How do field-specific research practices affect mobility decisions of early career researchers?

Abstract. Young researchers of today will shape the field in the future. In light of current debates about social psychology’s research culture, this exploratory survey assessed early-career researchers’ beliefs (N = 88) about the prevalence of questionable research practices (QRPs), potential causes, and open science as a possible solution. While there was relative consensus that outright fraud is an exception, a majority of participants believed that some QRPs are moderately to highly prevalent what they attributed primarily to academic incentive structures. A majority of participants felt that open science is necessary to improve research practice. They indicated to consider some open science recommendations in the future, but they also indicated some reluctance. Limitation and implications of these findings are discussed.

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Survey of Australian STEMM Early Career Researchers: job insecurity and questionable research practices are major structural concerns

10.1242/prelights.17681 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jonny Coates

Keyword(s):

Job Insecurity ◽

Early Career ◽

Research Practices ◽

Questionable Research Practices ◽

Early Career Researchers

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Survey of Australian STEMM Early Career Researchers: job insecurity and questionable research practices are major structural concerns

10.1101/2020.02.19.955328 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine Christian ◽

Carolyn Johnstone ◽

Jo-ann Larkins ◽

Wendy Wright ◽

Michael R. Doran

Keyword(s):

Job Insecurity ◽

Intention To Leave ◽

Early Career ◽

Research Practices ◽

Questionable Research Practices ◽

Community Needs ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Engineering Mathematics ◽

Quality Of Research

AbstractWe sought to understand the pressures on Early Career Researchers (ECR) in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, & Medicine (STEMM) disciplines, collecting data from 658 ECRs working in Australia. Respondents indicated a “love of science”, but most also indicated an intention to leave their position. Decisions were primarily motivated by job insecurity (52%), while grievances included poor supervision (60%), bullying or harassment (34%), inequitable hiring practices (39%) and poor support for families (9.6%). A concerning rate of “questionable research practices” by colleagues (34.1% to 41.1%) was reported to have impacted ECR career advancement. Our study links recent reports that characterise the health of the research industry, providing direct insight from ECRs on job insecurity, workplace culture challenges, and the logical rise of questionable research practices. Internationally, nationally and institutionally the research community needs to improve job security (care for our people) and the quality of research data (our product).

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Credibility Beyond Replicability: Improving the Four Validities in Psychological Science

10.31234/osf.io/bu4d3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Simine Vazire ◽

Sarah R. Schiavone ◽

Julia G. Bottesini

Keyword(s):

False Positives ◽

Early Career ◽

Psychology Research ◽

Research Practices ◽

Psychological Science ◽

Early Career Researchers

Psychological science has seen an explosion of metascientific work on improving research practices, especially in the area of replicability (reducing false positives). This movement, sometimes called the credibility revolution, has spread to address other problems afflicting psychological science. Here we focus on the “four validities” (Shadish et al., 2002) and highlight some of the most important developments aimed at improving these four validities in psychology research. We propose that the credibility revolution in psychology, while having its roots in replicability, has spurred major advances in validity more broadly, and much of this work has been led by early career researchers.

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A survey of early-career researchers in Australia

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.60613 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine Christian ◽

Carolyn Johnstone ◽

Jo-ann Larkins ◽

Wendy Wright ◽

Michael R Doran

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Job Insecurity ◽

Intention To Leave ◽

Early Career ◽

Workplace Culture ◽

Research System ◽

Research Practices ◽

Questionable Research Practices ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Academic Workforce

Early-career researchers (ECRs) make up a large portion of the academic workforce and their experiences often reflect the wider culture of the research system. Here we surveyed 658 ECRs working in Australia to better understand the needs and challenges faced by this community. Although most respondents indicated a ‘love of science’, many also expressed an intention to leave their research position. The responses highlight how job insecurity, workplace culture, mentorship and ‘questionable research practices’ are impacting the job satisfaction of ECRs and potentially compromising science in Australia. We also make recommendations for addressing some of these concerns.

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