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12 March 2024

Bring PhD assessment into the twenty-first century

You have full access to this article via your institution.

A woman holding a cup and saucer stands in front of posters presenting medical research

Innovation in PhD education has not reached how doctoral degrees are assessed. Credit: Dan Dunkley/Science Photo Library

Research and teaching in today’s universities are unrecognizable compared with what they were in the early nineteenth century, when Germany and later France gave the world the modern research doctorate. And yet significant aspects of the process of acquiring and assessing a doctorate have remained remarkably constant. A minimum of three years of independent study mentored by a single individual culminates in the production of the doctoral thesis — often a magisterial, book-length piece of work that is assessed in an oral examination by a few senior academic researchers. In an age in which there is much research-informed innovation in teaching and learning, the assessment of the doctoral thesis represents a curious throwback that is seemingly impervious to meaningful reform.

But reform is needed. Some doctoral candidates perceive the current assessment system to lack transparency, and examiners report concerns of falling standards ( G. Houston A Study of the PhD Examination: Process, Attributes and Outcomes . PhD thesis, Oxford Univ.; 2018 ). Making the qualification more structured would help — and, equally importantly, would bring the assessment of PhD education in line with education across the board. PhD candidates with experience of modern assessment methods will become better researchers, wherever they work. Indeed, most will not be working in universities: the majority of PhD holders find employment outside academia.

Collection: Career resources for PhD students

It’s not that PhD training is completely stuck in the nineteenth century. Today’s doctoral candidates can choose from a range of pathways. Professional doctorates, often used in engineering, are jointly supervised by an employer and an academic, and are aimed at solving industry-based problems. Another innovation is PhD by publication, in which, instead of a final thesis on one or more research questions, the criterion for an award is a minimum number of papers published or accepted for publication. In some countries, doctoral students are increasingly being trained in cohorts, with the aim of providing a less isolating experience than that offered by the conventional supervisor–student relationship. PhD candidates are also encouraged to acquire transferable skills — for example, in data analysis, public engagement, project management or business, economics and finance. The value of such training would be even greater if these skills were to be formally assessed alongside a dissertation rather than seen as optional.

And yet, most PhDs are still assessed after the production of a final dissertation, according to a format that, at its core, has not changed for at least half a century, as speakers and delegates noted at an event in London last month on PhD assessment, organized by the Society for Research in Higher Educatio n. Innovations in assessment that are common at other levels of education are struggling to find their way into the conventional doctoral programme.

Take the concept of learning objectives. Intended to aid consistency, fairness and transparency, learning objectives are a summary of what a student is expected to know and how they will be assessed, and are given at the start of a course of study. Part of the ambition is also to help tutors to keep track of their students’ learning and take remedial action before it is too late.

PhD training is no longer fit for purpose — it needs reform now

Formative assessment is another practice that has yet to find its way into PhD assessment consistently. Here, a tutor evaluates a student’s progress at the mid-point of a course and gives feedback or guidance on what students need to do to improve ahead of their final, or summative, assessment. It is not that these methods are absent from modern PhDs; a conscientious supervisor will not leave candidates to sink or swim until the last day. But at many institutions, such approaches are not required of PhD supervisors.

Part of the difficulty is that PhD training is carried out in research departments by people who do not need to have teaching qualifications or awareness of innovations based on education research. Supervisors shouldn’t just be experts in their field, they should also know how best to convey that subject knowledge — along with knowledge of research methods — to their students.

It is probably not possible for universities to require all doctoral supervisors to have teaching qualifications. But there are smaller changes that can be made. At a minimum, doctoral supervisors should take the time to engage with the research that exists in the field of PhD education, and how it can apply to their interactions with students.

There can be no one-size-fits-all solution to improving how a PhD is assessed, because different subjects often have bespoke needs and practices ( P. Denicolo Qual. Assur. Educ. 11 , 84–91; 2003 ). But supervisors and representatives of individual subject communities must continue to discuss what is most appropriate for their disciplines.

All things considered, there is benefit to adopting a more structured approach to PhD assessment. It is high time that PhD education caught up with changes that are now mainstream at most other levels of education. That must start with a closer partnership between education researchers, PhD supervisors and organizers of doctoral-training programmes in universities. This partnership will benefit everyone — PhD supervisors and doctoral students coming into the research workforce, whether in universities or elsewhere.

Education and training in research has entered many secondary schools, along with undergraduate teaching, which is a good thing. In the spirit of mutual learning, research doctoral supervisors, too, will benefit by going back to school.

Nature 627 , 244 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00718-0

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Where To Find Journal Articles For PhD Research: A Beginner’s Guide

Writing a high-quality dissertation or thesis requires the student to review high-quality original papers. Whereas books and grey literature provide useful information for dissertation writing, the majority of the sources should come from peer-reviewed journal articles. This composition of references cited in a dissertation is one of the things that examiners look at when marking a PhD student’s dissertation.

This post is a useful guide for PhD and Masters students preparing to write their dissertations or theses on where they can find original peer-reviewed articles.

Specifically, novice PhD students can find original journal papers from: online journal databases, Google Scholar, ResearchGate and Twitter.

Online journal databases

There are many online journal databases, each covering specific fields. The databases have several journals within them, each covering a specific field of research.

The databases in most cases require subscription but most universities have subscribed to them. If a student is not sure, they should check with their university’s library.

In order to access the databases, students are required to log in with their institutional email addresses.

The table below provides examples of common journal databases and their websites (arranged alphabetically):

The list of databases in the above table is not exhaustive.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a great start for finding relevant journal articles.

To use Google Scholar:

Go to https://scholar.google.com/
There are two options provided: articles and case law. Select the “articles” option.

Search what you want to find using relevant keywords. As an example, I would like to find articles on “maternal health during covid-19.” The following 159,000 results are shown, sorted by relevance (with the most relevant article at the top).

Searching for articles in Google Scholar

Scan through the titles of the articles and select those that seem relevant to your research. Open them and look through the abstract to further determine their suitability to your research. If suitable, save them to your folder for later reading.
For each relevant article found, look at the “related articles” section (see the image below).

Additionally, for each relevant article, look at the “cited by” section (see the image below). The “cited by” section lists all the articles that have cited a particular article. These articles are more recent than the article of interest and are therefore important because they provide a more updated state of evidence of the topic under investigation.

Lastly, create alert for the keywords (see the image below). Alerts will notify you through email when new articles on the specified keywords are published to Google Scholar. You can create numerous alerts that align with your research topics. This is a great way to keep abreast of the latest articles in your areas of research. But for the alerts to work, you need to first sign up with Google Scholar.

ResearchGate

ResearchGate is a great networking platform for researchers across the world. One can follow researchers in their areas of interest as well as specific research projects that are relevant to their research.

The search bar on ResearchGate can be used to search for research articles and authors.

To use ResearchGate:

Go to https://www.researchgate.net/
Sign up for an account and fill in your profile information. The profile has the following categories: Overview, Research, Experience, Stats, Scores, Following, and Saved List.

Under the overview tab, fill in details about your research interests, areas of focus, the languages you speak, your disciplines, and skills and expertise.

Under the research tab, include the projects you are working on as well as your publications.

Under the experience tab, fill in your professional experience, your education background, any grants, awards or scholarships you have received, and your affiliations.

The stats tab shows the number of citations, reads and recommendations you have received on your research publications.

The scores tab calculates your scores with regard to the exposure of your research work and how engaging you are on the platform.

The following tab shows all the research and topics you follow.

Lastly, in the saved list tab you can save research works that are of interest to you and which you can read later.

Based on your profile, ResearchGate will populate your page with feeds from researchers, research publications and research projects that you follow or that align with your interest.

It is therefore easy to receive information about new research articles that have been published in your areas of interest.

Alternatively, you can use the search bar to search for research articles covering your topic of investigation.

Another advantage of using ResearchGate is that it will notify you via email every time your followers publish new papers or anytime a project you follow is updated. This helps you to stay updated in your research fields.

Twitter is a social media platform but can also serve as a great source for finding original journal articles. Like ResearchGate, you can find journal articles on Twitter in two ways:

By following the experts in your field of research if they are on Twitter.

Most researchers on Twitter tend to tweet their new publications as soon as they are published.

Besides checking on Twitter’s feed for new publications, one can click on the profiles of the experts in their fields and check what they have been up to, for instance, what projects they have been involved in, what papers they have published etc.

By searching for relevant journal articles using Twitter’s search bar.

The advantage of using the search bar is that the search results always include not just published papers, but also events such as webinars and conferences that are being held on the searched topic across the world, grey literature being published by the organisations in the industry, and global news about the searched topic. All these sources of information are valuable for writing a high-quality and up-to-date dissertation.

Final thoughts on where to find original journal papers for PhD research

For PhD students, the quality of the references used in their dissertations or theses is as important as the quantity of the references. It is a classic case of “garbage in, garbage out.” While there are many places where PhD students can source for the original papers, this post lists four important and credible sources, some of which (such as ResearchGate and Twitter) are often overlooked yet they are highly valuable in finding not only quality research papers but also in connecting with experts in various fields.

How to Read Journal Papers Quickly and Effectively

Academic Referencing 101 (The What, Why and How)

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

Publish or Perish: Graduate Students' Guide to Publishing

In addition to endless piles of reading, demanding expectations in the classroom, student teaching responsibilities, and the always-looming awareness that they need to research, write, and edit a high-quality dissertation before graduating, today’s Ph.D. students also commonly feel stress about another topic: publishing. As more prospective employers expect degree seekers to get their names in academic journals and conferences while still in school, many learners feel overwhelmed by the prospects of making the grade. The following guide answers some of their most pressing questions, provides guidance on the ins and outs of publishing while still in school, and offers expert advice from a professor who knows better than most what it takes to publish rather than perish.

Understanding Publishing in Graduate School

Getting published as a grad student can feel overwhelming at first, because there’s so much to learn about the process and expectations surrounding it. With a bit of research, however, students can familiarize themselves with the specific language surrounding publishing and make in-roads towards getting their first paper published.

What Does it Mean to Get Published?

Within the context of graduate school, publishing refers to getting essays, papers, and research findings published in one of the academic journals or related forms seen as a leader in the field. As jobs in academia continue to become more competitive, it isn’t enough for learners to simply do well in their coursework. The degree seeker who hopes to land an important post-doctoral fellowship or find a teaching position at a college or university must make themselves stand out in other ways.

When Should a Ph.D. Candidate Get Published?

Getting a paper published takes a lot of time and effort, and those students who wait until the final year or two of a doctoral program may fail to actually have any published materials by the time they graduate. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Graduate Connections program , getting a paper published – especially if it’s your first – can take up to three years. In addition to the fact that most journals publish quarterly, the panel review process typically takes a significant amount of time and those submitting for the first or second time usually need to make a large number of edits and complete rewrites in order to reach a publishable standard.

How to Get Published

In order to get published, students submit their work to the journal or conference of their choosing. They frequently also provide a cover letter outlining their research interests. Most journals put out generic calls for submissions once or twice a year, while some may ask for papers addressing specific topics that have a much shorter turnaround time. Grad students may find it intimidating to go up against more seasoned academics, but another option revolves around partnering with their dissertation supervisor or another professor with whom they work closely with to co-author a paper. This not only helps ensure the validity of their findings, but alerts the academic world know that this other, more recognized faculty member believes in the research the student is doing.

Who Should Get Published?

Learners most anxious to get published are those who see their future careers in teaching and research. Because the world of academia is relatively small when divided into individual subjects, it’s important for students who want to break into these ambitious arenas to make a name for themselves early on and create a curriculum vitae that captures the attention of hiring committees.

