Previous studies
measure research
excellence based on number
of publications, grants awarded, number
of citations, peer / department chair rating, time spent on research activities, faculty membership in
academic research societies, and awards for research.
Nonetheless, absent a more perfect method for identifying teacher
excellence (e.g., teacher effectiveness indices as
measured by teachers» effects on student
academic growth), the research team chose to accept the risk
of equating national teacher awards with teacher
excellence.