Creativity-related traits and the scientific production of professors from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua

Purpose This work studied the influence of creativity-related traits in university professors’ scientific productivity. Design/methodology/approach A survey, applied to 120 university professors, included closed-ended questions for participants to rate 33 items derived from the specialized literature and classified into five dimensions (novelty; flexibility-fluidity; achievements-dedication; confidence; and problem-solving). After the survey was applied, data were merged with three other data sets: bibliometric data (Scopus), Altmetrics (Dimensions) and peer-reviews and editorial management (Publons) for the period from 2013 to 2018. Descriptive, correlational and inferential statistical analyzes were conducted on the data collected. Findings There was little relationship between professors’ creativity scores and their bibliometric and Altmetric indicators. The highest-rated creativity dimension was flexibility-fluidity and the most prominent creativity-related trait was “I perform my activities with dedication” (belonging to the achievements-dedication dimension). During the period studied, professors published 379 documents, but there were large gaps among their indicators; for instance, only 61 professors published in journals indexed in Scopus during the period. The inferential analysis implied that the professors with the best indicators did not present substantial differences in their creativity scores when compared to their colleagues with fewer or no indicators. However, descriptive and correlational insights may aid in fostering the aspects that can positively influence creativity and the indicators studied. Originality/value Although there is a wealth of literature about the study of creativity and part of it tackles creativity and scientific research at a theoretical level, this paper did not find other empirical studies that analyzed the relationship between creativity and scientific production. It might be important for librarians to be familiar with user studies such as the present, as they may consider studying these kinds of aspects in their users. Moreover, this study can be interesting because librarians have increasingly been involved in the evaluation of scientific production and in training processes for enhancing it within their institutions. Here, information professionals have found opportunities to improve users’ knowledge, performance and experiences on digital scientific ecosystems and their indicators.