The Null Relationship Between Teaching and Research

Analysis of the data from a survey of members of a university faculty and of student attitudes toward this faculty indicate no relationship between student-rated adequacy of teaching and the extent of a teacher's scholarly activity. It appeared that student criteria for determining an instructor's adequacy consisted largely of evaluations of the instructor's style. Research activity by faculty was related to content variables such as course difficulty and student study time. The commonly-held view of a conflict between teaching and research found no support, although there may be some conflict when longer-run effects are explored.