scholarly journals The life of P.I. Transitions to Independence in Academia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie E. Acton ◽  
Andrew Bell ◽  
Christopher P. Toseland ◽  
Alison Twelvetrees
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Principal Investigators ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
The Uk

The data in this report summarises the responses gathered from 365 principal investigators of academic laboratories, who started their independent positions in the UK within the last 6 years up to 2018. We find that too many new investigators express frustration and poor optimism for the future. These data also reveal, that many of these individuals lack the support required to make a successful transition to independence and that simple measures could be put in place by both funders and universities in order to better support these early career researchers. We use these data to make both recommendations of good practice and for changes to policies that would make significant improvements to those currently finding independence challenging. We find that some new investigators face significant obstacles when building momentum and hiring a research team. In particular, access to PhD students. We also find some important areas such as starting salaries where significant gender differences persist, which cannot be explained by seniority. Our data also underlines the importance of support networks, within and outside the department, and the positive influence of good mentorship through this difficult career stage.

scholarly journals Perspectives on Open Science and Scholarly Publishing: a Survey Study Focusing on Early Career Researchers in Europe

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1306
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Berezko ◽  
Laura M. Palma Medina ◽  
Giulia Malaguarnera ◽  
Inês Almeida ◽  
Agnieszka Żyra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
European Regions ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Informed Group

Background: The value of Open Science (OS) for the academic community and society has been becoming more evident recently, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, significant challenges regarding its implementation arise that are likely to affect researchers, especially those in early career stages. Hence, monitoring early-career researchers’ views, knowledge, and skills on OS and related policies, is crucial for its advancement. The main aim of this exploratory study was to gain new perspectives regarding the awareness of and attitudes towards OS and related practices having in consideration geographical, economic and research career variables. Methods: The survey was conducted during May-August 2020 as part of a collaboration between Eurodoc and the Open Research Europe project. The data from the survey were analyzed by European region, Gross domestic product, Gross domestic expenditure on research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product, field of study, and career stage. Results: The awareness and positive attitude regarding OS, specifically among early-career researchers, is high in Europe. However, there are significant career stage group differences in views and knowledge about OS. Generally, awareness and positive attitude tend to increase with increasing career seniority. Regarding European regions, we spotted three main groups sharing similar awareness levels and attitudes: researchers in Western Europe - the most informed group towards OS; researchers in northern, central, and southern Europe - a moderately informed group with some minor differences; and researchers in eastern Europe - the least informed group, whose opinions deviate the most. Conclusions: We found that there is an “evolution of needs and focus” regarding scientific publishing: researchers in most European regions are in different stages of transition from the competitive to collaborative levels, while researchers in eastern Europe are largely beginning their transition to the competitive level.

scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fransiska Louwagie ◽  
Simon Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
French Studies ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Bande Dessinee ◽  
Patient Assistance ◽  
Peer Reviewers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

This thematic issue arises from the symposium ‘Tradition and Innovation in Franco-Belgian Bande dessinée’, held at the University of Leicester on 13 March 2020. Over three panels with a respective focus on ‘Revisiting the Classics’, ‘Contemporary Perspectives’, and ‘Reshaping Franco-Belgian Bande dessinée’, the symposium brought out a variety of perspectives on contemporary bande dessinée and its links to the Franco-Belgian tradition. The symposium saw the participation of a range of international contributors, including early career scholars, faculty, and artist contributors, based in Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Canada, Panama, Israel, and the UK. We would like to thank our speakers for their contributions as well as for their flexibility in revising travel arrangements and, in some cases, arranging online delivery at short notice, as the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding in their respective countries at the time of the event. Our particular thanks go to Laurence Grove from the University of Glasgow for his keynote intervention entitled ‘The Relevance of Tintin’, and to graphic novelist Michel Kichka, who gave a keynote talk about the Franco-Belgian influences in his own work as well as a public seminar on his graphic novel Deuxième Génération. We are grateful to Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI), the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France (ASMCF), the Society for French Studies (SFS), and the School of Arts at the University of Leicester for their sponsorship of the keynote sessions, the conference participation of comics artist Ilan Manouach, and travel and registration bursaries for early career researchers. For this follow-up publication, we express our particular thanks to all contributors and peer-reviewers, to Wallonia-Brussels International for support to the translation, and to the editors of European Comic Art, for their kind and patient assistance.

scholarly journals A critical reflection on the development of the Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC)