Where Should Students Get Published?

When deciding which publications to pursue, students should consider the research aims of each and their likelihood of getting published. Newer journals tend to take more submissions as they are still working on building up their roster of contributors. While less venerated than other publications, getting printed in these can help build up name recognition and make it easier to break into the top-tier publications over time.

In terms of where work is published, the majority of students look to academic journals when sending out cover letters and examples of their work. But other options exist as well. Presenting papers at conferences is a popular avenue, as are chapters in books. The following sections takes a more in-depth look at how and where to publish.

Realities & Challenges of Getting Published

Getting published, especially while still in grad school, takes tenacity, focus, and a thick skin. Those who continue working on their craft, presenting at conferences, collaborating with others, and not taking no for an answer, however, frequently find success. Some of the challenges students may encounter include:

Lack of time

It’s no secret that doctoral students have busy schedules that seldom allow for outside – or sometimes, even related – interests to take up much of their days. Because publishing is not a degree requirement, carving out the time needed to research, write, and edit the type of paper required for publishing can feel impossible. With this in mind, student should look for ways to multitask. If presenting at a conference, think about how that paper could be transformed into a journal article.

Lack of confidence

Studies have shown that mental stress and illness frequently increase in grad school as students feel intense pressure to stand out from their peers. These feelings are often intensified when considering publishing, as learners are going up against academics and researchers who have been working in the field far longer than them. It’s important to remember that each of those renowned individuals had to start somewhere.

Lack of funding

Completing the research needed for a competitive paper doesn’t only take time – it requires money. Whether traveling to archives or printing all the necessary documentation, funding for outside research can be scarce while in school. Some programs provide competitive grants for research travel to help offset these costs.

Intense competition

As discussed earlier, competition for publishing is fierce. Academic journals and conferences only have space for so many authors and trying to get noticed can feel like a losing battle. In addition to seeking out newer publications and co-authoring with more notable figures, consider taking part in symposiums at the school you attend to get your foot in the door. While research on the average number of rejections is lacking, don’t feel discouraged if it takes a long time to be chosen for publication.

Finding the right publisher

While getting your name in print within an academic journal you greatly admire is the ultimate goal, it may take some years for it to come to fruition. One of the biggest mistakes students make is applying to ill-suited publications. Look for journals with editorial board members whose names you recognize. If a professor knows one of them, don’t be afraid to ask if they can help get your paper in front of them.

Adequately addressing feedback

Getting a paper published often requires intense editing and even completely restructuring and rewriting what you conceived in the initial abstract. If an academic journal shows interest in your essay but suggests rewrites, pay close attention to their requests and try to work with an advisor to ensure you meet all the stated requirements.

What do Graduate Students Publish?

Academic journals may receive the lion’s share of discussion in the publishing world, but graduate students can actually choose from numerous outlets and paths for getting their work to a larger audience. Students should review the options listed below and think about which format might showcase their work best.

Tips for Publishing

Despite the great amount of work required to publish, students who meet the challenges and persevere stand to position themselves favorably for future job opportunities. The following section addresses some of the most common questions about the process and alleviates general fears about how publishing (or not) reflects upon them.

How many papers should a Ph.D. student try to publish before graduating?

According to scholar-practitioner Dr. Deniece Dortch, no single answer exists. “There is no hard and fast rule as to the number of publications students should have prior to graduation,” she notes. “The reality is students in STEM disciplines and those who use quantitative methods are more likely to have publications prior to graduation because they often work in research teams and labs. This is not to say that qualitative scholars or those in other disciplines aren’t, but it’s a much more standardized practice in STEM for students to graduate with two or three publications. Personally, I had one sole-authored publication accepted prior to graduation, one first-authored piece, and one second-authored piece.”

How many journal articles is it possible to publish during a PhD?

“The answer varies and is determined by factors such as length of program, research team access, and faculty relationships,” says Dr. Dortch. “I’ve seen folks finish with as many as 10 publications, although this is extreme and doesn’t happen often.” She continues, “Imagine you are in a four-year program and you get your idea to write an article in year two. You submit that article in year three after getting approval, collecting data, analyzing it, and then writing your paper. Year three you submit that paper; it may be accepted in year four after months of revisions at the request of the editor. You finally have one published paper as you graduate.”

Are there PhD students who have no journal publications? Should they be worried about that?

“It depends on the type of employment the student is seeking upon graduation,” says Dr. Dortch, “Students applying to or wanting to work in institutions and organizations with the highest levels of research productivity who have no publications may want to consider post-doctoral positions so they have the time and space to work on increasing their publication record after graduation.” She continues, “Postdocs are a very common practice in many disciplines and are used as a way to gain additional training and expertise in research and teaching.”

Is it absolutely essential to have publications to apply for a PhD program?

In a word, no. Individuals working toward doctoral degrees have many reasons for doing so, not all of which require them to publish. Admissions panels also recognize that students focus their efforts on many different goals (e.g. jobs, internships, presenting at symposiums) throughout bachelor’s and master’s programs. As long as learners can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to scholarship, publishing is not an absolute requirement.

Does publish or perish begin before starting a PhD program?

It’s true that many students begin worrying about publishing before starting a Ph.D. program, but the reality is that they have ample time during and after completing a doctorate to make their mark on the world of scholarship. According to a recent article by Inside Higher Ed , some individuals in the academy now wonder if too much emphasis is being placed on grad students publishing. Learners unsure about this should speak to a trusted advisor or mentor to figure out when to focus on getting published.

What is the difference between a published article and a Ph.D. thesis?

While a Ph.D. thesis is required for satisfactory completion of a degree, a published article is not. A Ph.D. also takes a much longer form than a published article, averaging approximately 90,000 words. Academic journal entries, conversely, are usually between 4,000 and 7,000 words.

Should I first write my Ph.D. thesis or publish journal articles?

Though publishing at the doctoral level is increasingly seen as a requirement in the job market, it is not part of degree requirements. With this in mind, students should prioritize the research and writing of their thesis above all else. If they have the time and mental clarity needed to publish journal articles, this can be a secondary focus.

From the Expert

Dr. Deniece Dortch is a scholar-practitioner known for her commitment to diversity, social justice and activism. Dr. Dortch holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an Ed.M. in Higher & Postsecondary Education from Columbia University, an M.A. in Intercultural Service, Diversity Leadership & Management from the School for International Training and a B.A. in Spanish from Eastern Michigan University. Hailed a graduate school expert by NPR, she has published numerous articles on the experiences of historically underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students. She is the creator of the African American Doctoral Scholars Initiative at the University of Utah and currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Higher Education at The George Washington University .

Publishing as a student can feel intimidating. Why is this process important for learners to go through?

Long gone are the days of getting a good job by just having a solid dissertation or an award-winning thesis. Publishing your work while in school demonstrates a commitment to answering and understanding our world’s most complex problems. Further, institutions want to know that you have the capacity to publish. Now, publishing doesn’t mean you have to be first author or that you must publish sole-authored pieces only. Collaboration is also sufficient and often encouraged. The publishing process is intimidating for folks because it involves critique and, most often, rejection.

Receiving and giving critical feedback is part of the learning process and students should not shy away from it because it will only serve them well in the end as they learn to cope with disappointment and reward. But more importantly, there is no point spending months and years conducting research if you are just going to keep your findings to yourself. What you learn is meant to be shared.

What are some common mistakes these learners make when preparing their first papers?

Common mistakes that individuals make include not adhering to the guidelines outlined in the submission process. Examples of this can include ignoring formatting requirements (e.g. APA, MLA, etc.), going over the stated word count, inadequately proofreading, and not submitting a cover letter. This is probably the most important one.

What specific advice do you have for them in terms of finding the right outlet, preparing their work, and submitting to journals?

Students should have multiple individuals read over their work before submission. Writing is a process and even after it is submitted, it will need to be revised many more times before you will read it in print. It is part of the process. To find a good outlet for your work, pay attention to where other scholars are submitting their work. If you’re subject is aligned with theirs, you have a shot. Make a list of at least three outlets that fit your article. Also look out for special calls. A special call for submissions usually goes a lot faster than the regular submission process, so if you’re a student who is about to go on the job market, submit to those first. Also, the more competitive the academic, the longer the process, so keep that in mind. If you are rejected, just re-submit to the the next journal on your list.

In addition to publishing in journals, how else might a student go about getting recognition in their field while still in school?

Apply for all fellowships, grants, and awards that are specific to you and what you do. People in the academy love an award winner and they especially love people whose work has been recognized and/or funded by outside groups. A great way to increase a student’s visibility is to publish outside academic journals and publish in other media outlets. Also attend conferences in your field. Try to get on the program as a presenter or facilitator so that people in your field will start to know who you are and your research interests.

Aspiring PhDs: the (un)surprising relation between doctoral students and research productivity

Review Paper
Published: 22 January 2023
Volume 3 , article number 32 , ( 2023 )

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Cristóbal Rodríguez-Montoya ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8988-0248 1 ,
Carlos Zerpa-García ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7150-384X 2 &
Mirnalin Cherubin ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4296-4046 3

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Knowledge is a significant driver of economic growth. For higher education institutions (HEIs)-prime knowledge generators- as well as for nations, research productivity is a priority. The contribution of PhD students to research productivity is not entirely visible. This lack of visibility may have implications for policy making at the institutional and national level. This research employed a bi-level, mixed-method approach: qualitative at the microlevel (institutionally and individually) for inductive insights about the connection of PhD programs and students to research productivity; and quantitative at the macro-level, analyzing data from 78 countries, from 2014 to 2019. We found a statistically significant correlation between the number of PhD students and the quantity of papers published: over 90% ( R 2 = 0.904, F (1.365) = 3431.9, p < 0.01). Participant observation provided theoretical insights about the “how” and “why” of the student´s connection to research productivity.

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The Shifting Sands of Academic Output: University of Cape Town Research Output in Education and Social Anthropology—1993–2013

The Shifting Sands of Academic Output: University of Cape Town Research Output in Education and Social Anthropology (1993–2013)

Exploring Researcher Motivation: Implications for PhD Education

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Rodríguez-Montoya, C., Zerpa-García, C. & Cherubin, M. Aspiring PhDs: the (un)surprising relation between doctoral students and research productivity. SN Soc Sci 3 , 32 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00616-8

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Research Article

Using stakeholder insights to enhance engagement in PhD professional development

Contributed equally to this work with: Deepti Ramadoss, Amanda F. Bolgioni

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation School of Medicine Office of Graduate Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Medical Sciences & Education, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Office of Graduate Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Resources, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Validation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, D.C., United States of America

Roles Software, Visualization, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Graduate School, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America

Deepti Ramadoss,
Amanda F. Bolgioni,
Rebekah L. Layton,
Janet Alder,
Natalie Lundsteen,
C. Abigail Stayart,
Jodi B. Yellin,
Conrad L. Smart,
Susi S. Varvayanis

Published: January 27, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191
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There is increasing awareness of the need for pre- and post-doctoral professional development and career guidance, however many academic institutions are only beginning to build out these functional roles. As a graduate career educator, accessing vast silos and resources at a university and with industry-partners can be daunting, yet collaboration and network development are crucial to the success of any career and professional development office. To better inform and direct these efforts, forty-five stakeholders external and internal to academic institutions were identified and interviewed to gather perspectives on topics critical to career development offices. Using a stakeholder engagement visualization tool developed by the authors, strengths and weaknesses can be assessed. General themes from interviews with internal and external stakeholders are discussed to provide various stakeholder subgroup perspectives to help prepare for successful interactions. Benefits include increased engagement and opportunities to collaborate, and to build or expand graduate career development offices.

