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ABSTRACT This article reports an investigation into the relationship between student perceptions of lecturer research and motivation to study at university. A 71-item, Likert-type questionnaire was completed by 100 Oxford Brookes University final year undergraduates. The pattern of correlation between variables together with the results of a factor analysis, suggests that a relationship exists between type of student motivation and attitude to faculty research. It is proposed that Intrinsic Motivation, and a specific form of Course Competence are associated with positive attitudes to departmental research activity while Extrinsic-, Social- and Achievement-oriented students appear to be indifferent, or to have negative attitudes towards research. In the light of the present findings, it is suggested that previously reported negative evaluations of research-active teachers may come from a subpopulation of students who are extrinsically motivated and uninterested in communication with lecturers. Students in this group may avoid interaction with lecturers, while such interaction is sought by intrinsically-motivated, course-competent students. In these circumstances, lecturer views on the value of research for teaching might well be biased by feedback from those students who perceive it positively. It is noted that the present findings may explain how positive forms of student motivation can be enhanced.
Introduction
The Impact of Academic Research on Student Learning
There is continued interest in the relationship between teaching and research in higher education. This has recently been fuelled by factors such as changes in central funding policy, the performance appraisal of academic staff, the role of the 'new' universities, and the pressures created by the Research Assessment Exercise [RAE] [1].
The student learning experience itself has been recognised as a fertile research domain in educational psychology (Marris, 1964; Startup, 1972; Ramsden, 1991; Roberts & Higgins, 1992; Entwistle et al., 1997). In general, researchers have employed a methodology based upon subjective impression measurement, and have interpreted the `student experience' broadly to include all those beliefs, values and attitudes held by the student which relate to their teaching and learning. Staff research activity is thought to be one influence upon student learning, but the magnitude of its influence is uncertain (Jenson, 1988; Neumann, 1992; Ramsden & Moses, 1992; Hattie & Marsh, 1996; Jenkins et al., 1998). Moreover, student attitudes towards research remain so far theoretically uninterpreted, although...