How do researchers navigate their role and professional relationships?
The dynamic between early career researchers/academics (ECR/ECA) and their principal investigators (PIs)/managers is formative in shaping academic careers. Research suggests potential conflicts in the different professional expectations held by ECRs and their managers. To delve into these differences we are employing three different qualitative, narrative-based methods to explore how PIs and postdocs perceive their roles and professional relationships.
Your research, your voice.
As part of this project, we are exploring how early career academics and research supervisors think about their respective roles and professional relationships.
This research will be asking participants to respond to three writing prompts. The purpose of the prompts is to inspire diverse and honest submissions that will provide exploratory and novel insight into the interpersonal aspects of the researcher experience. For EDI purposes, we will also collect background characteristics and ask a few open-ended questions about professional expectations.
Participants will be asked to choose and respond to one of the following writing prompts. They will also complete a brief survey and may be asked to participate in a follow up research interview.
There is compensation of lifestyle vouchers valued between £10-£20 pounds, depending on which prompt participants chose.
Option 1: Three things
We estimate that this option will take about 5 minutes to complete.
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Write three things you wish you knew before starting your current role
AND
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Three things you are glad you knew when you started your current role
Option 2: Job description
We estimate that this option will take about 10 minutes to complete.
If you are a postdoc or early career academic, please describe the job role of either yourself or your current Principal Investigator/research supervisor. It can be realistic, exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek or funny. You control the tone!
If you are a principal investigator or research supervisor, please describe the job role of either yourself or your current postdocs/mentees. It can be realistic, exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek or funny. You control the tone!
Option 3: Letters
We estimate that this option will take about 20 minutes to complete. In this option we ask you to write a brief letter. The content of the letter is up to you, but you might want to discuss how you feel about the job you are doing, how you feel about research and academia more broadly, or offer some advice to the letter recipient.
You control the tone of your letter – it can be serious, funny or even a cathartic exercise. You might want to share thoughts that you do not feel able or willing to share in your day-to-day working environment. You can address the letter to whomever you choose. If you name someone directly, we will remove any identifying information about this person during data analysis.
If you are a postdoc or early career academic, please write a letter to one of the following:
- Your principal investigator/research mentor
- Your PhD-self
If you are a principal investigator or research mentor, please write a letter to one of the following:
- Your postdoc(s)/your research mentee(s)
- Your postdoc-self
- Your PhD-self
Research Culture Celebration
According to the University of Cambridge’s institutional plan for research culture, ‘research culture describes the environment in which research happens, and includes the norms in behaviours, expectations, attitudes and values of our research communities’. Similar sentiments are expressed around the sector, with the assumption being that research culture encompasses not only the outcomes of knowledge advancement efforts but also the nature of the work environments in which such efforts take place.
We will be inviting nominations to a Research Culture Celebration. We have taken the broad scope of research culture into account by structuring, nominations around applicable themes.
For PI nominations, these themes include:
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Leadership
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Concern for professional development
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Recognition and Reward
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Wellbeing management and support
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Inclusive practice
For research group nominations, these themes include:
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Wellbeing management and support
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Recognition and reward
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Inclusive practice
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Collegiality
Nominations will open in spring 2024.
My Postdoc Journey
Online diary entries will be used to capture how first-time postdocs at the University shift from thinking about what the role might be like to knowing and experiencing the job in practice.
Participating in these studies
These studies will be enrolling beginning Spring 2024.
*The link to the studies is at the top left-hand side of this page, in the drop down menu*
The Information sheets for the studies can be accessed here:
