Barriers to conducting and publishing research among nursing faculty members at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim

To identify barriers to conducting and publishing research among nursing faculty members at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia.

Design

A qualitative descriptive design was used.

Methods

This qualitative descriptive study was conducted on 12 nursing faculty members from two nursing colleges at Shaqra University, a public university located in Riyadh region, SA, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. Data were collected between September and October 2021 using semi‐structured interviews and analysed thematically using content analysis.

Results

Three themes emerged in the study, namely (I) individual/personal barrier, (II) institutional barrier and (III) external factors. Barriers to conducting and publishing research included lack of time due to a high teaching load and lack of administrative and financial support. The present findings suggest that nursing faculty members in SA are facing many barriers hindering them from carrying out and publishing research activities. Such barriers need to be urgently addressed through different strategies, including allocating facilities and funds for research, motivating faculty members towards research, and ongoing education and training on research.

1. INTRODUCTION

Scientific research is a process of systematic inquiry designed to generate knowledge and understanding of phenomena (DePoy & Gitlin, 2015). It involves collecting data, documenting critical information and the analysis, and interpretation of the collected data or information using methodologies and methods dictated by the scientific field of study (Bahadori et al., 2015). At present, education institutions, including universities across the globe, are ranked in accordance with their scientific research, innovation and knowledge outputs (Merigó et al., 2019). Research activity and publication, particularly in higher education institutions, is an important indicator that reflects the extent of contribution to the body of scientific knowledge and innovation and improvement. These are identified as key determinants of universities' performance (Merigó et al., 2019).

In the context of its contribution to healthcare and the health of a nation and its communities, scientific nursing research is essential for the development of the discipline of nursing science and it is a body of knowledge and evidence‐based practices which support education and clinical decision‐making (Ramón et al., 2022). As with all academics in healthcare, nurses in academic settings have a mandate to contribute meaningfully to the development of the discipline through teaching, researching and contributions to the community. Academic nurses, as discipline leaders, have the necessary research skills and the opportunity to lead research and contribute to the body of nursing knowledge. Clinical nurses on the other hand who are mandated to provide patient care and are often busy with have limited time in a working day to lead research; however, their contributions are also important (Stimpfel et al., 2012).

Of concern is that nurses, clinical and academic, often face several barriers to doing research and publishing outcomes (Hagan et al., 2019; Shanmugam et al., 2019; White, 2013). In an Australian study, nurses' experiences of participating in academic‐led research, identified lack of organisational support and funding, and required resources for doing research as key barriers (Higgins et al., 2010). Another study from Spain reported different barriers to nursing research, including poor organisational support and lack of time and training (Ul Haq et al., 2020). Other barriers have been reported in the literature, including lack of time for research, lack of research knowledge, lack of motivation, lack of confidence, and lack of financial and administrative support (Aljezawi et al., 2019; Lewis et al., 2014; Sanjari et al., 2015).

In Saudi Arabia (SA), a study identified the barriers and problems preventing researchers from conducting or publishing research in Saudi public universities. These included low encouragement and motivation to research and publish, limited funds for research, and weakness or absence of a research publishing infrastructure (Alzahrani, 2011). In addition, a survey of nursing faculty members that investigated attitudes, barriers and intention to conduct research in a Saudi public university found lack of time and confidence in doing research, an unwillingness or lack of interest in participation, and a high teaching workload to be the main concerns (Darawad et al., 2018). The following barriers were reported by several other studies as major contributors to low research production in medical colleges, including nursing, at Saudi public universities: insufficient research facilities and dedicated funding, lack of research assistants and support, poor research culture, overloaded teaching schedule, and heavy administrative duties (Alghanim & Alhamali, 2011; Althiga, 2021).

SA is the largest Arab state in Western Asia and one of the largest in the Arab world. This country is aiming to be among the regional and global leaders in the field of scientific research and innovation by the year 2030 to achieve its social and economic aspirations (Khan & Khan, 2020). Research and development have been prioritised as the Saudi Vision for 2030 (Ul Haq et al., 2020), and the Saudi National Development Plans emphasise health, including nursing (Althiga, 2021). The Saudi Ministry of Education is aiming to enhance opportunities and capabilities and skills with respect to performing research and publication. Despite the SA vision and plans for development, recent evidence analysing the published research on health sciences in SA in the past decade shows that nursing research outcome is low at 1.6% and achieving an optimal level of research, particularly in nursing, remains problematic (Ul Haq et al., 2020). The significance of research has been recognised in SA through the establishment of numerous universities, specialised research institutes and programmes, and the considerable allocated budgets for higher education and research during the last three decades (Alrahlah, 2016; Zaher et al., 2018).

