Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, Cancer Prevention Research Training Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2020 Feb 19;15(2):e0228197. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228197. eCollection 2020.
The number of biomedical sciences PhDs persisting in academic faculty careers has been declining. As one potential influence on trainees' intention to persist, we investigate the development of scientific communication (SC) skills, hypothesizing that attitudes and behaviors regarding scientific writing, speaking, and presenting predict academic research career intention, through science identity. After adapting a social-cognitive career theoretical model of SC to include science identity and mentor practices, we conducted a longitudinal survey of 185 doctoral and postdoctoral fellows. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among SC productivity, SC self-efficacy, SC outcome expectations, mentor practices in SC, science identity, and research career intention. Results confirmed the overall model and revealed additional specific pathways: SC productivity and SC outcome expectations directly predicted career intention; SC productivity and mentor practices predicted science identity through SC self-efficacy. Demographic factors did not predict intention when controlling for SC variables. Findings support a model of SC skill development as a predictor of research career intention (R2 = .32). The finding that SC language use predicts science identity has important sociolinguistic implications. The key factors in this process are actionable at the trainee, mentor, and institutional levels, suggesting potential for SC interventions to increase career persistence.
从事学术教职的生物医学科学博士学位数量一直在下降。作为对受训者坚持意愿的潜在影响之一，我们研究了科学交流 (SC) 技能的发展，假设关于科学写作、演讲和展示的态度和行为通过科学身份来预测学术研究职业意愿。在将 SC 的社会认知职业理论模型改编为包括科学身份和导师实践之后，我们对 185 名博士和博士后研究员进行了纵向调查。结构方程模型用于检验 SC 生产力、SC 自我效能、SC 结果期望、SC 中的导师实践、科学身份和研究职业意愿之间的关系。结果证实了总体模型，并揭示了其他具体途径：SC 生产力和 SC 结果期望直接预测职业意愿；SC 生产力和导师实践通过 SC 自我效能预测科学身份。在控制 SC 变量的情况下，人口统计学因素并不预测意图。研究结果支持 SC 技能发展作为研究职业意愿预测指标的模型 (R2 =.32)。SC 语言使用预测科学身份的发现具有重要的社会语言学意义。这一过程中的关键因素在受训者、导师和机构层面都具有可操作性，这表明 SC 干预措施有可能增加职业持久性。
