Sources of Meaning Inventory in Academia: An Inventory Development Study

This paper presents findings from an inventory development study of the 'Sources of Meaning Inventory in Academia' in order to make sense of the psychological processes underlying the experience of meaning in academia. With this inventory, the sources that make the work of academicians meaningful will be determined. By managing the determined sources, it will be possible for the academicians to attribute more meaning to their work and thus increases their performance and productivity. The study was carried out in 3 complementary stages. In Study 1 (n=815), an item pool was created, and after focus group interviews and expert opinions, trial measurements were made by the draft inventory. In Study 2 (n=352), the pilot study of the inventory was carried out and exploratory factor analysis was performed. In Study 3 (n=669), confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and criterion-related validity analysis were performed. As a result of the 3 studies, an inventory consisting of 31 items and 5 dimensions was obtained. According to the model formed, the dimensions of the sources of meaning inventory in academia are 'passion for life', 'scientific contribution', 'benefiting', 'earning money and respect' and 'exploring and learning'. The dimensions of the source of meaning that are most related to the meaningfulness of the work were determined as 'benefiting' and 'passion for life'.