To date, no studies have identified barriers to research and publication among nursing faculty members in Middle Eastern countries, including SA. The present study contributes to the growing body of literature and attempts to fill a significant gap in the current knowledge on the barriers to research in Arabic countries. Of concern in this study is the need to understand the barriers and challenges that hinder the uptake of nursing research and publication of research particularly in nursing academic fields. It is hoped that the findings will help decision‐makers and academicians to achieve SA's vision and goals for building research capacity and research outputs; to promote efficiency and research performance and/or productivity in SA. Consistent with SA Vision, Shaqra University, the setting for the study reported here seeks to be leaders in SA and internationally for its scientific research and publication outputs commensurate with universities around the world.

2. THE STUDY

2.1. Aim

The present study aimed to identify barriers to conducting and publishing research among nursing faculty members in Shaqra University, SA.

2.2. Design

A qualitative descriptive approach was adapted in this study to elicit detailed insights into the barriers that prevent conducting and publishing research among nursing faculty members working at Shaqra University, SA.

2.3. Setting and participants

This study was conducted between September and October 2021 at two nursing colleges of Shaqra University, a public university located in Riyadh region, SA, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. One of the aspirations of Shaqra University is the movement of scientific research and publication, similar to other universities around the world. This study targeted all nursing faculty members employed at Shaqra University, SA. The inclusion criterion was a nursing faculty member who is willing to participate in this study, regardless of nationality, gender, age, experience and/or educational level. Faculty members belonging to specialties other than nursing were excluded from this study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit potential participants who met the inclusion criterion and were willing to participate in this study.

2.4. Data collection/procedures

Potential participants were invited to participate in this study through two approaches: (1) social media platform and (2) flyers that were distributed and displayed in each of the two colleges of nursing. The contact information of the researcher was included in these recruitment approaches. Information about the study and its aim, requirement for participation, and consent were also included. Those who accepted the invitation and contacted the researcher to participate were sent a detailed information statement and an interview consent form which was returned via e‐mail. Once all consent forms were received and checked, arrangements were made with the participants for the phone interviews at a mutually agreed date and time.

Data were collected among 12 participants by using semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews conducted in English. The interviews lasted between 30 and 40 min. All interviews were digitally audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Detailed handwritten notes were collected during each interview to help with the analysis of the transcribed data. Demographic information, including nationality, professional experience and educational level, were also collected at this time (Table 1). An interview guide, which is based on a series of questions listed in Table 2, was followed during the interviews. The questions were revised simultaneously with the process of interviewing to allow further exploration of what was explored in previous interviews.

TABLE 1.

Participant's socio‐demographic data.

Participant (code)	Gender	Age	Nationality	Qualification	AEY (SA)	AEY (out SA)
A	Male	38	Filipino	Master	8	2
B	Male	35	Filipino	PhD	2	12
C	Female	53	Egyptian	PhD	20	8
D	Male	32	Saudi	Master	7	0
E	Male	42	Filipino	PhD	10	5
F	Female	39	Filipino	PhD	8	8
G	Female	45	Filipino	Master	9	7
H	Male	40	Sudanese	Master	10	8
I	Male	50	Jordanian	Master	14	10
J	Male	40	Saudi	Master	6	0

Abbreviations: AEY (In SA), Academic experience years in Saudi Arabia; AEY (Out SA), Academic experience years out of Saudi Arabia.

TABLE 2.

Interview guide.

Question	Response
What does scientific research mean to you?
What does scientific publishing mean to you?
Can you tell me about the things/obstacles/barriers that hinder you to carry out research and/or to do publication?
Can you tell me about the things/obstacles/barriers that you believe affect/impact on your ability to conduct research and/or to publish a scientific work?
For my understanding, can you please tell me more about this?
Do you think there are factors that influence your ability towards research and publication?
Please expand your explanation and clarify this to enhance my understanding?
Can you tell me about a time when you believe your own ability affected or when you found it difficult to carry out research and/or to do publication?

