Factors that predict life sciences student persistence in undergraduate research experiences
Factors that predict life sciences student persistence in undergraduate research experiences
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0220186
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发表时间：
2019-08-14
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Brownell, Sara E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cooper, Katelyn M.;Gin, Logan E.;Brownell, Sara E.
本科生的研究经历有可能使本科生受益，而更长的研究经验已被证明会给学生带来更大的好处。然而，还没有研究研究是什么原因导致学生留在学校或考虑留下他们的作业。在这项研究中，我们考察了什么因素导致学生留在他们的工作中，什么因素导致学生考虑离开他们的工作，以及什么因素导致学生离开他们的工作。我们从全美25所研究密集型(R1)公立大学中抽取样本，调查了768名生命科学本科生，他们目前或以前曾参加过URE。学生回答封闭式和开放式问题，关于他们认为影响他们在工作中坚持不懈的因素。我们使用Logistic回归来探索学生人口统计学在多大程度上预测了哪些因素会影响学生留在学校或考虑离开学校。我们应用开放编码的方法来探索学生报告的为什么学生选择留在家里而留下他们的东西的原因。50%的受访者考虑离开他们的城市再就业，53.1%的学生实际上离开了城市再就业。报告有一个积极的实验室环境的学生和表示喜欢日常研究任务的学生更有可能不考虑离开他们的工作。相比之下，报告实验室环境负面的学生，或者他们没有获得重要知识或技能的学生，更有可能离开他们的工作。此外，我们确定了性别、种族/民族、大学世代地位和GPA预测了哪些因素会影响学生决定坚持自己的职业。这项研究为研究导师如何创造本科生愿意并能够尽可能长时间参与的工作提供了重要的见解。
Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have the potential to benefit undergraduates and longer UREs have been shown to lead to greater benefits for students. However, no studies have examined what causes students to stay in or consider leaving their UREs. In this study, we examined what factors cause students to stay in their UREs, what factors cause students to consider leaving their UREs, and what factors cause students to leave their UREs. We sampled from 25 research-intensive (R1) public universities across the United States and surveyed 768 life sciences undergraduates who were currently participating in or had previously participated in a URE. Students answered closed-ended and open-ended questions about factors that they perceived influenced their persistence in UREs. We used logistic regression to explore to what extent student demographics predicted what factors influenced students to stay in or consider leaving their UREs. We applied open-coding methods to probe the student-reported reasons why students chose to stay in and leave their UREs. Fifty percent of survey respondents considered leaving their URE, and 53.1% of those students actually left their URE. Students who reported having a positive lab environment and students who indicated enjoying their everyday research tasks were more likely to not consider leaving their UREs. In contrast, students who reported a negative lab environment or that they were not gaining important knowledge or skills were more likely to leave their UREs. Further, we identified that gender, race/ethnicity, college generation status, and GPA predicted which factors influenced students' decisions to persist in their UREs. This research provides important insight into how research mentors can create UREs that undergraduates are willing and able to participate in for as long as possible.