An Evaluation Methodology for Longitudinal Studies of Short-Term Cancer Research Training Programs

Abstract

The need to familiarize medical students and graduate health professional students with research training opportunities that cultivate the appeal of research careers is vital to the future of research. Comprehensive evaluation of a cancer research training program can be achieved through longitudinal tracking of program alumni to assess the program’s impact on each participant’s career path and professional achievements. With advances in technology and smarter means of communication, effective ways to track alumni have changed. In order to collect data on the career outcomes and achievements of nearly 500 short-term cancer research training program alumni from 1999–2013, we sought to contact each alumnus to request completion of a survey instrument online, or by means of a telephone interview. The effectiveness of each contact method that we used was quantified according to ease of use and time required. The most reliable source of contact information for tracking alumni from the early years of the program was previous tracking results; and for alumni from the later years, the most important source of contact information was university alumni records that provided email addresses and telephone numbers. Personal contacts with former preceptors were sometimes helpful, as were generic search engines and people search engines. Social networking was of little value for most searches. Using information from two or more sources in combination was most effective in tracking alumni. These results provide insights and tools for other research training programs that wish to track their alumni for long-term program evaluation.

Career Outcomes of Graduates of R25E Short-Term Cancer Research Training Programs

“…We located all 499 individuals and 96.4% (481 of 499) completed our tracking survey [5]. Based on self-reports, 20% of respondents (96 of 481) published cancer-related, peer-reviewed papers, not necessarily relating to their CaRES projects, and not necessarily including CaRES preceptors in the authorship.…”

“…Strengths of our study include the reliability of our short-term intern and preceptor evaluation survey statistics due to completion rates that were consistently high from year to year; and the use of our effective longitudinal tracking methodology developed in 2009 [4] and refined in 2014 [5] that allowed us to collect data from over 96% of 499 individuals who completed the CaRES program, thereby minimizing non-response bias.…”

“…Data on cancer-related professional activities such as clinical care and oversight of screening programs are also collected. An in-depth longitudinal tracking methodology was developed for our alumni tracking in 2009 [4], while a new publication [5] presents the updated tracking methodology that we used in summer 2014.…”

The National Cancer Institute R25 Cancer Education Grants Program: A Workshop Report

“…Online versions of the learning exercises have also been developed and are currently being evaluated in 10 residency programs. “UAB Cancer Research Experiences for Students,” (R25CA076023, PIs: John W. Waterbor and Peter Smith, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)) [ 19 – 21 ]. …”

“…“UAB Cancer Research Experiences for Students,” (R25CA076023, PIs: John W. Waterbor and Peter Smith, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)) [ 19 – 21 ].…”