2.5. Ethical consideration

This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board Shaqra University. Confidentiality and privacy were guaranteed to participants, who were free to withdraw from the study at any time without fear or any negative consequences as informed. Detailed information about the study, including the study aim, the study plan, process and methods, the benefits of the study, the potential risks for participation, the participants' rights, and the voluntary nature of participation, were provided to all eligible academic nursing staff, thus ensuring informed consent.

2.6. Data analysis

The audiotaped interviews were first transcribed verbatim by the author of this study. Then, the author checked, read and re‐read all transcripts one‐by‐one and line‐by‐line to obtain an understanding of and for familiarity with the text (Polit & Beck, 2012). The transcripts were then reviewed and checked by a research assistant against each audiotaped interview for accuracy and precision. Significant statements were highlighted, coded and categorised using the method of content analysis (Vaismoradi et al., 2016). Next, similar initial codes/comments/ideas were clustered together and labelled using headings that reflect the commonalities and content. Afterwards, the headings that were similar to one another were grouped under comprehensive headings. The researcher then created broader categories and identified main themes that incorporate the previously generated headings until the research topic was described (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008).

2.7. Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness was managed in this study following Lincoln and Guba's (1985) framework of creditability, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Several strategies were used as follows: (1) all interviews were conducted face‐to‐face by the author of the study and then audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim by the same author and then checked by a research assistant in preparation for analysis; (2) a question guide and handwritten notes were utilised to serve as prompts for the interviewer throughout the interviews and during data collection; and (3) exemplars from the data and detailed objective descriptions of the analytic process, explanations of the results and the return to each participant to verify the transcripts support confirmability and transferability of the study findings to other settings. In addition, the detailed research process and analysis of data, and the depth and breadth of descriptions also support confirmability and transferability of the study.

3. FINDINGS

During the data analysis, three main themes emerged in relation to barriers to conducting and publishing research as follows:

3.1. Individual/personal barrier

Individual barriers are personal factors identified by the participants that affect their ability to engage in or publish research in a scientific journal. The participants identified that their knowledge and experience are the primary reasons that affected their ability in relation to research and publication. Many participants mentioned that they were not well equipped to conduct research, which affects the study's scientific merit; thus, the quality of the paper is not accepted or considered to be published in a scientific journal. As mentioned by a participant,

“I think myself, I'm not really familiar with research and publication process; my experience and knowledge about research are not much or limited, forming a barrier for me. As I told you, I have two publications so far. I did some parts of the research with my colleagues, but I do not have much knowledge about research or I'm not confident to do it alone. So, I need maybe education and training here in the college or in the University; I think education and training is important to all faculty members, not only for me.” (Participant D)

The participant also posited that their poor knowledge of research publication is due to a lack of experience in research publication. This factor could be related to the lack of training conducted to enhance their knowledge and skills in publication. As mentioned by another participant,

“I remember that when I was studying for my master's degree and Ph.D., I had less education and training on research. This may be of the current barriers that affected me now to do research and/or do publication as I have only limited experience. In other words, there was no sufficient education and training on research in my postgraduate studies despite that University was one of the tops in my country.” (Participant A)

Another identified barrier is the participant's lack of knowledge in academic writing, which is critical for capturing and scientifically presenting research findings in publications. One reason for a paper's rejection is the participant's lack of academic writing skills and experience. This rejection could cause them to lose interest in conducting research and publishing in ISI or Scopus indexed journals. As stated by one of the participants,

“I think I'm not a good writer in English; in other words, my writing in English in a good way is a barrier for me now to research because most of the journals today only accept papers that with quality in English. So, I considered myself in terms of writing in English as in average level.” (Participant B)

Furthermore, the participants could not publish their research studies because they lacked information and access to a digital library. The digital library is one of the accessible and easiest means to access scientific journals, especially during this computer age, but the participants mentioned that they are not aware of where and how to access this digital library. This inaccessibility has an influence on the merit, and sometimes, the generalisability of the findings becomes a limitation of a study due to lack of access to scientific journals to support the study's findings. As expressed by one of the participants,