Citation: Ramadoss D, Bolgioni AF, Layton RL, Alder J, Lundsteen N, Stayart CA, et al. (2022) Using stakeholder insights to enhance engagement in PhD professional development. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0262191. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191

Editor: Sina Safayi, Rush University Medical Center, UNITED STATES

Received: August 14, 2021; Accepted: December 20, 2021; Published: January 27, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Ramadoss et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: De-identified data is made available in accordance to IRB approved protocols. These file are available from the Open Science Framework (OSF) database (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/24SNV ).

Funding: This work was supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Guidance for Trainees [CGT025] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bwfund.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=LCoaETVuHImoupB%2FEQCCp%2BTS%2BZaReZm9FBmcRHfkSTU%3D&reserved=0 ) (DR), National Institutes of Health [DP7OD020322] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=zijFvu9h2EVOjSfrvYuZqWGM47CaHA1rE7P%2BVc4Pah0%3D&reserved=0 ) and Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Career Guidance for Trainees [1018849] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bwfund.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=LCoaETVuHImoupB%2FEQCCp%2BTS%2BZaReZm9FBmcRHfkSTU%3D&reserved=0 ) (AFB); National Institutes of Health [DP7OD020317] https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=zijFvu9h2EVOjSfrvYuZqWGM47CaHA1rE7P%2BVc4Pah0%3D&reserved=0 ) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences [1-R01GM140282-01] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nigms.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=Ov7fbmaQgul6IdBM3NMR8ucsBwBkBCOHjkcqqbt6LLs%3D&reserved=0 ) (RLL); National Institutes of Health [1DP7OD020314] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=zijFvu9h2EVOjSfrvYuZqWGM47CaHA1rE7P%2BVc4Pah0%3D&reserved=0 ) (JA); University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences ( https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/graduate-school/ ) (NL); National Institutes of Health [DP7OD020316] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=zijFvu9h2EVOjSfrvYuZqWGM47CaHA1rE7P%2BVc4Pah0%3D&reserved=0 ) (CAS); National Institutes of Health [DP7OD18425] ( https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nih.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cdeepti.ramadoss%40pitt.edu%7C70f047ae361445cf2e1b08d9c5d2fb33%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C637758333513545052%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=zijFvu9h2EVOjSfrvYuZqWGM47CaHA1rE7P%2BVc4Pah0%3D&reserved=0 ) (SSV) The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Institutions of higher education hold myriad potential connections between pre- and post-doctoral researchers, faculty and administrators, internal university offices, industry partners, professional societies, and funding organizations. Internal university partnerships are vital, ranging from pre- and post-doctoral researchers and university faculty, to externally-facing communications and alumni development offices. University career and professional development (CPD) programs also develop and rely on external partnerships, particularly with programming and resources designed for pre- and post-doctoral researchers. While CPD programs understand that these partnerships improve the pre- and post-doctoral training experience, provide pipelines for entry of pre- and post-doctoral researchers into the workforce, and lead to synergies and collaboration, the full value of these relationships may not be completely understood to internal and external partners. Our work explores the foundational value of internal and external intersections and how to best leverage them to prepare pre- and post-doctoral researchers for the workforce. The aim is to more efficiently and successfully coordinate relationships that meet all stakeholders’ needs with a more thorough understanding of stakeholder objectives and the relative value of engagements.

This project is a spinoff of the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training–NIH BEST [ 1 ] Consortium’s Annual Meeting, in 2018. The Consortium (funded 2013–2019) was comprised of programs at 17 higher education institutions challenged by the NIH to develop innovative approaches to prepare pre- and post-doctoral researchers for a wide range of careers in the biomedical research enterprise. The Consortium’s final Annual Conference (in 2018) explicitly invited collaborations, presentations, and conversations through joint programming with institutions beyond the Consortium–ranging from well-established pioneer pre- and post-doctoral professional development program institutions to newer and aspiring institutional programs interested in establishing professional development programs, as well as external private and non-profit collaborators. This research project emerged from the massively audacious goal identified by and adopted by the Blue Sky Visioning Mastermind Group that “all pre- and post-doctoral scholars have support and resources needed to explore and pursue all careers, and faculty and institutional leadership buy in to the importance of this mission.”

The goals of this publication are to bring awareness within the higher education community about various stakeholders that commonly engage with graduate CPD, shed light on stakeholder perceptions of career development and engagement, broaden the composition of engaged collaborations, and provide engagement tools. This information can help institutions and individuals quickly self-assess and visualize strengths/opportunities with stakeholders for the purposes of CPD at their institution, and, over the long-term, build stronger relationships and partnerships.

Defining stakeholders

The authors quickly realized that to attain their goal, a broad set of stakeholders would need to be consulted. Informed by the authors’ experience in industry relations and engaging with higher education, stakeholders were identified, classified, prioritized, and consolidated into a rapid tool for stakeholder engagement (see Methods ). Table 1 displays internal and external stakeholder classification groups and subgroups: internal stakeholders include pre- and post-doctoral researchers, faculty/administrators, and external-facing staff; external stakeholders include non-profit and society partners and industry employers. Each stakeholder subgroup was approached with a specific set of questions to explore their perceptions of graduate career education and professional development, as well as their motivations for engaging with any of the other stakeholder groups, ultimately seeking advice for how to best engage them in CPD programming. Descriptions of desirable and required skills, as well as resources to share with pre- and post-doctoral researchers were sought.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.t001

Internal stakeholders.

The group that receives the most frequent focus from CPD professionals includes pre- and post-doctoral researchers. Fostering stakeholder engagement from pre- and post-doctoral researchers is critical for providing effective programming [ 2 ]. CPD programs less frequently look beyond pre- and post-doctoral researchers to engage a full spectrum of university stakeholders within their own ecosystem.

Foremost among them is the faculty. Data from the BEST Consortium indicated that a large majority of faculty are supportive of career training for various careers and have recognized that pre- and post-doctoral researchers participating in CPD activities were happier and making timely progress toward degree completion–a fact that can be used to recruit additional internal stakeholder engagement from faculty [ 3 – 5 ]. Faculty don’t always believe they have the knowledge or resources to assist pre- and post-doctoral researchers whose career interests lie outside academia, although they largely support their career pursuits [ 5 – 8 ]. Promoting transparency, encouraging the normalized need for career support, and recommending conversations to initiate CPD coaching will help bridge some knowledge and awareness gaps.

In addition to partnerships with internal communications, environmental health and safety, or research support offices for experiential opportunities, identifying internal collaborators with external-facing roles has the potential to reduce the need to develop de novo program components, to seed ideas that leverage each other’s networks and knowledge domains, and to overcome common roadblocks [ 9 ]. Cost-sharing on resources and events are an added benefit for engaging with internal partners (including student leaders) and opens doors for pre- and post-doctoral researchers to engage in on-campus job shadowing and internship opportunities for experiential learning [ 2 , 9 , 10 ]. Collaborations with alumni relations and development offices can dramatically expand the network of potential speakers and mentors [ 11 ]; it can also lead to coordinated fundraising campaigns for CPD initiatives. Moreover, establishing relations with other internal partners with external-facing roles in industry or federal relations, technology transfer, licensing, or research commercialization can amplify the skill sets of pre- and post-doctoral researchers seeking experiential learning opportunities in real-world settings [ 10 ].

External stakeholders.

Efforts of career development professionals must simultaneously be internally and externally focused to fully understand the skills current pre- and post-doctoral researchers need to execute an informed transition into careers of their choice [ 12 ]. In addition, external focus identifies potential employers to build pipelines for these researchers, attract funding sources, access training opportunities to support their CPD, and increases visibility and accessibility of the resources offered by CPD programs. External stakeholders include partners and employers as seen in Table 1 . The categorizations in Table 1 are based on how CPD practitioners primarily interact with each group but can overlap with other categories, as many partners are also employers.

Stakeholders in external groups such as industry, non-profits and government agencies, including professional societies and associations, have long partnered with academia in disseminating research and technical training. They increasingly offer skill-building and career development opportunities via conferences and webinars to assist current pre- and post-doctoral researchers in the career selection process. Additionally, societies acknowledge multiple career options and wield positional influence to support culture change within academia.

A primary function of CPD programs is to strengthen the future workforce by preparing pre- and post-doctoral researchers for interaction with external stakeholders , ultimately, future employers. Therefore, the foci of these outward-facing efforts should be strategic to broaden networks and facilitate connections. Engaging external employer stakeholders in networking events, site visits, job shadowing, internships and panel discussions makes it possible for pre- and post-doctoral researchers to explore and test-drive various PhD careers [ 9 , 10 , 13 ]. This study provides what we hope are useful tools and insights to address all types of stakeholder engagement.

Stakeholder identification and engagement

Study design..

This study is intended as an exploration of a field, and an opportunity to observe emerging phenomena. The research team identified both internal and external stakeholder groups relevant to graduate CPD programs in order to further identify values that each stakeholder places upon bidirectional interactions to advance CPD for pre- and post-doctoral researchers. Common themes were identified through open-ended questions and unanticipated value propositions to develop potential approaches for improving interactions and methods of engagement between the university and potential partner organizations.

Data collection.

Interviews offer a rich and robust capture of perspectives [ 14 ], providing in depth, open-ended responses and opportunity for dialogue between researcher and participant. Single-interaction, semi-structured interviews, conducted either in-person (before COVID-19), by phone, or online via Zoom, were used with standardized questions and optional probing follow-up questions as needed (see S1 File for complete interview question list). Once core questions were established, subsets of parallel but slightly amended questions relevant to each stakeholder group were developed. Due to privacy concerns, neither recording nor transcriptions were requested/approved for human subjects. Instead, interviewers took digital or manual live notes. In all interviews, verbal consent was sought from participants.

Recruiting/access to and selection of participants.

Selection criteria for interview subjects were designed to be representative of identified stakeholder groups, with an initial goal of including 5–6 individual interview participants per stakeholder subgroup. External stakeholders initially included industry and non-profit/societies grouped together, but after the first few interviews, the research team discussed the difference in themes that arose from these interviews and arrived at the consensus to classify them as two distinct groups. Therefore, additional participants were recruited to ensure there were 5–6 participants for each of these subgroups.

Potential participants were identified by several means: by each interviewer independently, based on individuals known to the interviewers; referrals within and across the authors’ networks; or vetted Google searches. The invitation selection process considered a broad variety of types of organizations or groups based on stakeholder classification (see Table 1 ) and identified a sampling of individuals within a particular subgroup that included variety in perceived support for the premise, academic disciplinary background, education level, as well as across social identity categories including gender, race/ethnicity, and international status. Other factors considered included leadership/experience level, tenure in respective organizations, and any experience or interest in working at the interface of professional/career development for varying purposes. This background was not known for all and some were purposefully naïve or underexposed to CPD initiatives in higher education. A review of prospective participants’ general characteristics served to uncover similarities or duplications. Efforts were made to ensure that a variety of types of organizations were represented in each subgroup.

Conducting interviews.

Once selected, prospective participants were invited by email to participate in a short 15-20-minute interview. The template invitation (see S2 File ) included a brief script of the study’s purpose and description, plus an overview of the questions to be asked. Interviewer and participant found a mutually convenient time and format (in-person, phone, or video conference call).

