The purpose of this study was to analyze the research status of full-time faculty members at medical schools and identify differences by variable based on the research capabilities and levels of universities across the country from statistical data sourced by the National Research Foundation of Korea's annual survey on university research activities.
For the survey, cross-tabulation, chi-square test, mean analysis, t-test, and canonical correlation analysis were conducted with medical departments (medical, pre-medical, school of medicine) at universities that submitted data in 2010, 2015, and 2020.
First, when looking at the trends in research expenditure and performance by year, intramural and off-campus research expenditure increased. Research performance showed a decrease in standards and registered journals from the National Research Foundation in Korea; however, international standards and SCI (Science Citation Index)
showed an increase in research performance.
Second, looking at the characteristics by type of establishment, public institutions had higher intramural and off-campus research expenses per full-time faculty member than private institutions. Regarding research performance, private institutions performed better in journals registered with the National Research Foundation and other general academic journals in Korea, but public institutions performed better in international SCI and other international academic journals.
Third, research expenses in metropolitan areas were higher in all tasks than in non-metropolitan areas. Research performance was also higher in metropolitan areas for all thesis fields; in particular, there was a greater difference for international SCI and other international general academic journals.
In view of these results, it is necessary to prepare policies that can minimize the imbalance by identifying research expenses and performance characteristics according to the establishment type and each location's characteristics. These results can be used as basic data for developing policies to resolve the polarization of research capabilities among universities according to the establishment type and location.