“For me, I can figure out how to access the Saudi Digital Library, but it is hard and wasting time because we need first to access from our university account, then you will be transferred to the web page of Saudi Digital Library, and then approval will be sent again to out University account. I think searching the digital library website is complicated, and sometimes, the portal is very slow; thus, time is wasted. So, I consider my experience a bit tricky, and it's not easy to access and search databases.” (Participant D)

“I think research needs adequate time, willingness/motivation, mental and physical concentration, and readiness. Unfortunately, for the past years, I observed within myself that those requirements I had identified personally are minimally present. Also, having limited access to databases that offer recent major references or publications hinders me from doing so.” (Participant G)

This poor knowledge in conducting research affects the participant's willingness to conduct a study and proceed with publishing its results. Furthermore, the participant does not view conducting research as very significant to professional development because it has no value for their promotion and tenure. Especially for expatriate faculty members, publishing research is to improve their credentials, but it has no bearing on salary increment or promotion to a higher level of their faculty rank. Furthermore, not all faculty members are required to conduct research, particularly if their faculty rank is lecturer. Only those assistant professors are needed to produce papers yearly, but it is still not a mandatory requirement. Thus, the participant mentioned that they do not have internal motivation to conduct and publish research. As mentioned by another participant,

“Another barrier is that research will not contribute in my promotion because I'm a teaching assistant, I'm not a Ph.D. holder. People with bachelor or master degrees are not required to do research as per the law of the university or according to job description, unlike faculty members with Ph.D. who need to do so to gain points from research and publications for their promotions.” (Participant D)

In addition, time was identified as a barrier to research and publication. The participant mentioned that conducting research is a continuous process requiring dedication and time to finish the study. Given that most faculty members are married, their time is divided between their family and work. As a wife and a mother, they value their responsibility in serving their family and husband more than spending much time conducting research. They would rather prepare to spend quality time with their family than conduct research. As stated by one participant,

“The main issue that surrounds the barriers or obstacles I have identified is rooted in the concept of prioritization. As a working mother, I believe that after fulfilling my duties and responsibilities at the University during work hours, I have to look after my role as a mother, wife, and woman. This is where the time element enters. As we all know, research requires more time to develop a quality output that interferes mainly with performing my other major roles in life. Doing research does not happen overnight and in one setting only. Thinking about what to write and how to do it require so many things, and it will not just come at any time of the day. At the end of the day, though you still have spare time to write, sometimes it is your body already which dictates you to take rest mentally and physically.” (Participant G)

The last individual/personal barrier identified by the participant is their preferred field of expertise. Many participants mentioned that they want to improve their knowledge and skill in clinical practice rather than in research. They prioritised improving and enhancing their knowledge and skills to ensure quality education for students, especially given that most students will venture into clinical practice. As mentioned by a participant,

“People have differences in identifying their priorities/plans professionally and personally. For instance, I do not see myself working in the academe for the next few years, but rather I want to rediscover, update, and improve my clinical nursing skills, so this does not motivate me to do research and publication. I want to refocus myself and my profession on the main role as a nurse clinician.” (Participant G)

3.2. Institutional barrier

The institutional barriers identified by the participants are related to the existing institutional guidelines and policy, practices, duties and responsibilities, and benefits of the faculty. Faculty members spend more time teaching, evaluating and monitoring their students. A full‐time faculty is obligated to perform 40 h of work at the University for 5 days a week. These 40 h are spent in teaching, doing research, academic counselling, administrative assignments and other academic activities assigned as required by the University. The number of hours spent by the faculty for their teaching load depends on their rank. Lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and professors must spend 16, 14, 12 and 10 credit hours per week, respectively. Considering the hours spent by the faculty, those with a lecturer rank spend more time teaching, which reduces the time they could devote to research activities. As a result, research is not conducted due to time constraints.

“Many barriers encountered me and hindered me from engaging in research and its activities and/or doing publication. For example, I'm a lecturer, and I have about 20 h per week to teach some of the hours theory and some practical, and as you know, 1 practical credit hour is equivalent to 2 h of lecture. I think this is one of the barriers that faced me in this regard as we have a high teaching load.” (Participant J)

The faculty member also encounters a problem with the extra functions they perform in the University. Some participants mentioned that they spend more time on their responsibility as heads or members of department committees, such as community‐based, quality improvement and laboratory committees. A member of such committee needs more time to do paper works and prepare and conduct activities, such as seminars and workshops, to ensure the faculty's growth and development.

