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Should research experience be used for selection into graduate school: A discussion and meta‐analytic synthesis of the available evidence
Author(s) -
Miller Anthony,
Crede Marcus,
Sotola Lukas K.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/ijsa.12312
Subject(s) - disadvantage , psychology , graduate students , sample (material) , medical education , selection (genetic algorithm) , meta analysis , pedagogy , medicine , artificial intelligence , computer science , chemistry , chromatography , political science , law
Prior research experience is widely considered by graduate school admissions committees in the United States of America. Here, we use meta‐analytic methods and data from 18 unique samples and a total sample size of 3,525 students to shed light on the validity of prior research experience as a predictor of graduate school performance. Prior research experience was largely unrelated to academic performance ( ρ = .01, k = 8, N = 1,419), degree attainment ( ρ = .05, k = 3, N = 140), professional/practice performance ( ρ = .06, k = 4, N = 1,120), and publication performance ( ρ = .11, k = 7, N = 1,094). We also discuss whether consideration of prior research experience may unfairly disadvantage the students with lower levels of SES, students with childcare or eldercare responsibilities, and students from institutions at which research opportunities are limited.