After identifying stakeholder groups and subgroups (see Table 1 and Discussion for the importance of flexibility and refinement), four interviewers conducted a total of 45 stakeholder interviews (of 55 invitations). Themes were collected separately for the groups that used the same sets of questions to differentiate responses (i.e. pre- and post-doctoral researchers versus faculty and administrators, external partners versus employers). Following the first round of interviews, one group had a higher sample size than the others, therefore, to keep group numbers roughly equal, target recruitment goals were updated to a minimum of eight interviews per subgroup (see S1 Table ).

Data analysis and interpretation/validity.

A multi-stage process was used for data analysis and interpretation, including sorting of sensitizing concepts [ 15 ], and analysis and reduction of data through application of grounded theory [ 16 , 17 ], leading to the identification of emergent themes, hierarchical grouping, and concept categorization. One member of the research team who did not conduct any interviews was designated as coder. The coder and each individual interviewer reviewed and ’binned’ potential initial themes emerging from keywords and phrases, and separated text into categories using paraphrased concepts or the original words from each participant into each row of a spreadsheet with category column headings. This ongoing collaborative synthesis of data and collection of emergent themes contributed to the iterative data reduction and display process, including a process of contrast/comparison, and noting patterns and themes [ 18 ].

At the conclusion of coding of each interview, coder and interviewer reviewed the initial data-sorting and ’binning’ to ensure themes were appropriate and consistent with participant intent. With each subsequent interview within a stakeholder group ( internal , external ) and subgroup, themes were refined; new ’bins’ were created if the participant’s comments did not fit into an existing bin. If a response fit into two themes, then they were placed in both bins and coded as repeated. A second text review after all interviews were complete was conducted by the coder, with all authors working collaboratively in a process to establish inter-rater reliability. The team appraised the interviews in the larger context to make sure the original interview notes and emergent themes were not in conflict, still represented participant viewpoints, and to catch any themes missed in the first review. A final complete review by all authors prior to summation repeated this process through robust group discussion and collaborative decision-making [ 19 ]. All final themes and comments were reviewed and consolidated to assure researcher agreement on the accuracy of the themes and statements were selected to represent each theme.

Unique themes found in interview text were highlighted and reported as representative themes that arose when multiple instances of each theme occurred within a stakeholder subgroup.

Subjectivity/ethical issues/limitations.

All interviews were conducted by researchers who are professionals in higher education (e.g., program directors, associate directors, assistant deans) strongly invested in CPD for pre- and post-doctoral researchers (within offices of graduate education, postdoctoral affairs, CPD programs, evaluation). All interviewers are professionally full-time employed women in the US, and the study team included US and international interviewers, both people of color, Asian, and White.

The possibility of selectivity bias exists, in opinions or stories shared by participants based on their roles, and in the selection of participants within individuals’ networks tending toward supporters of graduate CPD. To attain a balanced view of various stakeholder subgroup perspectives as well as in recruiting participants, three methods were used to avoid compounding selectivity bias: 1) a semi-structured interview style with pre-selected questions (see Recruiting). 2) explicit recruitment of “nay-sayers” as well as “supporters” of university/organizational partnerships and graduate career training. 3) Online searches to identify further participants beyond known networks (e.g. Google), as well as searches and requests to members of known networks (e.g. LinkedIn) to suggest individuals the authors had no previous connection to, who might not be interested in or knowledgeable specifically about graduate professional development, but were in positions related to industry-university engagement activities. Each interviewer conducted interviews with individuals they knew and those they had never met, from offices or organizations they were familiar with and those with which they had no prior knowledge. Specific inclusion of the question, “Do you follow the national conversation about career development and outcomes of PhD-trained scientists?” helped determine their level of awareness of the subject matter. Nonetheless, the authors recognize the need to interpret findings with caution and that they will not represent all possible viewpoints. The results should be viewed as pilot data to inform additional research.

All participants provided oral informed consent. Participant names are anonymized using pseudonyms and all data is de-identified prior to sharing in accordance with IRB approved protocols (Rutgers–FWA00003913 Study ID Pro2020222400; PittPRO STUDY19110306-I4; UNC IRB# - 19–3054; Boston University H-40210). Note that the pseudonyms were randomly assigned and their perceived ethnicity or gender is not intended to represent the individual participant. Any correlation with a theme and gender, race or ethnicity is purely coincidental. Demographics were gathered at the last step to fill in post-analysis to prevent unconscious bias or revealing of identity or demographics of any participant. In detailed results in S3 File , only pseudonyms are used, using the code in S2 Table .

Stakeholder engagement tool

The authors observed a gap between the perceived awareness of the variety of stakeholders and the ability to assess and capitalize on strengths of potential existing partnerships with internal and external stakeholders . To help rapidly assess the two, a tool was created. During the development of the stakeholder engagement tool, categories were refined based on discussion among the authors, their combined experiences working with various stakeholders, as well as a two-way influence of the interview process (the tool influencing the interviews, and the stakeholder perspectives from the interviews influencing refining the tool).

The authors first debuted the tool publicly during interactive workshops at sequential meetings of the 2020 international conference hosted by the Graduate Career Consortium. Input from conference attendees participating in that workshop helped question previous assumptions and helped to better describe how users would customize the tool.

Use of the stakeholder engagement tool.

STEP 1: With your unit or collaborators, create a list of stakeholders—start with the suggested categories (see Table 2 below) and customize for your institution & geographic area by entering your own labels to tailor to your institution. Try to be specific (i.e. don’t say ’alumni office’ but rather, ’alumni association of Boston’). You can further break these down into lists of names and contact info. Note that engaging with naysayers/agnostics can be as valuable as engaging with your supporters to identify blind spots and valuable alternative perspectives.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.t002

STEP 2: Based on your institutional knowledge, take one or two minutes with your team to quickly rank your perceived level of engagement with the stakeholder groups in the first column. The authors encourage users to define their own Likert scale to calibrate the level of engagement or use the suggested Likert scale in Table 3 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.t003

For analysis and interpretation of the stakeholder engagement tool, see the Results section.

A total of 45 individuals were interviewed by four interviewers ( S1 Table ). Consenting participants consisted of both men (42.2%) and women (57.8%). Participant demographics included US (71.1%) and international (28.9%); African American (15.6%), Asian (17.8%), White (62.2%), and Hispanic (4.4%). Participants were geographically diverse across the US, with interviewers accessing their own networks primarily across the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest United States, but also extending geographic representation via national organization contacts and referrals.

Stakeholder organizations included public, private, and public-private hybrid institutions of higher education (some with medical schools); large and small companies in or serving the biotech, medtech or pharma industries; as well as foundations, non-profit organizations or business associations serving STEM fields. Major themes arising from each set of stakeholders are presented, with details available in S3 File .

Stakeholder 1 –Internal pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers

Interviews ( S1 File ) probed attitudes towards devoting time to CPD. Responses from ‘frequent users’, ‘occasional users’, or ‘non-users’ of CPD programming were separated. Responses broadly had two flavors: support for CPD programs and their perceived benefits, or opportunities to improve ( Fig 1 ).

(a) Sankey diagram and (b) stacked bar graph representing the same data of the number of mentions for each theme representing benefits and challenges/opportunities to improve mentioned by frequent users, occasional users and non-users.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g001

Support for and perceived benefits of CPD programs identified by pre- and post-doctoral researchers.

Pre- and post-doctoral researchers find CPD affects productivity in a positive way and allows for CPD programming users to get a broad overview of resources (12 mentions or 12 M). Community-building advantages of professional development activities, e.g. bridging researchers across labs was discussed (11 M), highlighting confidence-building, cultural, and gender-based inclusivity that these programs can provide via intentional conversations and making role models prominent. This aligns with findings of a sense of community among those attending CPD training, especially in cohort or mandatory participation models [ 2 ]. The benefit of networking activities with hiring managers and recruiters outside academia was underscored. Advantages such as exposure to different career paths, allowing for informed decision-making (6 M), embedded/required CPD training providing consistent support and messaging (6 M), and prestige for recruitment (4 M) were raised.

Challenges or opportunities to improve identified by pre- and post-doctoral researchers.

Pre- and post-doctoral researchers communicated their desire for consistent exposure to CPD activities throughout training (18 M). Centralized programming to equalize access to resources and institutionalize the concept of career development to facilitate faculty acceptance was viewed as necessary (5 M). Challenges around personal growth (4 M), and the express need for faculty permission (4 M) were identified.

For details, including representative comments for individual themes, see S3 File .

Stakeholder 2–Internal faculty and administrators

Participants answered the same questions as the pre- and post-doctoral researchers subgroup above ( S1 File ) focused on probing attitudes towards devoting time to CPD, and opinions of existing or hypothetical CPD opportunities. Themes that arose naturally divided participant responses into categories that were later identified as ‘enthusiastic supporter’, ‘cautious supporter’, and ‘non-supporter’ responses ( Fig 2 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g002

Perceived ‘benefits’ of CPD identified by faculty/administrators.

The benefits of CPD activities identified by faculty and administrators acknowledged evolving training requirements and climate (12 M), with comments ranging from requirements for training grant applications to how participation in these activities can improve mental health. Faculty and administrators acknowledged institutional peer pressure nationally among top tier universities to provide these opportunities, and that as educators, they believe there is an obligation to provide these experiences.

Enthusiastic supporters acknowledged the limited availability of faculty positions, and the value of transparency of workforce outcomes of alumni (9 M). Less supportive respondents believe that professional development is not related to graduate education, that it de-emphasizes academia as a career path, and that individuals who leave academia cannot return. Enthusiastic and cautious supporters noted valuable effects of CPD programming, such as promoting career planning and gaining professional skill sets (6 M), and improved reputation of graduate programs (3 M).

Challenges or opportunities to improve identified by faculty/administrators.

Multiple comments arose regarding early exposure to options, and the need for experiences tailored to each individual’s stage and priorities (17 M). Some faculty raised concerns and perceptions (13 M) such as the belief that CPD could be a distraction, and lengthen time-to-degree completion. Narrow definitions of professional development revolving only around academic skills (6 M) are among challenges observed by interviewees.

Stakeholder 3: External-facing staff (industry relations, tech transfer, communications, alumni relations and development)

Interviews with external-facing staff were guided by a different set of questions ( S1 File ). The goals of these questions were to identify with whom external-facing offices at institutions typically interacted, and around what topic(s) the majority of their interactions centered. While these offices are open to all institution affiliates, it is not known if the external contacts have an interest in STEM pre- and post-doctoral researchers.

Respondents in external-facing offices interact with small and large businesses and foundations (8 individuals), investors (4 individuals), alumni (3 individuals), inventors (2 individuals), and innovation centers (2 individuals). These respondents often wear several hats, and interact with many other affiliates and identities including experts, educators, presenters, business development and intellectual property professionals, an institution’s business school (e.g. on consulting projects), grateful patients, hospital systems, government, and professional organizations. It is of note that the themes below do not include a federal relations point of view ( Fig 3 ).

Bar graph representing the number of mentions of each theme.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g003

Reasons to engage with industry identified by external-facing offices.

Bringing the voice of the market to academic research is a strong motivation for interactions between industry and academia (16 M). Building partnerships between the two (11 M) has several benefits such as fundraising, increasing awareness of internship programs, and co-creation of curriculum content, and furthermore, provides long-term relationships and resources. External-facing staff are motivated by the possibility of fundraising or financial support (10 M) for the institution, as well as the perceived benefit to pre- and post-doctoral researchers (4 M).

Reasons external stakeholders engage with academia identified by external-facing staff.

