Measurement of Negative Mentoring in Undergraduate Research

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences are known to foster students' personal and professional growth. Prior studies have demonstrated that positive mentoring experiences have positive effects on undergraduate researchers. However, the prevalence and impact of negative mentoring experiences have not been systematically investigated. Such experiences would be expected to have detrimental impacts on the undergraduate researchers. This project aims to develop, test, and use new survey instruments to measure the incidence and impact of negative mentoring on undergraduate researchers in the life sciences. Analysis of the results will provide information about the frequency of negative mentoring, its effects on undergraduate student researchers, and possible actions to reduce or prevent it. This project will also provide insights on the effect of negative mentoring on undergraduates from backgrounds that are historically under-represented or under-served. This project aims to accomplish three major goals: define a construct of negative mentoring in undergraduate research, produce a valid and reliable measure of negative mentoring in undergraduate research, and conduct a preliminary investigation of the impacts of negative mentoring. Following established guidelines for developing new psychological measures, the project will begin by interviewing a diverse group of undergraduate student researchers who have experienced negative mentoring. Analysis of their responses will define a construct of negative mentoring in undergraduate research. A large pool of undergraduate students nationwide will take a draft survey based on this construct. Results of this survey will provide preliminary insight into the effects of negative mentoring and helping to inform refinements of the survey instruments. Administering the refined survey instrument to undergraduate student researchers nationwide will increase understanding of the impact of negative mentoring on undergraduate research outcomes. This project has the potential to yield insights and produce tools that could help improve the quality of undergraduate research mentoring. This project will also test interventions aimed at reducing or preventing negative mentoring and its impacts. These results can contribute to improving undergraduate research experiences so that their potential to build STEM talent and broaden participation in STEM can be realized. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.