Research experiences and mentoring practices in selected east asian graduate programs: Predictors of research productivity among doctoral students in molecular biology

Abstract

Although doctoral mentors recognize the benefits of providing quality advisement and close guidance, those of sharing project management responsibilities with mentees are still not well recognized. We observed that mentees, who have the opportunity to co-manage projects, generate more written output. Here we examine the link between research productivity, doctoral mentoring practices (DMP), and doctoral research experiences (DRE) of mentees in programs in the non-West. Inspired by previous findings that early career productivity is a strong predictor of later productivity, we examine the research productivity of 210 molecular biology doctoral students in selected programs in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. Using principal component (PC) analysis, we derive two sets of PCs: one set from 15 DMP and another set from 16 DRE items. We model research productivity using Poisson and negativebinomial regression models with these sets as predictors. Our findings suggest a need to re-think extant practices and to allocate resources toward professional career development in training future scientists. We contend that doctoral science training must not only be an occasion for future scientists to learn scientific and technical skills, but it must also be the opportunity to experience, to acquire, and to hone research management skills. V C 2014 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 42(4):305-322, 2014.

Perceptions matter: faculty caring, campus racial climate and academic performance

“…The 0·65 threshold is higher than that was recommended by Field () and has been used in past investigations (Ynalvez et al . ). The resultant six NSPIC factors (NSPIC 1,.., NSPIC 6) were casted as predictors in our normal error regression model.…”

Mentor‐mentee interaction and laboratory social environment: Do they matter in doctoral students' publication productivity?

“…Mentors also introduce mentees to experts and scholars in the field, and help mentees build their collaborative and professional network . Previous studies on mentoring have documented that the quality of interaction between mentor and mentee is positively associated with the latter's confidence, early‐career productivity, professional success, and career satisfaction .…”

“…Although we recognize the importance of focusing on mentor‐mentee interaction (MMI), we argue that such a solo and singular emphasis provides a less‐than‐circumspect treatment and understanding of the socialization that goes with the training of future scientists . Indeed, there are other interpersonal experiences (e.g., relationship with peers, people in the lab, or committee members) that are crucial in doctoral students' timely degree completion, successful integration and socialization to the discipline, mastery of scientific knowledge, acquisition of technical skills, and honing of problem solving skills . Hence, we argue that social experience with others in the lab, in addition to the dyadic experience of mentor−mentee interaction, should be a part of the conversation in the socialization process in doctoral training.…”

“…Second, doctoral students (future scientists) who publish prior to earning the Ph.D. are likely to publish more scholarly work throughout their career. In other words, early‐career productivity is almost a guarantee of later‐career productivity . In addition, for doctoral students, being able to publish prior to graduation makes them attractive to future employers when they hit the job market .…”

“…It is aimed at promoting and enhancing the latter's personal growth and professional development through one‐on‐one dedicated coaching, guidance, and support . Through close personal interaction, the mentor transfers the needed information, knowledge, skills, feedback, and encouragement (e.g., to develop talents and to pursue aspirations) to the mentee .…”