Retention in Research Careers: Mentoring for Scientific Communication Skills

描述（由申请人提供）：掌握科学交流技能对于成功的科学家来说是必不可少的，这对于任何背景的初级科学家来说都是一个挑战，但对于那些教育准备不足或接触标准学术英语有限的人来说可能尤其困难。教授这些技能的重担通常落在导师身上，他们可能会觉得这项任务很费力，而且令人沮丧。非母语为英语的导师可能会有特别的困难，但即使是拥有优秀语言技能的导师也可能不知道如何有效地教学，并且解决这些需求会进一步加重已经受到性别，年龄或文化差距挑战的指导关系。因此，需要解决的差距是识别和修改影响培训生自我效能感的培训生和导师因素，特别是如果这些因素在研究中未被充分代表的群体的持久性中发挥作用。我们的目的是在适应社会认知模型中确定培训生和导师因素之间的因果关系，并确定随着时间的推移改变这些关系的关键调节因素。我们假设学员对供应链效能感的信念会预测他们对掌握供应链技能的结果期望和兴趣，而导师因素（例如，供应链培训的高技能水平、可用性、高兴趣）将与学员供应链自我效能感、目标和行动呈正相关。我们还假设，这些导师因素、学员行为和学员长期职业目标之间的关系将被学员的SC绩效结果完全中介，并且高技能和对SC指导感兴趣的导师将使学员的SC自我效能感和绩效结果增加或保持高水平。我们将从MD安德森癌症中心招募400名博士和博士后学员以及他们的400名教师导师，并通过其他地方为代表性不足群体的学员提供丰富的培训项目，我们将在30个月内收集3次数据。将采用滚雪球的方式招募培训生-导师二人组，直到按培训生因素（如性别、种族/民族）分类达到所需数量为止。数据将通过一个安全的网站收集，该网站的id与没有个人标识符的学员-导师配对，尽管配对不是完成研究目标所必需的。将为逐步完成调查提供奖励，并为鼓励导师参与，在导师完成调查后，将向受训者提供额外的礼品卡。分析方法包括结构方程、层次模型和纵向回归模型。这个多学科团队包括英语、语言学、流行病学、社会心理学、教育和传播学方面的人员。如果成功，我们将有一个经过验证的概念模型，描述学员SC技能习得及其对研究职业持久性的影响，并随时间测量导师的中介影响。这一模型将为我们确定风险点，从而制定教育干预措施，提高受训者追求研究事业的持久性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mastering scientific communication (SC) skills is essential for successful scientists, and can be a challenge for junior scientists from any background, but may be especially difficult for those who are educationally under- prepared or who have had limited exposure to standard academic English. The burden of teaching such skills typically falls to mentors, who may find this task labor-intensive and frustrating. Non-natie English-speaking mentors may have particular difficulty, but even mentors with excellent language skills may not know how to teach effectively, and addressing these needs can further burden mentoring relationships already challenged by gender, age, or cultural gaps. Thus, the gap to address is the identification and modification of both trainee and mentor factors that influence trainee self-efficacy in SC skills development, particularly if such factors play a role n persistence of underrepresented groups in research. Our aims are to identify causal relationships between trainee and mentor factors in an adapted social cognitive model of SC skill development and to identify key moderating factors that change these relationships over time. We hypothesize that trainee efficacy beliefs in SC will predict their outcome expectations and interests in mastering SC skills and that mentor factors (e.g., high skill level in SC coaching availability, high interest), will be positively associated with trainee SC self-efficacy, goals, ad actions. We also hypothesize that the relationship between such mentor factors, trainee actions, and trainee long-term career goals will be fully mediated by trainee SC performance outcomes, and that mentors who are highly skilled and interested in SC mentoring will have trainees whose SC self-efficacy and performance outcomes will increase or remain high. Recruiting a cohort of 400 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees and their 400 faculty mentors from MD Anderson Cancer Center and through training programs elsewhere enriched for trainees of underrepresented groups, we will collect data 3 times over 30 months. Trainee-mentor dyads will be recruited using a snowball approach until desired numbers are achieved in categories by trainee factors (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity). Data will be collected through a secure website with IDs that match trainee-mentor dyads without personal identifiers, although matching is not required to accomplish study aims. Incentives will be provided for incremental completion of surveys, and to encourage mentor participation, additional gift-cards will be given to trainees when mentors complete surveys. Analytic approaches include structural equation, hierarchical, and longitudinal regression modeling. The multi-disciplinary team includes individuals trained in English, linguistics, epidemiology, social psychology, education, and communication. If successful, we will have a validated conceptual model describing trainee SC skill acquisition and its impact on persistence in research careers, and the mediating influence of mentors measured over time. This model will identify risk points for us to develop educational interventions that increase persistence of trainees in pursuing research careers.