Identifying and Ranking the Factors Affecting Retention of Faculty Members in Higher Education Using TOPSIS Technique

The main purpose of this research was to identify and rank the factors affecting retention of faculty members in higher education. To do this end, it was decided to make use of qualitative-quantitative method through such tools as interview and questionnaire. In the first stage, 16 elites were selected through snowball sampling method and, then, they were deeply interviewed. Having collected the required data, the concerned data were analyzed through the theme analysis method. The collected data were categorized and merged into 42 sub-categories, 19 main categories and 8 dimensions (factors) in terms of conceptual similarity. Next, questionnaires were run in order to obtain the viewpoints of 16 elites on the priorities of the concerned identified factors. The collected data were analyzed using Excel Software. The results of research showed that the factor of research space had the most notable impact on the retention of faculty members in universities. The next priorities were as follows: educational and learning space, emphasis on proper selection of faculty members, working conditions, mechanisms and processes, organizational support, work environment and cultural space of the university.