“The other barrier is that I'm responsible for quality work in the college, which requires a lot of work and time. Quality works are heavy and need time and effort. In addition, I'm a member of many committees here in the college, which means that I need to attend meetings regularly and finish many related tasks, so I think no time for either research or publication. Furthermore, I'm responsible for about 20 students as an academic advisor, so I need to meet them at least every two weeks to check their academic progress and help them with their studying. Sorry, I'm busy most of the time, and I have shortage of time for researching and publishing works. I tried two papers in the past, and both took very long time to finish as I was busy.” (Participant H)

The Administration's lack of support also impedes the nursing faculty's ability to publish scientific research works. Most participants stated that they do not receive financial assistance from the Administration. Most of the time, they spend their own money on English editing and other miscellaneous expenses for their research work. Faculty salaries are sometimes insufficient to cover their monthly expenses, particularly for expatriates working in SA. These expatriates need to save money for their family and send money back home, and they do not have any extra money to fund their research. This issue has repercussions on the faculty's desire to conduct and publish research.

“I am also not motivated to research since the Administration here does not give any incentives in conducting research. There is a reduction in our benefits, unlike other universities that recognize the research output of their educators.” (Participant F)

“The University does not support us financially, and we are here to earn money to support our family back home.” (Participant E)

Furthermore, there is a disparity in the grant of research funding. Most research studies approved for funding are conducted by the country's citizens. Expatriates' research studies submitted for funding are seldom approved, especially if they are the primary author.

“I understand the importance of research for either me or for nations, but unfortunately, no support or motivation from the Administration at the University, and I do not know why. Support and motivation are important for faculty in terms of research, at least like funding for research, but University does not provide any funds for those who have bachelor's or master's degrees according to the fund conditions here, only allowed for those who have Ph.D. and with Saudi national who should receive the fund for research, which is also difficult to be received and not any research topic will be approved and given fund like that.” (Participant D)

The lack of faculty publication is also related to the University's lack of ongoing education, training, seminars and workshops. When seminars are held, the faculty is not guided through the step‐by‐step process of conducting research from conception to publication. This issue stems from the head's and supervisors' lack of knowledge about the publication process.

“At the organizational level, the lack of continuous education and training, and the heads/the leader often depends on the staff to do the research where they should be the one initiating the research.” (Participant I)

The University's lack of ongoing education and training was also emphasised by several participants in this study as a barrier to conducting and publishing research. For example, one participant said:

“As employees working here in the University, we need ongoing education and training on research, research methods, and methodology like that. We need to know how to publish in well‐known or ISI journals. We need also to attend conferences or seminars or any educational activities related to research generally to enhance our knowledge and understanding.” (Participant D)

Another barrier is the lack of a digital library and the limited access to updated resources in the University library. The databases found are usually outdated; thus, the participant sees the importance of University subscribing to a digital library.

“We do not have a library here on this campus, which is also one of the barriers to research. For example, if I want to read or look for any information, I would not be able to find that easily, so we need a library like other universities. We have the Saudi Digital Library, but it is not easy to be accessed and is not qualified to be used. When I was doing my masters in Australia, I was fascinated with the databases they give access to their students, so I think they should improve the library here and the databases access; maybe the University should make its digital library or maybe get access from other databases internationally to help employees here.” (Participant D)

Finally, participants are uninterested in conducting published research because they do not see the benefits in terms of advancement and tenure, particularly for expatriates. Those expatriates who conduct and publish research are also not compensated for their efforts. These factors influenced the faculty's ability to conduct and publish research.

“Another barrier is that I am not interested in doing research since the Administration do not give any incentives for expatriate researchers. In fact, there is a reduction in our benefits unlike other universities that recognize the research output of any of their educators.” (Participant F)

3.3. External factors

External factors are obstacles that limit a participant's ability to conduct and publish research. The participants stated that they could not complete research due to uncooperative facilities. Even though the study was approved by the University and the Ministry of Health's (MOH) Ethical Review Committee, some health facilities/hospitals refuse to allow the researcher to conduct research with their staff.

