarly articles. It helps build the prestige and quality of their institution. Administrators, therefore, need to provide financial support for this endeavour (Salazar-Clemeña & Almonte-Acosta, 2007). According to Wichian et al. (2009), While administrators may often encourage faculty members to conduct research and/or publish scholarly articles, they often fail to sustain that encouragement or requirement. Without proper financial support and training, faculty members may not be motivated to undertake the work of publishing scholarly articles. It might also be that they forget about supporting this important task because they too are busy with other important work-related issues.

Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusion was drawn: Results showed that the Respondents' average age was 44.63 years old, the majority were females, married, college degree, earning a monthly salary of 10,001 -15,000, had 1-10 years of teaching experience and attended 1-2 seminars/training related to research. College faculty were competent relative to the conduct of their research in terms of technical aspects, producing major parts of research paper in the introduction, review of related literature and studies, methodology, results and discussion, summary, conclusions and recommendations, and including the other parts. The satisfaction level of the respondents on the availability of resources relative to the conduct of research was found to be slightly satisfied.
On the basis of the foregoing, the following recommendations were derived: Attendance of faculty seminars, training, and conferences both local & international to be more competent in teaching and conduct of research and to be able to present research for publication. Provide a research office/center equipped with complete research facilities to make the research materials accessible to the faculty and even students. Thus, the research coordinator will serve as a facilitator of the school development plan for instruction, research, and community extension and production. Follow the general policies set by CHED NHERA 2 that should guide higher education research, present strategies and initiatives to develop research capacity and enhance research productivity in a higher education institution. Further study should also be conducted for more factors to consider and a wider scope or population.