Finding the Path to a Successful Graduate and Research Career: Advice for Early Career Researchers

Fisheries ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 399-403
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Maitland ◽  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Mark Poesch
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Career Advice

It takes a village to raise an ECR

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Browning ◽  
Kirrilly Thompson ◽  
Drew Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Track Record

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe organisational strategies that support early career researchers in building a successful track record which can lead to a successful academic research career. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on more than a decade of experience designing, implementing and evaluating professional development programmes for early career researchers in universities. Findings If an early career researcher is to achieve long-term success, the first five years after graduating with a doctorate are critical in establishing long-term career success. Professional development programmes for early career researchers are more successful if they are supported by organisational strategies around workload, performance management and accountability. Originality/value If implemented, these organisational strategies can assist early career researchers to build a successful track record, which can lead to a successful research career and contribute towards increasing aggregate institutional research performance for universities.

Developing future research leaders

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Browning ◽  
Kirrilly Thompson ◽  
Drew Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Development Programme ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Research Culture ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Research ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Researcher Development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel strategy for building research capability in a young university with an emerging research culture. Investment in building research capacity is essential for universities to remain competitive, but one of the challenges for younger universities is developing the research capability of individuals in an emerging research culture. Design/methodology/approach – To gain a better understanding of how leading researchers become research leaders and how universities can design strategies to attract, retain, develop and promote researchers, we carried out a study of 30 research leaders in Australia. We then designed and implemented a cohort-based career development programme for early career researchers. Findings – From our research, and the programme we developed, we have found that developing early career researchers does not mean teaching them how to do research – it means teaching them how to build a track record, which can lead to a research career. A development programme for early career researchers is a short-term investment for longer-term returns, but these programmes do have immediate impact on research productivity for the individual researchers and for the organisation. Practical implications – We consider the success of the Early Career Researchers Programme is due to the regular face to face workshops, the development of the research career plan and the supportive research environment provided by the me. Originality/value – The investment in this programme clearly demonstrates the value of researcher development on research outputs and research careers. These methods could be applied to researcher development training programmes elsewhere.

scholarly journals What Keeps Them Interested? Influences on the Stability of Research Career Intentions in the Course of Academic Qualification

10.28945/4537 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 217-235
Author(s):  
Doreen Forbrig
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Career Intentions ◽  
Scientific Careers ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Academic Qualification ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Society Research

Aim/Purpose: While scientists play a crucial role within modern knowledge societies, the attractiveness of scientific careers in Germany is moderate due to career uncertainty and the limited perspectives of long-term retention in academia. This study identifies (intra-individual) changes in the career intentions of early career researchers. Furthermore, supporting factors for the stability of research career intentions are shown. Background: Recent studies investigated early career researchers’ career intentions and predictors for their development in cross-section. These studies determine influences of individual factors, such as interests or self-efficacy beliefs, and organizational aspects like working and doctoral training conditions. By contrast, there is little knowledge about intra-individual changes in career intentions in the course of academic qualification. Methodology: Longitudinal data of 101 research associates at a German university were collected via survey questionnaires in 2016 and 2018. Descriptive analysis was used to investigate changes in career intentions in consideration of doctoral phases. Logistic regression was applied to predict the stability of research career intentions over time. Contribution: So far, research investigated the career intentions of early career researchers in Germany solely in cross-section. The present paper contributes in two ways. Firstly, intra-individual changes in career intentions are identified from a longitudinal perspective. Secondly, the stability of research career intentions is explained, considering various individual and contextual factors based on the Social Cognitive Model of Career Choice. Findings: Descriptive analyses illustrate the tendency of declining interest in scientific careers in the course of academic qualification. The stability of research career intentions is predicted by changes in attractiveness ratings of a professorship and subjective assessments of research abilities relative to peers. Changes in academic self-efficacy beliefs have no significant effect. Recommendations for Practitioners: Firstly, the attraction of and the path to a professorship must be structurally strengthened. Secondly, early career researchers should be supported in developing realistic assessments of their subjective research skills relative to peers. Mentoring in addition to academic supervision, mental support, or opportunities for peer counseling are expected to be valuable offers. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers seeking to explain the career intentions of early career researchers should be aware of their changeability. Hence, they should be investigated in extended longitudinal studies. Furthermore, impostor feelings as influencing factors on career intentions need further research. Impact on Society: Research and knowledge are the basis for innovation and progress. In today’s knowledge society, research is in direct competition with both other countries and the private sector. In order to attract the “brightest minds” for academia, universities and research institutes must gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the stability of research career intentions. Future Research: Future research should focus on specific instruments of promoting early career researchers and how they affect the development of realistic assessments of individual research skills. Moreover, international ECRs should be explicitly considered since a researchers’ visa status potentially affects career prospects and individual career intentions.