A recurring theme that emerged was the perceived interest of external stakeholders in early access to emerging technologies and innovations (18 M). External stakeholders are believed to be keen to assist in developing an entrepreneurial mindset (11 M), such as instilling skills to better serve both researchers and the workforce more broadly, with an external-facing staff member referring to a joint research brief on entrepreneurial mindset, Ernst & Young & Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship [ 20 ], and to reports published by the EU Commission [ 21 ] and World Economic Forum [ 22 ]. External-facing staff also identified external stakeholders’ keen desire to create connections to faculty expertise (8 M), to have a venue for talent identification (6 M), an interest in providing scholarships/grants, or to fund programs (5 M), and paying it forward by means of creating opportunities (3 M).

External stakeholders’ interest in STEM pre- and post-doctoral researchers identified by external-facing staff.

While STEM knowledge was discussed as important, business acumen and experience were deemed as the distinguishing features of a successful industry applicant (10 M). Creating an expertise or talent pipeline (10 M) motivates external companies to interact with external-facing offices at institutions. The mutual benefit to multiple stakeholders (10 M) and the desire to support student needs (4 M) are perceived to be the sustaining power of these relationships.

External-facing staff’s additional thoughts.

External-facing staff were eager to share suggestions for researchers to better prepare for their careers (11 M), such as being prepared to learn on the job independently, trusting critical thinking, and relying upon other transferrable skills developed in training. Based on their experience, external-facing staff provided suggestions regarding CPD programming, such as the need for new perspectives on training (6 M), ensuring one point of contact (4 M), and including an alumni engagement role (3 M).

Stakeholder 4: External partners–societies, foundations, non-profits

Interviews with societies, foundations, and non-profits indicated that there were many partnerships and exchanges of service through which they interact with academia including: networking and community building, providing resources for honing career skills, generating scholarship and publications, facilitating advocacy, providing feedback and advice, and creating funding opportunities.

Discussion with the stakeholders from societies, foundations and non-profits brought new themes to light. These highlight many available resources that are not always accessed by institutions. The most common reason societies, foundations, and non-profits provided for wanting to engage with academia was to build relationships to connect academics with the mission of their organization ( Fig 4 ).

Bar graph representing the number of mentions of each theme for themes mentioned 3 or more times.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g004

External partner organizations’ engagement with academia.

Building relationships (16 M) was a large motivator for societies, foundations and non-profits to interact with academia, as is the prestige, recognition, and public visibility (8 M) that comes with interacting with prestigious academic institutions. This engagement is also seen as a catalyst for connections and knowledge (5 M).

Societies, foundations, and non-profits resources to offer.

Societies and foundations have several scientists on staff possessing a wide range of expertise and perspectives as a resource to offer (6 M), as well as varied online resources and guides (4 M), experiential learning opportunities (4 M), and self-exploration tools (2 M).

A few challenges faced by external partner organizations mentioned included limited funding (4 M), connecting with target audiences (3 M), and creating flexible, creative models along with the need for culture change (3 M).

External partner organizations’ view of career preparedness improvements.

The need for pre- and post-doctoral researchers to develop and broaden their skills and learning approach (11 M) was discussed frequently. Advice such as taking early initiative (8 M), improving self-efficacy and growth mindset (6 M), learning to listen with humanity and broaden diversity (4 M), making use of networking opportunities (2 M), and getting involved in professional societies (1 M) were provided, alongside the idea of defining one’s own success (1 M).

External partners’ view of engaging with academic institutions.

Non-profit and society stakeholders are keen to engage and disseminate their resources, and encourage institutions to coordinate on-campus visits (5 M), or organize for researchers to engage with them off campus (2 M). Some challenges discussed included the difficulty to integrate their offerings into training (2 M), their ability to engage at all levels with academic institutions (2 M), the perception that the wrong people make decisions regarding these partnerships (1 M), and the need for more industry mentors (1 M).

Stakeholder 5 –External employers–small and large companies, intellectual property firms, consultancies, accelerators

External employers interviewed for this study include representatives of large pharmaceutical, biotech, government or national labs, consulting firms, intellectual property firms, policy or communication organizations as well as small business/start-ups, accelerators and boutique consulting agencies.

Types of engagement already in place with universities include: recruiting events, career fairs, tours/site visits, case studies/workshops, serving on advisory boards for curriculum development, and internships. A key goal for this kind of engagement is to maintain relationships.

This representative sampling of interviews with external employer stakeholders revealed additional themes and underscored themes already brought to light in the previous interviews ( Fig 5 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g005

Reasons why industry external stakeholders engage with academia.

Companies desire being involved in professional development programs, as it helps recruit and broaden their reach (8 M), and are keen to build long-term relationships (5M), often facilitated by an alumna/us acting as the liaison. There appears to be a need for bidirectional partnerships (4 M), and advisory and feedback roles (3 M).

Training and collaboration industry-academia partnership benefits.

The modes of interaction between industry and academia include alumni working with their alma mater (8 M). Increasing awareness of industry’s resources to develop academia’s complementary skills was discussed (6 M), as well as advice to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to learn industry-relevant skills (4 M), recalibrate what is considered important in job functions (3 M), and make use of grants and academic collaborations (3 M).

An important aside arose that if a company’s needs are already met, they admitted to not seeking out interactions with academia.

Differing priorities and organizational complexities–Challenges with industry.

Challenges to industry interactions with academia include distrust due to perceived differing values (5 M), as well as a lack of a single point of contact at academic institutions (3 M).

External industry employers’ views on challenges with pre- and post-doctoral researcher preparedness.

Understanding career options, industry culture, and priorities (8 M) are considered critical to being a successful industry applicant. The need for pre- and post-doctoral researchers to develop skills such as good communication (8 M), present experience and motivation appropriately to employers (7 M), and increase focus on relationship building and collaborations (5 M) are seen as crucial skills for success in industry. The need for faculty culture change (4 M) to improve CPD relationships with industry was also discussed.

How to encourage industry professionals to interact and visit campus.

Several companies are glad to visit or interact with academic institutions upon receiving invitations, ideally by pre-doctoral or post-doctoral researchers (6 M), while some prefer attending high-impact events (3 M), match-ups (3 M), or hosting site visits at the company (1 M). Industry representatives advise academic leaders to be open-minded to industry (3 M), and mention the challenge of limited time and resources to engage with academia (1 M).

The vast majority of large and small external employers interviewed were unaware of the national conversation about career development and outcomes of PhD-trained scientists.

Stakeholder engagement tool purpose, use, and opportunities for action

A stakeholder engagement tool was created for practitioners to rapidly assess and identify with which stakeholder group they are primed to interact most efficiently. The tool can help practitioners quickly focus on existing strengths at their institution on which they can rely, as well as on areas of improvement and possible links to approach stakeholders strategically. Coupled with the themes found in the interview data, a targeted approach can be developed to improve stakeholder engagement.

The stakeholder engagement tool is fully customizable to reflect local organizations with whom to partner and those that already might have existing relationships. A 360-degree view of perceived stakeholder engagement can be quickly determined by encouraging colleagues around campus to fill out the tool. The resulting scores will inform discussion across offices to see where perceptions align and where there might be differences in scores. Since the tool is quick and easy to use and automatically creates a visual output by summing scores in each quadrant of the ensuing graph (representing internal pre- and post-doctoral researchers, faculty/administrators; external-facing staff; external partners; and external employers) practitioners gain a quick, holistic view of their engagement.

To interpret the output of the stakeholder engagement tool, use the Excel file ( S5 File ; Note: Please download the Excel file to view proper format) which automatically sums each quadrant. The scores toward the left or right of the plot indicate areas of focus externally (right, blue and grey) or internally (left, orange and red). The top half of the plot reveals information on internal/external users (in orange and blue), the lower half on internal/external partners (in red and grey). The sums in each quadrant indicate the relative strength in each stakeholder group (top left: internal stakeholders such as graduate students or faculty; top right: external stakeholders such as employers; bottom left: internal partners such as licensing office; and bottom right: external partners such as professional societies).

This is a self-reflection tool to identify areas of individual network engagement and areas for potential development. The more the sectors are filled to the outside of the circle, the more perceived relative engagement there is. Based on how you define your Likert scale (see suggested scale in Methods ), the score for the relative engagement may reflect representation of stakeholders belonging to each group, as well as frequency and quality of interactions between stakeholders. For example, the CPD office may only have one or two stakeholders in a given stakeholder group, but you might meet with them often and they might be extremely influential and enthusiastic about supporting CPD programs for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Moreover, it is important to engage with and address the concerns of naysayers, as this will add value to overall CPD operations and help to launch more successful programming.

In the example ( Fig 6 ), the internal stakeholders are visually a strength, especially graduate students, and there appears to be room for increased engagement with certain external stakeholders such as intellectual property firms.

A rapid assessment tool for internal and external stakeholders to evaluate competencies and determine strengths for engagement in career and professional development programming. Detailed instructions for entering values are in Methods, and interpretation can be found in Results. [see S5 File to download and use the stakeholder engagement tool and view proper format: https://osf.io/fc27x/?view_only=b166987514234b718d8457778651534f ].

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.g006

There are three basic approaches to action as a result of filling out the stakeholder engagement tool.

Evaluate competencies. Using this stakeholder engagement tool, start conversations in your group to identify a shared framework to address areas of strength and growth. Choose 1–3 areas to connect with stakeholders (some might be linked or be in one quadrant). Identify the decisions to be made and develop an action plan based on these linked competencies; for example, local companies and an accelerator/incubator might provide more opportunities around entrepreneurial career paths for postdocs.
Identify challenge areas. Look at the chart to identify three barriers to potential growth in stakeholder engagement (lowest scores, to the inside of the circle). Low scoring areas should be evaluated for feasibility and potential actions to take (or non-relevancy). These areas might form the basis for discussion of methods to overcome challenges. Pay attention to challenges pertaining to diversity among stakeholder networks, and reflection of stakeholder diversity as it pertains to the trainee population, such as international/domestic participants, gender or gender identities, and race/ethnicity. For example, conversations with your industry relations office, national labs and a trade organization might spark ideas; perhaps there are no business/tech parks nearby so a virtual site visit might increase interactions.
Map your strengths. In looking at the chart, identify three strengths (points reaching most to the outside of the circles). Look for strengths in each quadrant of users, internal/external partners, and employers. Identify key individuals in these areas and bring them together with your team to discuss next steps for engagement; for example, pre-doctoral researchers, career services and professional society representatives might meet to brainstorm ideas.

Common themes

When considering the diverse stakeholder groups, common themes emerged across the different internal and external groups. Themes that reappeared across the various stakeholders suggest that these topics should be priorities for CPD practitioners when attempting to engage broadly.

Individuals from all interviewed stakeholder groups recognized the value of CPD activities for pre- and post-doctoral researchers, despite different perspectives on similar concepts, with individual participants varying in levels of enthusiasm and commitment. For instance, there is a distinct need for CPD programs across stakeholder groups, who engage for varying reasons. Among internal stakeholders , most pre- and post-doctoral researchers believe these activities benefit their career growth, many faculty and administrators believe the programs strengthen researcher career development and benefit their mental health, and all external-facing offices are keenly aware of both the value to pre- and post-doctoral researchers and how these activities generate interest among external stakeholders . External partners and employers desire that researchers are well-prepared when entering the workforce, and encourage CPD programs to partner with them on program development. Notably, external partners develop many resources to aid CPD activities for pre- and post-doctoral researchers and encourage them to be involved and to use these resources.