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Elgin Maclean Milton ◽  
Susy Ridout ◽  
Marianthi Kourti ◽  
Gillian Loomes ◽  
Nicola Martin
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Autism Research ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Participatory Research Methods ◽  
Research Collective

Purpose The Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC) was initially set up with the purpose of bringing autistic people, including scholars and activists (but not exclusively), together with early career researchers and practitioners who work with autistic people, with the aim being to build a community where those who wished to see more significant involvement of autistic people in autism research could share knowledge and expertise. This paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the development of the PARC network, reflecting upon its activities and ethos within current higher education practices and structures. Findings In supporting autistic individuals in their attempts to establish themselves within academic systems that may not always be considerate or accommodating, the existence of PARC creates a structure with which autistic people can influence social change. PARC serves as a network of support, strengthening the presence of autistic scholars in academia. It also provides a structure through which autistic people are able to demonstrate helpful practices with which to engage more broadly. Originality/value The PARC network is the first autistic-led venture of its kind in the UK to have a sustained impact. PARC is growing to become an important element in the field of autism studies both by supporting emerging autistic academics and by promoting ethical and participatory research methods and practices.

The practice of the development of researchers: the “state-of-the-art”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Bromley ◽  
Lorna Warnock
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Early Career ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rigorous Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Creativity And Innovation ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose In this review paper, the authors are particularly interested in the growth in the scholarly investigation of the efficacy of developmental interventions for doctoral and early career researchers. This paper aims to provide a “State of the Art” overview of the emerging fields of research and suggest areas that command more research. Design/methodology/approach A foundation of key disseminations relating to the new discipline has become established, and it is the outputs of these that the authors look to first in their review. However, much of the work is reported in the proceedings of two specific conferences, known to the authors and does not appear in database searches, which results in a concentration of research in two specific countries, namely, the UK and Australia. Relatively little is found from database searches, however approached, but the authors also report on this work. Findings There is a general gap in the depth of the body of work in all areas of literature relating to research on the practice of developing researchers. We have identified specific areas as the most limited in terms of the body of published research including research governance; work life balance; engagement influence and impact training and creativity and innovation training. Research limitations/implications There is much work as yet unpublished and the practice of rigorous study and publication is not yet generally embedded in this research discipline. Practical implications Without the depth of rigorous and robust findings of research to provide us with evidence of good practice, the emergent discipline will struggle to have integrity in its practice. Continued growth in research in this emergent discipline is essential. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review of its kind looking at the published research in respect of the development of researchers.

scholarly journals Individual costs and benefits of sharing open data in ecology and evolution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Soeharjono ◽  
Dominique Roche
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
And Gender

Open data facilitate reproducibility and accelerate scientific discovery but are hindered by perceptions that researchers bear costs and gain few benefits from publicly sharing their data, with limited empirical evidence to the contrary. We surveyed 140 faculty members working in ecology and evolution across Canada’s top 20-ranked universities and found that more researchers report benefits (47.9%) and neutral outcomes (43.6%) than costs (21.4%) from sharing data. Benefits were independent of career stage and gender, but men and early career researchers were more likely to report costs. We outline proposed mechanisms to reduce individual costs of data sharing and increase benefits.

scholarly journals Survey on early career travel support shows geographic, career stage, and indigenous status inequality in access to polar science events

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Bradley ◽  
Juan Höfer ◽  
Valentina Savaglia ◽  
Clare Eayrs
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Polar Science ◽  
Scientific Meetings ◽  
Out Of Pocket Expenses ◽  
Status Inequality ◽  
Field Schools ◽  
The Cost

Abstract. Scientific meetings, conferences, field schools and workshops provide essential networking and training opportunities for early career researchers, but in highly international fields like polar sciences, attending these events can involve extensive travel. We surveyed Association of Polar Early Career Scientists members and other early career members of the polar science community to investigate the geographic and international variability in travel support relative to costs across the early stages of a researcher's career (Masters students, PhD students, post-docs and those in faculty or permanent research positions). 190 respondents from 38 countries answered questions on the perceived availability of different types and sources of travel funding and described up to three events they attended over the last two years. We found that the cost of attendance prevented nearly three-quarters of respondents from participating in at least one career-relevant events in the preceding two years. Due to insufficient research funding, early career researchers frequently have to top up partial support with personal funds. Increased event-based travel support would help to reduce out of pocket expenses, as would the timely notification of a travel award to benefit from early bird registration and cheaper travel and accommodation. Replacing the more common practice of travel reimbursement with a travel advance would remove another barrier to attendance. Large disparities in what kinds of expenses are covered exist between geographic regions and funding mechanisms. Addressing the disparities in travel support for career-relevant events will promote diversity and foster inclusion in the next generation of polar scientists.