“Some hospitals here make it harder for us to collect data because we are refereed, and they said, ‘our staff is busy or our patients are not ready or not willing to participate, so we cannot facilitate any data collection at this time, and maybe you have to find another hospital.’ This is their usual response for us as researchers, I mean those in administrative positions, so they usually make it very complicated for us, and there is no collaboration or support from them. I think they have the authority and right to reject data collection of research even if you have approval from the MOH, which is a big barrier for us. From my experience, even if they permit you or support you, you get your distributed surveys back after a long time, 2 months or more, or most of the returned surveys are incomplete or blank surveys like that. Also, if you give them, for example, 100 surveys to be distributed, you will get 30 or 40 surveys only, which are not sometimes enough for your research; this is from my own experience with the hospitals here in the region. My colleagues are also facing this difficulty, according to them.” (Participant D)

The rigid Ethics Committee of the facility requirement and time of study approval is another barrier to conducting research. As the participants do not meet the requirement of the facility's Ethics Committee, they have a limited number of participants. Such limitation could affect the study's rigour, leading to a slim chance of publication. Waiting for approval from the Ethics Committee is another problem that hinders a timely and relevant research to be conducted immediately. Thus, the findings on that research topic become saturated, and journals that accept the paper for publication are limited.

“The other barrier is ethical committees. For example, if you want to take ethical approval for your study to proceed with it, the process will take a long time, approximately 4–6 months, to get the approval, and of course, this is a big barrier beside the limited time that we have here as we are most of the time busy with teaching and other commitments that prevent us from conducting and publishing research.” (Participant C)

Another problem is with data gathering; one of the barriers identified by the participants is culture. Saudi culture forbids males from conversing directly with females and vice versa, except in cases of necessity. Due to homogeneous participants, gender difference has an influence on the rigour of the study findings, particularly in qualitative research. This issue has an effect on the paper's publication.

“Well, about the culture, since I'm expatriate nurse, I think my limited knowledge about Saudi culture affects me a lot to research. I think some issues face me about how to gather data when I need female participants; I think too hard to collect data from females due to culture unless you have a third party or research assistance, so this thing is a barrier or issue to me here, particularly when conducting research on females. So, gender, I think, is a significant factor in terms of culture that we need to consider before gathering data here.” (Participant E)

Furthermore, the participants found it difficult to collect data in SA due to language difference. Most patients and their families could not read or speak English, or have limited ability with regard to English language. This limitation complicated the situation for expatriate nursing faculty members who could not speak the Arabic language.

“Language, I think, is another cultural barrier for me to do research, I know that these days there are translators, there are programs that help in translating or in language difference, but language or Arabic language still a barrier for me personally in relation to research because I remember that I conducted a study here on patients and it was hard because of language difference and translation process; unlike in the Philippines, many people speak English, and if a person not speaking English at least we can speak the same language but here and for me personally, I found that difficult in terms or research or gathering data, particularly face‐to‐face interviews because people here do not understand me or cannot speak English well or speak but not in good way, or understand you differently like that. I used to use a translator but still I encountered challenges because of language difference.” (Participant E)

Lastly, the participant's knowledge of research influences gathering data. Some participants refrain from participating in research because they believe it is unnecessary and insignificant. This issue increases the attrition of research participants.

“Participants themselves are one of the barriers to conducting and publishing research, specifically here in SA because it is difficult to recruit them; maybe because they do not have adequate knowledge about research, or research and publication is something new for them.” (Participant C)

4. DISCUSSION

This study aimed to identify the barriers to carrying out and publishing research among nursing faculty members at Shaqra University, SA. Understanding this topic area is extremely important and may lead to improvement of research and publication performance and practices among nursing faculties at public universities. To the authors' knowledge, this work is the first qualitative descriptive study that focuses on nursing faculty members and barriers to conducting and publishing research in the context of SA.

