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Mentor‐Mentee Interaction and Laboratory Social Environment: Do They Matter in Doctoral Students’ Publication Productivity?
Author(s) -
Ynalvez Marcus Antonius,
Ynalvez Ruby,
Ramirez Enrique
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.885.1
Subject(s) - productivity , psychology , perception , set (abstract data type) , medical education , computer science , medicine , neuroscience , economics , macroeconomics , programming language
We explored the social shaping of science at the micro‐level reality of face‐to‐face interaction in one of the traditional places for scientific activities ‐‐ the scientific lab. We examined how doctoral students’ perception of their: (i) interaction with doctoral mentors (MMI), and (ii) lab social environment (LSE) influence productivity. Construed as the production of peer‐reviewed articles, we measured productivity using total number of articles ( TOTAL ) and number of articles in top journals ( TJ ). Face‐to‐face survey data were obtained from n=210 molecular biology Ph.D. students in selected universities in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. To summarize the original 13 MMI and 13 LSE semantic‐differential items that we used to measure students’ perceptions, a principal component ( PC ) analysis was performed. The result was a parsimonious set of 4 MMI PCs and 4 LSE PCs. To identify which PCs influenced publication counts, we performed a Poisson regression analysis. Although perceived MMI was not linked to productivity, perceived LSE was linked: Students who perceived their LSE as intellectually stimulating and as having privacy reported high levels of productivity. Our findings not only highlight how students’ perception of their training environment factors in the production of scientific output, they also carry implications for improving mentoring programs in science. Support or Funding Information National Science Foundation Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences (Award#0830109)