Networking, making connections, partnering, and collaborating are seen as crucial aspects of CPD across all stakeholder groups. Pre- and post-doctoral researchers are interested in opportunities to build and grow their networks to help form their future careers, and faculty/administrators understand this to be critical to researcher development. Non-profits and foundations encourage non-prescriptive models for graduate learning, which could open the doors for more engagement across stakeholders, and industry partners offer assistance in developing programming and internship opportunities. Financial arrangements can be mutually beneficial: universities can benefit financially from industry interactions to support their research, and collaborative commercialization of research benefits industry. Additionally, external stakeholders are interested in connecting with academic institutions to have early access to emerging science and technology, develop partnerships to grow their own priorities, and build a talent pipeline. External employers also showed keen interest in collaborating with faculty, and recommend that academics engage with industry partners on joint publications to help highlight these partnerships in the media [ 23 ], and facilitate culture change regarding opinions on industry collaborations.

The timing and content of CPD activities was another important focal point with multiple subgroups (pre- and post-doctoral researchers, external-facing staff, external partners and employers) suggesting the need for integrated, persistent, embedded, and flexible access to these activities. In particular, pre- and post-doctoral researchers suggest that there is a need for consistent exposure to CPD throughout training, including by some infrequent users who believe that this programming should be woven into the curriculum for maximal benefit, as is common in professional schools. Historically, the common opinion was that pre- and post-doctoral researchers should focus on their careers after they complete their training, but this is not ideal as it delays the workforce pipeline [ 9 ]. In addition, some faculty stakeholders do not see the value of CPD activities and expressed some concern about the time their pre- and post-doctoral researchers dedicate to these activities. However, recent evidence-based research has shown that participation in internships, career development programming, K-12 outreach programs or IRACDA programs does not lead to increased time to degree or decreased productivity [ 3 , 24 – 26 ]. Pre- and post-doctoral researchers, faculty/administrators and external partners all noted the value of flexible programming to encourage pre- and post-doctoral researcher engagement. All stakeholders pointed to the need to remain informed about the needs of both researchers and the workforce when planning, designing, and executing CPD activities.

An important challenge identified by pre- and post-doctoral researchers, external-facing partners, and external stakeholders was the need to expand the purview of scientific training to include skill development for a variety of careers. Alongside this, these stakeholders comment on the challenge of normalizing CPD activities in the larger context of training, and the need to help academic leaders (e.g. faculty and administrators) understand that academic career preparation is only a part of CPD, and that other types of skill development are necessary, as they are complementary and important to the success of their pre- and post-doctoral researchers. For example, developing self-efficacy is extremely beneficial to researchers when approaching their CPD [ 2 , 27 ]. Relatedly, requiring faculty approval to participate in professional development activities can present a barrier to participation and reinforces the cultural stereotype that professional development is outside of the normal expected activities of a pre- and post-doctoral researcher. Despite federal agencies [ 28 ], clarifying that pre- and post-doctoral researchers’ skill development is critical, the concept of career exploration has not permeated to all faculty and administrators–it is evident that for successful CPD implementation, practitioners need to be active in outreach and engagement with internal faculty [ 5 , 9 ] and administrators. CPD offices should work to identify new strategies for conveying their services and value to develop faculty/administrator buy-in, e.g. more evidence-based research to convey the program’s benefits. Knowing the culture of local faculty and their attitudes toward CPD can help strategically design programs that will yield the highest number of participants [ 9 ].

Among other challenges discussed, one key challenge noted was the identification and implementation of streamlined methods to access or connect with the right resources or people. Pre- and post-doctoral researchers report struggling to identify resources at their institutions, suggesting the need for a centralized institutional CPD hub, while external-facing staff commented on not knowing the appropriate people within academic institutions with whom to connect their external contacts. External stakeholders recommend universities have a visible “one-stop shop”, to encourage external partners or employers to connect with them. Additionally, external stakeholders note that it is critical for a graduate career office to have strong engagement between past and present CPD practitioners, to ensure continuity of relationships with the various stakeholders.

A disconnect was revealed specifically for external stakeholders who are unaware of the national conversation about CPD activities, suggesting that practitioners at academic institutions should more frequently intermingle in industry settings and more broadly disseminate their findings to external stakeholders , perhaps at industry conferences.

The authors’ knowledge of internal stakeholders allowed them to engage with a spectrum of users of CPD services including frequent users, occasional users and non-users, as well as a range of faculty/administrators showing enthusiastic, cautious or no support for CPD activities. The variety of internal stakeholders interviewed resulted in valuable conversations to identify where CPD practitioners can improve. For example, pre- and post-doctoral respondent interviews cited requiring an increased awareness of their needs and purpose for engagement to better align existing CPD opportunities and guide new ones, while faculty/administrator interviews highlighted perceptions of CPD offices, identified concerns, collected suggestions on tailored experiences and exposures, and identified the need for clearly defined CPD. It appears valuable for CPD practitioners to have a clear understanding of internal stakeholders ’ needs and concerns to create effective programming. Simultaneously, university staff who engage with external stakeholders share similar interests to CPD offices that include supporting and giving advice to pre- and post-doctoral researchers. Hence collaborations with these partners can provide valuable external stakeholder perspectives.

In summary, common themes across all stakeholders are shown in S6 File . Many emerging common themes centered on a tailored approach to CPD programs. For example, while most stakeholders acknowledged the need for CPD, the desired timing and content of programming aligned with individual specific needs. This further accentuates the need for creating streamlined access, discussed by most stakeholders.

Stakeholder engagement

The stakeholder engagement tool was debuted at an international meeting of CPD practitioners to demonstrate how to evaluate and plot to extend their networks in a targeted and structured way. Feedback from university-based users included surprise to learn the number of partners that could be leveraged by sometimes small, understaffed offices tasked with serving large populations of graduate students and postdocs. Subsequently, the tool’s value was expanded to address diversifying not only the roles, sectors, and stakeholder groups existing within one’s network, but also who and which social identities or wide varieties of lived experiences were represented among those contacts. Newly identified partnerships across campus as well as in the local community were seen as options not previously considered, including (but not limited to; see S4 File for more examples) partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), as well as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), Latinx and other groups, serving those who have been historically excluded and underrepresented in science (e.g., persons excluded due to ethnicity or race [ 29 ]). Benefits cited by meeting attendees included the rapid ability to identify a wide variety of stakeholders with whom to work and partners to increase opportunities for their pre- and post-doctoral scholars.

An added value identified by participants was the quick analysis of potential barriers to growth in stakeholder engagement that could guide future discussions to overcome challenges. The tool was also cited as useful because it was designed for customization to each institutional setting, e.g. whether appropriate for recruiting industry partners in the local area if high density of contacts is available regionally, or fitting to explore ways to connect across a university that is a large, decentralized behemoth. Templates for how to reach out to potential partners were also reported to be useful. Of course, the tool is intended only as a first step in engaging stakeholders. More research and time investment is needed to determine the exact person to reach out to at various organizations if no existing partnerships exist, but the process is intentionally step-wise so that over time more stakeholders can be involved in CPD to benefit all parties. The tool serves as a way to focus on strengths of existing relationships, hone in on partners to include in discussions, or optimize outreach to spark new collaborations across stakeholders, rather than to identify specific challenge areas or strengths within a stakeholder group. We would advocate to first use the tool as a preliminary screen to identify which stakeholder categories to focus on. Informed by these themes identified through our interviews, CPD offices can then follow up with stakeholders to develop strong partnerships. Should the stakeholder engagement tool indicate that increased interactions with faculty or university administrators is warranted, that might stimulate conversations among CPD offices, department chairs and deans, to better inform faculty of the advantage of transferrable skills for all careers. These actions will help promote culture change in academia and reinforce awareness of the range of career options beyond academia available to PhDs.

CPD practitioners should consider engaging with both alumni and future employers as key stakeholders. Alumni are one of the most accessible external stakeholders for graduate career development work. The personal experience of alumni in the workforce provides critical input for assessing skills required by employers and to inform curriculum changes [ 2 , 9 , 12 ]. Furthermore, alumni connections are valuable for establishing external partnerships. Individual institutions vary in their ability to cultivate and engage alumni, influenced greatly by the existence of an alumni relations office with active engagement strategies, for example, social media sites and accessible directories [ 10 , 11 ].

Finally, the process of identifying external employer stakeholders as well as engagement opportunities should include strategic consideration of the location of the institution. For example, universities located in urban areas with a high concentration of biopharma companies might develop mechanisms to promote pre- and post-doctoral researchers’ biomedical expertise, valuable to local external stakeholders [ 10 , 30 ]. More isolated universities might organize a conference or trek to a more biotech-rich area [ 10 , 23 ].

Limitations and future directions

Faculty and administrators were sampled from a wide variety of roles, ranging from rank-and-file faculty; through departmental leadership such as Chairs, Associate Deans, and other leaders; through leaders in graduate and postdoctoral education such as Deans of Students. Nonetheless, we acknowledge the importance of identifying unique themes and perspectives that may arise for Provosts, Presidents, Chancellors, and other high-level university-wide leadership roles which are crucial to setting strategic aims, funding, and program priorities. The current sample did not include a large enough subset of high-level leaders to analyze the data separately, and future directions of research could include examining this group of administrators specifically.

External stakeholders were sampled from a variety of roles in industry and non-profit employers including small and large companies, intellectual property firms, consultancies, and accelerators. While this study did not specifically sample alumni as a stand-alone stakeholder group, some external stakeholder individuals (e.g., For-Profit, Non-Profit/Society) were incidentally alumni of the institutions represented. Still, we realize it is important to include the voice of recent PhD and postdoctoral alumni for their understanding of how their training affected their employability, how their industry sector views PhDs, and their retrospective views of their careers. This is especially of interest since they are role models for our current students and postdoctoral researchers, and are now potentially in hiring positions. Alumni are a very strong stakeholder group to engage with, as they are eager to give back to their institution, are invested in the institution, and directly experienced programs and the various stakeholders involved in the programs. Hence, investigating this stakeholder group would be extremely useful as a future research topic.

Further analyses that merit additional attention include examining unique themes arising through intersectional identity groups (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, international/domestic status, among others). Unfortunately, sample sizes within each stakeholder group were not large enough to examine these important differences; however, this is an important topic for additional work to consider.

Another useful future analysis would be to ask stakeholders to rank which challenges represent the biggest barriers, a function that was not queried in this study’s interviews. Such a ranking would assist CPD offices to prioritize resources to overcome challenges.

Though our research interviewed only people currently residing in the U.S., the importance of CPD globally should not be understated. A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) representing a coalition of 38 nations also emphasized the need for tracking PhD alumni career outcomes to help understand where the programs can increase their CPD, as postdoctoral researchers are outgrowing the number of tenured or permanently employed academic positions in many countries [ 31 ]. The importance of CPD and culture change around CPD is critical not only for the U.S. but also globally, and future research could garner more insights from a global perspective, although we recognize that the one-size fits all approach wouldn’t apply to all countries.

Conclusions

This study brings to light fundamental career and professional development (CPD) concepts that span the various internal and external stakeholder groups interviewed. Learning from these opinions is valuable, and can help form recommendations in the creation, design, and sustenance of effective CPD activities at individual institutions.

This study also presents the stakeholder engagement tool, which can be used for rapid self-analysis of practitioners’ networks to assess strong stakeholder relationships and areas where the practitioner can strengthen their network. Coupled with the various themes from interviews with 45 internal and external stakeholders across the country in various roles, graduate career practitioners can use the themes presented as discussion points to interact with their own stakeholders to prepare for potential meetings with new contacts. Meaningful and targeted engagement with various stakeholders is key to create and sustain successful graduate and postdoctoral CPD programs.