Facets of Specialization and Its Relation to Career Success: An Analysis of U.S. Sociology, 1980 to 2015

2021 ◽  
pp. 000312242110562
Author(s):  
Raphael H. Heiberger ◽  
Sebastian Munoz-Najar Galvez ◽  
Daniel A. McFarland
Keyword(s):  
Positive Influence ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Careers ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Publish Or Perish ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Structural Topic Modeling

We investigate how sociology students garner recognition from niche field audiences through specialization. Our dataset comprises over 80,000 sociology-related dissertations completed at U.S. universities, as well as data on graduates’ pursuant publications. We analyze different facets of how students specialize—topic choice, focus, novelty, and consistency. To measure specialization types within a consistent methodological frame, we utilize structural topic modeling. These measures capture specialization strategies used at an early career stage. We connect them to a crucial long-term outcome in academia: becoming an advisor. Event-history models reveal that specific topic choices and novel combinations exhibit a positive influence, whereas focused theses make no substantial difference. In particular, theses related to the cultural turn, methods, or race are tied to academic careers that lead to mentorship. Thematic consistency of students’ publication track also has a strong positive effect on the chances of becoming an advisor. Yet, there are diminishing returns to consistency for highly productive scholars, adding important nuance to the well-known imperative of publish or perish in academic careers.

scholarly journals STEM Training and Early Career Outcomes of Female and Male Graduate Students: Evidence from UMETRICS Data Linked to the 2010 Census

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Buffington ◽  
Benjamin Cerf ◽  
Christina Jones ◽  
Bruce A. Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Graduate Training ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Wide Range

Women are underrepresented in science and engineering, with the underrepresentation increasing in career stage. We analyze gender differences at critical junctures in the STEM pathway--graduate training and the early career--using UMETRICS administrative data matched to the 2010 Census and W-2s. We find strong gender separation in teams, although the effects of this are ambiguous. While no clear disadvantages exist in training environments, women earn 10% less than men once we include a wide range of controls, most notably field of study. This gap disappears once we control for women's marital status and presence of children.

scholarly journals The impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK for doctoral and early career researchers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia C. Jackman ◽  
Rebecca Sanderson ◽  
Tandy J. Haughey ◽  
Caroline E. Brett ◽  
Naomi White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Leadership ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Considerable Heterogeneity ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractDoctoral researchers and early career researchers (ECRs) are crucial to producing scientific advancements and represent the future of academic leadership. Their research endeavours were changed radically by lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived benefits and challenges of the national lockdown in the UK from the perspective of doctoral researchers and ECRs. We present analysis of qualitative survey data from 1,142 doctoral researchers and ECRs on their experiences of the first UK lockdown collected from April 16, 2020–May 14, 2020. Our findings suggest considerable heterogeneity in how the pandemic impacted this key group of academic workers. Challenges arising from the lockdown largely cohered around a poor work environment, limited access to resources, perceptions of pressure, and negative psychological outcomes. Conversely, respondents also highlighted several benefits in the early stages of the pandemic, with the change to working from home creating more time, resulting in greater productivity and a better work-life balance. Collectively, findings indicate the importance of considering the personal circumstances and needs of individual researchers. We discuss the implications for support these researchers require to rebuild their careers in the wake of the initial disruption.

Flights of two female academics’ entry into the profession

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narelle Lemon ◽  
Susanne Garvis
Keyword(s):  
Final Analysis ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Career Trajectory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Inquiry Approach ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Learning From Others

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate what can be learnt about early career researchers through a narrative self-reflection of two academics’ moving towards the end of the early career into middle career stage. Design/methodology/approach – The two academics’ share their experiences as self- study reflective inquiries, specifically as a want and need for “more” through this respective involvement in critically thinking about and planning their career trajectory. Using Schwab's (1969) flights from the field as an interpretative tool, this event is the trigger used to story and re-story the personal experience of the academics through a reflective inquiry approach. Findings – Looking across the reflective self-studies, the final analysis reveals similarities, differences and tensions of the lived experiences of early career researchers’. Originality/value – Through listening to the voices of early career academics insights are gained that highlight the need for active agency in the academy while learning from others to focus on building research profiles.

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