The study findings suggest that nursing faculty members in SA are encountering several barriers that hinder them from taking up opportunities to conduct and publish scientific works. The most identified barriers to research and publishing activities in this study are institutional barriers, including lack of time due to excessive work commitments; high teaching load; lack of administrative support; lack of financial budget; lack of knowledge, expertise and ongoing education on research; lack of adequate research facilities; and difficulty to access information resources. These findings concurred with those reported in previous research studies, calling for urgent interventions to address these barriers and promote opportunities for research and publishing works among faculty members (Doozgy & Najib, 2010; Dousin & Sulong, 2021; Konwar & Kalita, 2018; Ramón et al., 2022). Similar findings were also reported in the past local studies, which highlighted concerns about the existing barriers to research and publication, suggesting that this phenomenon has not yet been addressed in the Saudi context of nursing faculties (Alghanim & Alhamali, 2011; Darawad et al., 2018).

In addition, obtaining ethics approvals after a long time of waiting and refusal or non‐cooperation of health facilities were among the identified barriers in this study that affected the ability of nursing faculty members to dedicate timely to research and publication activities. These findings are in line with those of some other studies (Konwar & Kalita, 2018; Lewis et al., 2014), suggesting that this issue is complex and time‐consuming, especially when it is intended to conduct the research in more than one institution. This generally calls for the world institutions to make changes in their policies of ethics review or approval to reduce barriers.

Although most of the barriers identified in this study have been internationally identified in the literature, the least identified barrier was culture and language difference, which was emphasised by participants as a problematic for them during research process. In SA, Islam is the religion of 100% of the Saudi people, and thus, their culture and traditions are rooted in Islam. Arabic is the official first spoken language in SA and other surrounding Arab countries (Dousin & Sulong, 2021). SA's setting is unique and recognised by cultural diversity, particularly in nursing, and thus, most of nursing workforce are expatriates due to chronic shortage of Saudi nationals (Aboshaiqah, 2016).

Regarding research and publication, nursing expatriates who are in SA, including faculty members, are highly expected to face challenges because of the culture gap and complexity of Arabic and Islamic culture, which is different from their own culture (Almutairi, 2015; Dousin & Sulong, 2021). This circumstance may affect or complicate the situation with respect to research, especially during face‐to‐face interviews with those who are unable to speak English or a different gender, as this is a culturally sensitive factor. This barrier, when it occurs in research, specifically between an interviewer and interviewee, could affect the ability of interviewers to adequately engage in a meaningful and purposeful conversation (Sands et al., 2007). However, expatriate researchers may deal with this barrier through the use of different methods, such as interpreting services, bilingual clinical providers, bilingual written materials and a third party who may be present at the time of interviews with opposite gender. Although cross‐culture represents a significant barrier to research, it could be overcome through different means, as suggested in the literature (Al Subeh & Alzoubi, 2020; Sands et al., 2007). The effect of such barrier on research could be taken as a focus in future studies to gain deeper insights into it.

4.1. Limitations

This study has a number of limitations. First, the study was conducted at two nursing colleges under one single institution, and this may limit the transferability of the findings to other settings. Second, the study included only nursing faculty members; thus, other members from different specialties may have different perceptions and/or extra barriers in carrying out and publishing research activities. Third, including a sample of faculty members from only two nursing colleges may have affected the generalisability of the study findings. Replicating this study on a sample from different faculties, including nursing in SA, could help in drawing a better picture of this topic area.

5. CONCLUSION

Conducting and publishing research are imperative, particularly in nursing and higher education contexts. Overall, the current findings revealed that nursing faculty members in SA are currently facing many different barriers to researching and publishing, including lack of time to perform research, lack of funds for research and facilities, lack of research knowledge and experience, and poor academic writing. Such barriers need to be urgently addressed by mentoring and support for building research capacity, building research and publication teams, and mentoring ethics application process to speed it up. They also need to be addressed by establishing a structured research programme that includes ongoing research education and training, research mentorship, time allocated for research, and allocating research facilities and funds for all faculties in SA, including nursing. Increasing the faculty members' awareness of research through continuous workshops, encouraging and motivating them to carry out and publish research works, and providing support and resources for them are also necessary. Future research should seek to further identify barriers to performing and publishing research within a big sample size from other nursing colleges in SA.

FUNDING INFORMATION

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not‐for‐profit sectors.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

None declared.

Alotaibi, K. (2023). Barriers to conducting and publishing research among nursing faculty members at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study. Nursing Open, 10, 7048–7057. 10.1002/nop2.1963

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data are openly available on request from the author.