Examining the Variations in Undergraduate Students’ Conceptions of Successful Researchers: A Phenomenographic Study

Zuckerman, Austin L.; Lo, Stanley M.

doi:10.1187/cbe.21-10-0295

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Now I understand that most scientists actually fail, but it is still valuable.” Other ECRs made statements like, “I feel like I’m not a real scientist until I get my PhD.” These conceptions of what it is to be a researcher influenced how ECRs saw their own science identity. These findings align with prior research showing that ECRs vary in their researcher conceptions in ways that affect their science identity development (Åkerlind, 2008; Atkins et al, 2020; Brew et al, 2016; Meyer et al, 2005; Vasquez-Salgado et al, 2023; Zuckerman & Lo, 2022).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Beyond performance, competence, and recognition: Forging a science researcher identity in the context of research training

Pfeifer

Zajic

Isaacs

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background. Studying science identity development has been useful for understanding students' continuation in science-related education and career paths. Yet, how science contexts shape students' science identity development, especially as students engage in research at the undergraduate and graduate level, is still largely unexplored. Here we integrate science identity and professional identity theories to investigate how research training shapes science identity. We focus on a specialized form of science identity we call science researcher identity. We characterize how the features of an individual's research experience, and their personal characteristics interact to influence whether and how they see themselves as a science researcher. We accomplished this in two phases of qualitative research. First, we surveyed 548 undergraduate researchers about how their research experience influenced their identity as a scientist. Then we interviewed 30 early career researchers, including undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and doctoral students, about their views of themselves as researchers and how elements of their research training shaped their views. Results. Early career researchers (ECRs) viewed themselves as either science students or science researchers. How ECRs recognized themselves depended on how they viewed the purpose of their daily work and the extent to which they perceived autonomy and intellectual responsibility in their research. Individual-level factors, including research and researcher conceptions, research skill perceptions, and career intentions, influenced whether ECRs identified as science students or science researchers. ECRs also recognized themselves more or less as researchers based on contextual factors like the nature of their work, social interactions, and their perceptions of the norms within their research group and institution. ECRs considered how individual and contextual factors affected their science researcher identity through a lens we call sense-making. We further detail the processes ECRs use to make sense of their science identity and the factors that influence it. Conclusions. We synthesized our findings to form a conceptual model of science researcher identity development, which hypothesizes relationships among constructs related to science identity and professional identity development. Our results advance theory related to science identity, offer avenues for future investigation, and inform efforts to promote science researcher identity development.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Beyond performance, competence, and recognition: Forging a science researcher identity in the context of research training

Pfeifer

Zajic

Isaacs

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative methodologies in three stages ( Saldana, 2021 ) as described previously ( Zuckerman and Lo, 2022 ). First, preliminary codes were developed through iterative close reading of the transcripts to provide a large corpus of thought processes emerging from the data (S.L.S., A.J.G., S.K., and S.M.L.).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variations in Student Approaches to Problem Solving in Undergraduate Biology Education

Hsu,

Sung,

Swarat

et al. 2024

LSE

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“…In phenomenographic analysis, interview data typically originate from a few key questions, with the semistructured nature of the interview allowing the interviewer to probe participants to elaborate on key aspects of their responses ( Reed, 2006 ; Stenfors-Hayes et al. , 2013 ; Zuckerman and Lo, 2022 ). This study focused primarily on the following two interview questions: How does a student’s background influence your mentorship style?…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mentorship for Transfer Student Success in STEM Research: Mentor Approaches and Reflections

Zuckerman,

Lo,

Juavinett

2024

LSE

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Examining the Variations in Undergraduate Students’ Conceptions of Successful Researchers: A Phenomenographic Study

Abstract: This paper examines undergraduates’ conceptions of successful researchers. Three conceptions were identified based on variations within the following aspects: process of research, interactions with other researchers, and scope of contribution.

Cited by 3 publications

References 104 publications

Beyond performance, competence, and recognition: Forging a science researcher identity in the context of research training

Beyond performance, competence, and recognition: Forging a science researcher identity in the context of research training

Variations in Student Approaches to Problem Solving in Undergraduate Biology Education

Mentorship for Transfer Student Success in STEM Research: Mentor Approaches and Reflections

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