Supporting information

S1 table. number of interviews conducted per stakeholder subgroup, by interviewer..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s001

S2 Table. Pseudonym assignments for stakeholder interviews.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s002

S1 File. Rationale and sample questions for stakeholders.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s003

S2 File. Sample wording for invitation to participate.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s004

S3 File. Detailed results, including example comments.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s005

S4 File. Examples for diversifying networks.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s006

S5 File. Stakeholder engagement tool.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s007

S6 File. Common themes across stakeholders.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262191.s008

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Anuja Cabraal (Phd)

Keep a research journal: It is important

Keeping a research journal can be a very powerful research tool. Many great minds and historical figures used to journal, including Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison and many more. Very few people I come across keep a research journal, they often don’t even know about the concept. I want to share information about what to put in the research journal, and why I think it is important to keep one.

What is a research journal?

It is a record of everything that you are thinking about your research, or what you think at the time of your research. It is everything you are thinking about your research. It is not the place to take notes on your literature, but it is really a place where you can write down things that you are thinking about your research. It doesn’t need to writing, you can draw, sketch, paint anything!

It is meant for YOUR EYES ONLY. It is not something you have to show your supervisor, your peers or boss. It is a place for reflection on your research. You should feel free to write what you want, without worry of perfecting the writing, or even worrying about whether the ideas are correct, or valid.

Your journal doesn’t have to be written. You might choose to talk into a recording device. I used to record notes before and after interview in the car on the way to and from interviews. At a later stage, I would listen over these and selectively transcribe the notes into my journal.

What are the benefits?

The practice of writing : It helps you keep writing, which is one of the things many students and researchers find challenging. It is easier to do with a research journal because you know that no one else will look at it, and you know that you don’t need to sure of what you are writing.
Seeing things in writing can help clarify ideas: If you are unsure of your ideas or analysis, it can often help if you try and write it out. Seeing your writing, and sometimes the process of writing itself can help clarify ideas in your head.
It helps when writing up the project: You can use your research journal to help you with writing up your project. If you have a record of all your reasons, justifications and decisions about the project, you can use some of this in your final report/thesis/paper. Research projects can be long, and you might forget a lot of those things, so having it written down somewhere can help at the final stages. Particularly with introductions, and methodology sections.

Ideas on what you can include in your research journal:

All notes on your topic , including:

Why you like the topic (could be because of personal experiences)
Why you chose the topic
Potential research questions
Books/articles you would like to read
People you want to speak to about your research
Things you want to explore that seem beyond the scope of your research, why you want to explore them, and why you think they are beyond the scope.
Decisions about narrowing your topic, and why you chose to narrow it in t hat way (could be as simple as “because I was more interested in that”)

Notes that relate to analysis of your research, for example:

What you think you will find
What you think you are finding (as your research progresses)
Any relationships you might be seeing
Things that don’t make sense to you
Areas which you find interesting, but don’t think relate directly to your research question (might be something “new”)

Notes on your method , such as:

Thoughts on which methods you are thinking of using
Thoughts on your sample, and sampling technique
Methodological mistakes
Methodological triumphs
Justification of your method
Reasons for selecting the method/s you did
Pro’s and con’s of your methodology
Thoughts before and after an interview
Personal feelings before and after an interview (because they can affect the information that you collect).

Keep everything in one document, and keep it in chronological order. Use headings to differentiate between topics.

To sum up: What do you put in a research journal? EVERYTHING!!

My research journal read like a diary at times. I even included personal information about what was happening in my life. It helped to keep me writing, and helped me understand why I chose to take my research into certain directions.

Remember that no one else has to see this but you. There will probably be a lot of jargon and rubbish in there, but there will most certainly be some real gems of writing that you yourself will marvel over.

It is never too late to start , so I suggest go open a new document called “research journal” and get typing right now!! If you are stuck, and don’t know what to type, I always used to start with “I don’t really know what to write now, but…”. So go get writing (or talking)!

I’d love to hear about the benefits you have found with keeping a journal, or even the types of things you include in your journal.

Published by Dr. Anuja Cabraal

Writer. Qualitative researcher. View all posts by Dr. Anuja Cabraal

30 thoughts on “ Keep a research journal: It is important ”

Reblogged this on Elodie Crespel .

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I’m in the fourth year of my PhD and my research journal has more words than my thesis (over 82,000 words so far). It has been a really important place to reflect on my personal journey, as well as the academic one. I write about the things I’m doing to explore my topic beyond the narrow confines of what is required by the thesis. It is a useful record of where I have been and how I am progressing. Often chunks of it become blog posts, and some paragraphs have been copied into the thesis. It will possibly become a book of its own one day. The happier I am, the less I write, so it seems to be a place where I let out stressful stuff too. Re-reading it at intervals is encouraging, because I can see that I’ve come a long way. I highly recommend keeping a research journal or a personal diary for all the reasons described in your post, but also for your own sanity.

I have done this for projects in the past and it is SO important for projects that often get backburnered. With a journal, you can pick up right where you left off!

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Yes. This is really applicable to any walk of life. We are such wordy, intellectual creatures. Anything we do is enriched by a steady discourse with ourselves that we can easily keep in a pocket. Thanks for this reminder!

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It ‘is very interesting and I like your points they are very good.

A really great post! A research journal is also a great place to keep track of research databases and archives you have searched and keywords you have used in your searches.

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Most helpful and instructive.

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Where would you store your research journal in NVivo? A source, a memo? Thanks

I would store it as a memo.

I’ve been trying to keep a research journal, but I have trouble with keeping it with me. I have a handwritten journal, but often my thoughts come at times when I don’t have a spare hand to write. I could use a recorder, but that eliminates the advantage of having everything in one place. Any ideas on how to integrate the two?

I suggest you simply transcribe as soon as you get the chance. I used to transcribe first thing the following morning. It was a great way to get my head back into the research space.

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Great post! I have kept a journal since university for just about everything, but for some reason it took me a long time to apply the concept to research. My life journal is handwritten, but for research I find it easier to type things up. I use Evernote, which can handle audio recordings as well, doesn’t require an internet connection, and allows for tagging.

Very helpful. I’m a mature (57yo) student about to start an Open Degree with the Open University. This post has inspired me to start keeping a Research Journal.

I’m really glad you found it useful!

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As self reflexive journaling is a method of qualitative research, if I list this method within my research proposal, will this constitute my journal being part of the research data, thus owned by the University and able to be read by my department et al? If yes, would this mean two journals are kept? Thx!

Thank you for this inspired post, you describe it well ‘EVERYTHING!!’

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I loved this post. Do you have tips for going back to find things? I’m afraid if I hand write on my remarkable that I will lose things in the mass of words I will write. Do you often reread or have organizational ideas for making the journal easy to search?

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40 Must-read academic blogs for researchers and PhD students

Around the web

Andrea Hayward

40 Must-read academic blogs for researchers and PhD students

I am a scicomm junkie! I love scouring the Internet for instances of researchers and other professionals within science and academia engaging in online science communication and outreach. Not to mention picking up and following the buzz around various trending social media conversations initiated by these individuals! Of all the existing forms of online engagement, academic blogs are at the top of my list of sources to learn more about what researchers really feel about the scholarly publishing industry. Blogs offer a great way to pick up chatter about what’s brewing in scholarly publishing and what researchers think about specific aspects of academia.

Today, researchers blog to talk about their research interests, their own publications, advances and innovations within their academic disciplines, and personal views about various aspects of the scholarly publishing industry. They also use blogging platforms to share experiences and anecdotes from across their academic careers as well as some of the challenges they faced along the way and how they scaled them. Several blogs are also dedicated to providing tips and guidance to fellow researchers and PhD students as they embark on their own academic journey.

In this post, I’d like to share 40 popular blogs by academics. Each listing gives you a brief idea of what you will find in the blog. Aside from being avid bloggers, these academics also have a prominent Twitter presence. For this reason, I’ve also included one of their tweets at the end of each listing. I hope you like this list and find an academic blog that you really enjoy reading!

1. Academics Write ( @academicswrite ):

As the name suggests, Academics Write is a blog about “academic writing in all disciplines.” Blog owner, Kim Mitchell is from a nursing discipline and is an Instructor at Red River College, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Academics Write hosts an interesting mix of blog posts that includes research-based information, experience-based stories and anecdotes, and opinion pieces. Writing for an audience of post-secondary instructors, academic writers, and students, Kim blogs about topics such as the value of writing, self-efficacy, myths about academic writing, and deciding when it is right to grant a student an extension.

NEW BLOG! 6 myths of academic writing that are not helping our students learn to write better. Please comment and add to the list. I know I've probably missed a few. #AcWri https://t.co/wTV6AM50Xd — Academics Write (@academicswrite) January 23, 2018

2. Athene Donald's Blog ( @AtheneDonald ) :

Athene Donald is a Physics Professor at the University of Cambridge, and has been a professor for over 20 years. Unlike some of the other blogs in this list that have adopted a coaching-oriented approach, Professor Donald’s blog seems to offer researchers’ opinions and perspectives. Her blog posts cover topics such as what to do and avoid doing at academic conferences, gender disparity in academia, etc. She also attempts to maintain a balance by sharing a few blog posts about her personal life and interests.

Who are the worst offenders in conference time-keeping? My post:Guilty of Rambling on https://t.co/OHIKIDWOyZ — Athene Donald (@AtheneDonald) March 30, 2018

3 . Belcher Writing Advice ( @WendyLBelcher ):

Belcher Writing Advice is a blog that covers two broad topics--writing advice for academics, and research and teaching about Africa. It is managed by Wendy Laura Belcher, Associate Professor of African Literature at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Department of African American Studies. With respect to academic writing, Belcher Writing Advice covers topics such as writing a journal article, writing a book review, how to read journals, and how to manage a peer-reviewed journal. The blog also offers a rich archive of reading material for readers who share Wendy’s research interests, i.e., African literature.

Reviews of Peer-Reviewed Journals in Humanities & Social Sciences The scuttlebutt on academic journals, aiding you in selecting the right journal for publication, written by Princeton grad students. https://t.co/CchlTDc27h #AcWri #GetYourManuscriptOut #PhDChat #12weekarticle — Wendy Laura Belcher (@WendyLBelcher) February 25, 2018

4 . Beyond the Doctorate ( @ FionaEWhelan ):

Beyond the Doctorate is a blog managed by Dr. Fiona Whelan, Academic Standards and Quality Officer at Queen Mary University of London. Dr. Whelan’s blog goes beyond discussions about her academic career. She started this blog with the intention of sharing her experiences with other doctoral students as she made “a transition away from pure research into a practical, real-world job.” She blogs about topics such as the challenges of post-doctoral research life and advises students about dealing with different stages of academic life, exploring alternative academic careers, etc.

Why I didn't apply for that "perfect" academic job and how I learned to be honest with myself about what it would take for me to come back to academia. Hint: it is about wellbeing. #ecr #ecrchat #altac https://t.co/5fxSJoHp3O — Dr Fiona Whelan ☘ (@FionaEWhelan) April 3, 2018

5 . Dan Cohen ( @dancohen ):

Dr. Dan Cohen is a Vice Provost, Dean, and Professor at Northeastern University. He blogs about topics such as current trends in library and information science, digital libraries, ebooks, the influence of digital technology on various aspects of life today, web cultures, digital humanities, digital public libraries, science communication trends, and science publishing. In an interesting post, Dr. Cohen talks about a concept that he has called “blessay.” According to him, the blessay is “a manifestation of the convergence of journalism and scholarship in mid-length forms online.” He further explains that a blessay avoids academic jargon as it is written for “both specialists and an intelligent general audience.”

