Retention in Research Careers: Mentoring for Scientific Communication Skills

掌握科学交流（SC）技能对于成功的科学家来说是必不可少的，对于来自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特别困难。教授这些技能的负担通常福尔斯在导师身上，他们可能会发现这项任务是劳动密集型的，令人沮丧。非英语母语的导师可能会遇到特别的困难，但即使是具有出色语言技能的导师也可能不知道如何有效地教学，解决这些需求可能会进一步加重已经受到性别，年龄或文化差距挑战的辅导关系。因此，要解决的差距是学员和导师因素的识别和修改，影响学员自我效能感在SC技能发展，特别是如果这些因素发挥作用的持续性研究中代表性不足的群体。我们的目的是确定学员和导师因素之间的因果关系，在适应社会认知模型的SC技能发展，并确定关键的调节因素，改变这些关系随着时间的推移。我们假设，受训者对SC的效能信念将预测他们对掌握SC技能的结果期望和兴趣，而导师因素（例如，高技能水平SC教练可用性，高兴趣），将与受训者SC自我效能，目标，广告行动正相关。我们还假设，这种导师因素，学员的行动和学员的长期职业目标之间的关系将完全介导的学员SC的业绩成果，和导师谁是高技能和有兴趣在SC指导将有学员的SC自我效能和业绩成果将增加或保持高。我们从MD安德森癌症中心招募了400名博士和博士后学员及其400名导师，并通过其他地方的培训项目为代表性不足的群体的学员提供丰富的培训，我们将在30个月内收集3次数据。将使用滚雪球方法招募受训者-导师二人组，直到按受训者因素（例如，性别、种族/民族）。数据将通过一个安全的网站收集，该网站的ID与受训者-导师二人组相匹配，而不需要个人标识符，尽管不需要匹配来实现研究目标。将为逐步完成调查提供奖励，并鼓励导师参与，当导师完成调查时，将向学员发放额外的礼品卡。分析方法包括结构方程、层次和纵向回归模型。多学科团队包括接受过英语、语言学、流行病学、社会心理学、教育和沟通培训的人员。如果成功，我们将有一个验证的概念模型，描述实习生SC技能的获取及其对研究生涯的持续性的影响，以及随着时间的推移测量的导师的中介影响。该模型将为我们确定风险点，以制定教育干预措施，提高学员在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.