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Relationship between cognitive factors and creativity in choosing a research topic: Exploring the mediating role of intensity and quality of knowledge sharing among graduate students

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Knowledge and Information Science, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract


 
Introduction
One of the concerns of graduate students is choosing a research topic is writing a thesis. Factors that indirectly affect the creativity of choosing the research topic and directly affect the sharing of knowledge are cognitive factors such as attitude, motivation, awareness and knowledge and mental norms. It seems that cognitive factors have a key role in knowledge sharing among graduate students and that knowledge sharing is a factor in the transfer of thoughts and ideas. Therefore, it is likely that it plays a mediating role due to the nature of knowledge sharing. Accordingly, by conducting the present study, the researcher aimed to explore the relationship between cognitive factors mediating the intensity and quality of knowledge sharing with the creativity of choosing a research topic among graduate students of universities in Kermanshah.
Research Hypothesis(s)
Based on the theoretical foundations, several hypotheses will be answered in this research.

Variables of cognitive factors can predict the intensity of knowledge sharing.
Variables of cognitive factors can predict the quality of knowledge sharing.
Knowledge sharing variables (intensity and quality of knowledge sharing) can predict creativity in choosing the research topic.
The change in the subscales of cognitive factors can explain the variance of the intensity and quality of knowledge sharing on creativity in choosing a research topic among master's and doctoral students. 

Literature Review
During the research conducted in databases, no study was found that directly addressed the relationship between cognitive factors and creativity in choosing a research topic with the mediation of knowledge sharing. But research has been done regarding cognitive factors with knowledge sharing. Therefore, the researcher refers to some of the previous studies that were aligned with some of the variables examined in the present study:
The results of the Akhavan and Rahimi (2013) showed that internal motivational factors have a higher priority than external motivational factors among employees. In addition, motivational factors including friendly and intimate communication, and career promotion were recognized as the most important internal and external motivational factors affecting knowledge sharing. The results of the study by Hajianand and Sardar (2017) showed that external and internal motivational factors had an effect on the attitude towards knowledge sharing. In this regard, Nouri Koohani and Nadi (2019) found that that internal and external motivation, attitude about knowledge sharing, perceived behavioral control, mental norms and intention to share knowledge are effective in increasing teachers' knowledge sharing behavior. The results of the research carried out by Martini (2006) revealed that extrinsic motivation has no effect on a person's attitude towards knowledge sharing. Moshref Javadi et al. (2012) also found that motivation and trust factors are effective factors onin sharing knowledge. Shahzadi, Hameed and Kashif (2015) indicate that all individual motivational factors are positively and strongly related to the optimistic knowledge sharing behavior of academics. The research results of Bilginoglu and Yozgat (2018) showed that between the relationship between perceived training intensity and observed knowledge sharing, and internal motivation and self-efficacy as moderating variables had a positive effect on knowledge sharing. Based on Mohammad, Alajmi and Ahmed (2018) extrinsic motivation has a positive effect on knowledge sharing intentions and attitudes, but intrinsic motivation only has a positive effect on knowledge sharing attitudes.

Methodology
The method of the current research was applied, survey-analytical. The statistical population of the research included approximately 9000 graduate students of major universities in Kermanshah in 2019. The sample size was 368 students. The sampling method was available sampling due to the COVID-19 crisis. The data collection tool was done using a 32-item questionnaire. The method of formulating the questions of attitude, motivation, awareness and knowledge variables as cognitive variables and creativity in choosing the research topic as a researcher-made and variable of mental norms using the research of Chennamaneni et al. (2012) the components of the intensity of knowledge sharing and the quality of knowledge sharing from The research of Chiu et al. (2006) was used with general changes. Cronbach's alpha test was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. The results of this test showed a total of 32 questions were obtained equal to 0.941, which indicated the acceptable reliability of the scale. Data analysis was done using Pearson's correlation coefficient test, multiple regression, and path analysis based on determining the relationships between independent variables and using SPSS 23 and Amos software.

Results
This research seeks the relationship of cognitive factors with the creativity of choosing a research topic with regard to the mediating role of the intensity and quality of knowledge sharing among graduate students of Universities of Kermanshah city. Accordingly, the present study attempts to show that cognitive factors by mediating the intensity and quality of knowledge sharing immediately lead to the creativity of research topic selection among graduate students. The results of the first and second hypothesis showed that all cognitive variables had a positive relationship with the mediator variable, i.e. the intensity of knowledge sharing and the quality of knowledge sharing, but in the regression analysis of the motivation subscale, it did not contribute to this research. However, the findings of the research confirmed the first and second hypothesis with three subscales of cognitive factors (attitude, awareness and knowledge and mental norms).The answer to the third hypothesis of the research is that knowledge sharing variables (intensity and quality of knowledge sharing) have the ability to predict creativity in choosing the research topic. The findings of this research also confirmed this hypothesis. The answer to the fourth hypothesis showed that the relationship between cognitive factors and the intensity of knowledge sharing among master's students was better. But in relation to cognitive factors with the quality of knowledge sharing, PhD students were in a better situation. It seems that the quality of knowledge sharing among Ph.D students is very important in choosing the topic of a research thesis. Also, there is a difference between the prediction of the dependent variables of the mediator and the dependent variable of the criterion among master's and doctoral students. In other words, the relationship between the variables of intensity and quality of knowledge sharing with the creativity of choosing a research topic among master's students is in a better condition.

Conclusion
In general, the results of this research showed that cognitive factors including attitude, awareness and knowledge, and mental norms can indirectly realize the creativity of postgraduate students' research topic selection by mediating the intensity and quality of shared knowledge. In other words, research creativity will reduce or eliminate the concerns of choosing a research topic for graduate students. Because these students face a big challenge when choosing thesis or dissertation topics. Furthermore, choosing the subject by students requires sharing knowledge among people and spending time on the part of supervisors and advisors. This article has a key contribution. It is one of few studies that have been conducted on the relationship between cognitive factors on knowledge sharing and creativity in choosing a research topic.
 

Keywords

References
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Knowledge Retrieval and Semantic Systems
Volume 10, Issue 34 - Serial Number 34
April 2023
Pages 99-147
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