Support early-career researchers for post-pandemic prospects

Nature ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 580 (7802) ◽  
pp. 185-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arild Husby ◽  
Gemma Modinos
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Early Career Researchers

Barriers and facilitators to conducting research by early career psychiatrists: a literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-154
Author(s):  
Katja Koelkebeck ◽  
Maja Pantovic Stefanovic ◽  
Dorota Frydecka ◽  
Claudia Palumbo ◽  
Olivier Andlauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Participation ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Research Career ◽  
Hand Search ◽  
Electronic Search ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The Cochrane Library ◽  
To Receive

AbstractObjectivesTo understand and identify factors that promote and prevent research participation among early career psychiatrists (ECPs), in order to understand what would encourage more ECPs to pursue a research career.MethodsWe conducted an electronic search of databases (PubMed and the Cochrane library) using the keywords ‘doctors’, ‘trainees’, ‘residents’, ‘physicians’ and ‘psychiatric trainees’ as well as ‘research’ (MeSH) and ‘publishing’ (MeSH). This search was complemented by a secondary hand search.ResultsWe identified 524 articles, of which 16 fulfilled inclusion criteria for this review. The main barriers included lack of dedicated time for research, lack of mentoring and lack of funding. The main facilitators were opportunities to receive mentorship and access to research funding.ConclusionsAction is needed to counteract the lack of ECPs interested in a career in research. Specific programs encouraging ECPs to pursue research careers and having access to mentors could help increase the current numbers of researching clinicians in the field.

Future Physiology 2019: Uniting early career researchers

2019 ◽  
pp. 25-25
Author(s):  
Katie Hesketh ◽  
Mark Viggars
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
Early Career Researchers

scholarly journals Positioning for success: building capacity in academic competencies for early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Merritt ◽  
H. Jack ◽  
W. Mangezi ◽  
D. Chibanda ◽  
M. Abas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Academic Competencies ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background. Capacity building is essential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the gap in skills to conduct and implement research. Capacity building must not only include scientific and technical knowledge, but also broader competencies, such as writing, disseminating research and achieving work–life balance. These skills are thought to promote long-term career success for researchers in high-income countries (HICs) but the availability of such training is limited in LMICs. Methods. This paper presents the contextualisation and implementation of the Academic Competencies Series (ACES). ACES is an early-career researcher development programme adapted from a UK university. Through consultation between HIC and LMIC partners, an innovative series of 10 workshops was designed covering themes of self-development, engagement and writing skills. ACES formed part of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI), a multi-national LMIC-led consortium to recruit, train, support and network early-career mental health researchers from four sub-Saharan African countries. Results. Of the 10 ACES modules, three were HIC-LMIC co-led, four led by HIC facilitators with LMIC training experience and three led by external consultants from HICs. Six workshops were delivered face to face and four by webinar. Course attendance was over 90% and the delivery cost was approximately US$4500 per researcher trained. Challenges of adaptation, attendance and technical issues are described for the first round of workshops. Conclusions. This paper indicates that a skills development series for early-career researchers can be contextualised and implemented in LMIC settings, and is feasible for co-delivery with local partners at relatively low cost.

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