Tacit Knowledge in Academia: A Proposed Model and Measurement Scale

Abstract

The authors propose a multidimensional model of tacit knowledge and develop a measure of tacit knowledge in academia. They discuss the theory and extant literature on tacit knowledge and propose a 6-factor model. Experiment 1 is a replication of a recent study of academic tacit knowledge using the scale developed and administered at an Israeli university (A. Somech & R. Bogler, 1999). The results of the replication differed from those found in the original study. For Experiment 2, the authors developed a domain-specific measure of academic tacit knowledge, the Academic Tacit Knowledge Scale (ATKS), and used this measure to explore the multidimensionality of tacit knowledge proposed in the model. The results of an exploratory factor analysis (n=142) followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (n=286) are reported. The sample for both experiments was 428 undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university in the eastern United States. Results indicated that a 5-factor model of academic tacit knowledge provided a strong fit for the data.

Personal Tacit Knowledge and Global Learning Professional Competencies—Multi-Dimensional Relationships

“…Investigative scholars [6] [7] and [9] concluded based on quantitative methods that college students' use of P-T K significantly correlate with the improvement of academic success. Since academic success embodies the acquisition of GLPCs this research study established significant relationships exist between students' use of P-T K and enhancement of GLPCs.…”

“…Without seeking to undermine the contribution of intelligence tests in predicting academic success others scholars went to great lengths using quantitative methodology to prove that application of P-T K is linked to improving students' academic success [6] [9] [14]. This research study takes a step further to determine the relationship between P-T K and the enhancement of GLPCs.…”

“…Multiple dimensions of P-T K include cognitive skills, technical skills, and social skills [6] [8] [15]. Based upon empirical studies researchers concluded that cognitive skills, technical skills, and social skills have the most profound impact on improving academic success.…”

Measuring Knowledge

“…Respondents state how often they behave in a given manner -see e.g. a test used in research by Somech and Bogler (1999) or Leonard and Insch (2005), or they evaluate to which level a described activity is characteristic of them -see e.g., Williams and Sternberg (Torff & Sternberg, 1998).…”

Dual-use research and the H5N1 bird flu: Is restricting publication the solution to biosecurity issues?

“…Scholars have attempted to describe and measure the impact of tacit knowledge on the success of academic endeavors and the translation of academic knowledge into industrial applications (Leonard and Insch 2005;Somech and Bogler 1999;Zucker et al 2002). For example, Harry M. Collins, a social scientist, has presented an insightful analysis of the importance of tacit knowledge for scientific research in physics (Collins 2001).…”