Really excited about the launch of my new podcast, What’s New, which will cover new ideas and discoveries: https://t.co/OnwbYeBMFS pic.twitter.com/b50RSkwXd7 — Dan Cohen (@dancohen) September 19, 2017

6 . Diary of Dr. Logic ( @ SaraLUckelman ):

Diary of Dr. Logic is a blog managed by Sara L. Uckelman, Assistant Professor at Durham University. Diary of Dr. Logic offers blog posts on several topics related to scholarly publishing and life as an academic. More specifically, Professor Uckelman blogs about her approach to teaching logic and philosophy, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, tips on being productive, and more.

"How do you do it?" In this blog post, I awkwardly attempt to answer that question, reflecting on the factors that allow me to be as productive, academically and non-academically, as I am: https://t.co/RoFvDnLwDg — Doctor Logic (@SaraLUckelman) April 10, 2018

7 . DoctoralWritingSIG ( @DocwritingSIG ):

DoctoralWritingSIG is moderated by Dr. Claire Aitchison , Doctoral Writing Consultant; Dr. Cally Guerin , Research Training Scheme Officer, University of Adelaide; and Dr. Susan Carter , Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland. DoctoralWritingSIG is an informative forum where those interested in doctoral writing can “share information, resources, ideas, and dreams,” irrespective of where they stand in their academic careers. With a view to build a base of knowledge and skills around research writing, the blog covers topics such as grant writing, tips on writing the different sections of a thesis or dissertation, grammar advice, and academic publishing guidance.

How many hours writing for the doctorate? https://t.co/KUBhQgAkwn — Doctoralwriting (@DocwritingSIG) March 18, 2018

8 . Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD (@raulpacheco ):

Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega is an Assistant Professor in the Public Administration Division of the Centre for Economic Research and Teaching. His blog is populated with insightful articles on various aspects of academic life such as academic writing, reading strategies, and surviving and thriving in academia. He also features posts about his own research and public policy issues that interest him. Offering interesting text interspersed with relevant images and tweets, Dr. Pacheco-Vega’s blog posts make for a very engaging reading experience.

I'm on cup 3 of caffeine this morning and I am still struggling. How about you all? — Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) April 18, 2018

9 . Dr. Catherine Pope ( @ catherinepope ):

Dr. Catherine Pope is a freelance research and writing skills trainer. She blogs about academic writing; focusing on topics like overcoming procrastination, implementing planning techniques before writing, etc. Her blog also offers posts dedicated to helping readers learn about tools for researchers that could enhance their productivity. Dr. Pope maintains separate categories for blog posts that provide tips on using Evernote and Zotero. Both of these are digital tools designed to facilitate various aspects of the conducting research and writing research papers.

A final message from #ThesisBootCamp @UoPBusiness pic.twitter.com/d7GQlFk95N — Catherine Pope (@catherinepope) March 18, 2018

10 . Dr. Nadine Muller ( @Nadine_Muller ):

Dr. Nadine Muller is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University. Her blog is about academia and her experiences within academia. Amongst other things, she says that her blog is about “redefining what it takes to be an academic and how academics are expected to present themselves, their lives, and their work.” Dr. Muller aims to provide support, training, and development resources for postgraduate and early career researchers. She blogs about topics such as preparing for an academic job interview, prioritizing during doctoral studies, and the mental health of professionals within academia.

Resuming my every-fifteen-minutes manual email check in the hope to finally receive the outcome of my AHRC Leadership Fellows application. Torture! #academia #ecrchat #phdchat #acwri pic.twitter.com/ce76FEhKTc — Dr Nadine Muller (@Nadine_Muller) April 9, 2018

11. Ellie Mackin ( @EllieMackin ):

Dr. Ellie Mackin Roberts is a Teaching Fellow in Ancient History at the University of Leicester and a Research Associate at the Institute of Classical Studies, London. She is also one of the moderators of @ ECRchat — the Twitter feed for early career researchers. Her blog consists of a rich reserve of posts that cover a wide array of topics pertaining to academic life. She blogs about academic writing, post-PhD life, academic conferences, job applications, and many other interesting topics.

Ancient history is an unsolvable puzzle That's what makes it awesome Shout it from the rooftop #odetoancienthistory #lovemydiscipline — Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts (@EllieMackin) November 18, 2016

12. Explorations of Style ( @explorstyle ):

Explorations of Style is a blog that “offers an ongoing discussion of the challenges of academic writing.” The blog is managed by Rachael Cayley, Associate Professor in the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication, University of Toronto. Professor Cayley aims to provide her readers with strategies to help them improve their research writing skills. For this purpose, she blogs about topics such as dealing with writing anxiety, creating reverse outlines, and the writing process.

My latest post considers the limitations of classifying writing problems as writer's block: https://t.co/ITQhxiVSVA #acwri #productivity #phdchat — ExplorationsofStyle (@explorstyle) March 5, 2018

13. Feral Librarian ( @mchris4duke ):

Feral Librarian is a blog managed by Dr. Chris Bourg, Director of Libraries at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Bourg blogs about research libraries, higher education, and scholarly publishing. Occasionally, her blog posts also discuss some of her personal interests – sports, music, and social justice issues. Among the blog's most recent posts is a text version of Dr. Bourg’s interesting keynote talk at the 2018 Creative Commons Global Summit – “Open as in dangerous.”

Text of my #CCSummit talk: Open as in dangerous https://t.co/J47pT1vdPF pic.twitter.com/iRi0VZFTLa — Chris Bourg (@mchris4duke) April 17, 2018

14. From PhD to Life ( @FromPhDtoLife ):

From PhD to Life is a blog run by Dr. Jennifer Polk , History PhD turned academic, life, and career coach for graduate students and PhDs. Summing it up herself, Dr. Polk says that she helps “PhDs launch meaningful careers” by helping them dive deeper into their own interests, explore their options, and deal with academic pressure. From PhD to Life offers a wide range of resources for PhDs, all of which are aimed at helping them maneuver their academic careers smoothly and live a better life. Dr. Polk recommends her Transition Q&A series as a must-read section! This section showcases inspiring stories of PhDs as they take us through their fulfilling post-PhD journeys.

"When you leave academia, you do not leave your passion behind." - @CJContrada #postac #withaphd #highered https://t.co/EEYDohaZzw pic.twitter.com/wAWjJUgIHc — Jennifer Polk (@FromPhDtoLife) April 15, 2018

15. From The Lab Bench ( @FromTheLabBench ):

From The Lab Bench is a blog about “all things science.” It is managed by Dr. Paige Brown Jarreau , Science Communication Specialist for the College of Science, Louisiana State University. While pursuing her doctoral degree, Dr. Jarreau realized that although she enjoyed time spent at the lab bench, she loved writing and communicating about her research even more! And that’s how “From The Lab Bench” was born. Dr. Jarreau blogs about topics such as science blogging, social media advice, and science journalism.

It’s ridiculous to conjecture that most women scientists are putting on lipstick and posing in the lab with the deliberate goal of challenging gender science stereotypes, and then using minutes they'd rather be spending doing research to post pics to IG. https://t.co/1Sb3kom4de — Dr. Paige Jarreau (@FromTheLabBench) March 26, 2018

16. Get a Life, PhD ( @ tanyaboza ):

Get a Life, PhD is a blog managed by Tanya Golash-Boza, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Merced. The core theme of her blog is succeeding in academia while simultaneously leading a rich life outside of academia as well. In this blog, she shares advice that will help readers “balance life and work and attain a happier life on the tenure track.” Get a Life, PhD offers a host of informative blogposts on academic writing and publishing. Professor Golash-Boza blogs about topics such as writing a literature review, tips for responding to a revise and resubmit decision from a journal and presenting at academic conferences. She also writes about academics’ work-life balance, how academics can find time to exercise, making the most of academic travel, and being an academic parent.

Looking forward to talking about how academics can do more of what they love, and better tomorrow at the University of Oregon. https://t.co/tMoZYJAXcg — Tanya Golash-Boza (@tanyaboza) April 5, 2018

Check out Professor Golash-Boza’s guest article on Editage Insights - How to respond to a "revise and resubmit" decision from a journal: 10 Steps to a successful revision 17. Green Tea and Velociraptors ( @Protohedgehog ):

Green Tea and Velociraptors is a blog managed by Dr. Jon Tennant, Founder, Open Science MOOC. The blog’s intriguing name is brought to life by its fascinating theme and imagery—it’s not every day that you see a dinosaur wearing a top hat at a fancy tea party! Green Tea and Velociraptors offers you a wide range of interesting topics to choose from. Dr. Tennant blogs about his learnings as a PhD student, his research interests, and other topics relevant to academic life such as peer review and open science and science communication. The blog also features a section that includes all of this own research publications.

My Research Resolutions for 2018: 1. All papers Open Access (self-archived). 2. All code on GitHub. 3. All data on @OSFramework . 4. Peer review only Open Access articles (see 1). 5. Make sure all papers have non-specialist summaries. 6. Encourage others to do 1-5. — Jon Tennant (@Protohedgehog) January 5, 2018

18. Helen Kara ( @ DrHelenKara ):

Dr. Helen Kara is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Visiting Fellow at the UK’s National Centre for Research Methods. She has been an independent researcher since 1999 and instructs researchers and students on research methods. Dr. Kara blogs about research methods, academic writing and publishing, research ethics, research collaboration, etc.

New blog post: Books on Academic Writing Productivity https://t.co/nzayUKGVN6 #acwri #phdchat #ecrchat #academia — Helen Kara (@DrHelenKara) April 17, 2018

19. James Hayton, Phd ( @jameshaytonphd ):

Former physicist Dr. James Hayton works with PhD students to help them through the PhD research and writing process. He aims to make the lives of PhD students a little easier as they set out on their journey towards their PhDs. His main focus is helping them develop the skills necessary for doing a PhD. In light of this, his blog offers a rich reserve of blogposts covering topics such as academic writing, PhD survival, choosing a topic for your thesis, and dealing with PhD failures.

Choose a research methodology that suits your character https://t.co/FCMDOy7Nya #phdchat #phdadvice (from the archives) — James Hayton (@jameshaytonphd) April 21, 2018

20. Jo Van Every ( @JoVanEvery ):

Dr. Jo Van Every is an academic career guide who loves “helping others love their academic work.” Her blog offers advice on academic writing; more specifically, it aims to help you develop effective writing skills. She also blogs about publishing for scholarly and non-scholarly audiences and decision-making throughout the academic journey, dealing with procrastination, the need to maintain work-life balance, and peer review, amongst many others.

Not working on weekends also makes you a better teacher and researcher. https://t.co/n817gJEyl6 — Jo VanEvery (@JoVanEvery) April 13, 2018

21. Learning Scientists ( @ AceThatTest ):

Learning Scientists was co-founded by cognitive psychologists Dr. Megan A. Sumeracki and Dr. Yana Weinstein . They started the blog with a major focus on the science of learning. Learning Scientists publishes blogposts for researchers, teaching professionals, and students to “make scientific research on learning more accessible.” It covers topics such as effective learning and note-taking strategies, creating study plans, and heuristics, amongst others. The blog is an engrossing read for anyone fascinated by human cognition and cognitive psychology, regardless of their own research interests.

NEW DIGEST: Note-Taking Strategies @oxfordlearning @GoConqr @kingthor @TheCrashCourse https://t.co/0w3gJ43joR pic.twitter.com/4Ap4kHsjK8 — Learning Scientists (@AceThatTest) April 9, 2018

22. Making Physics Fun ( @jesswade ):

Making Physics Fun is a blog managed by Dr. Jess Wade , a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London. Making Physics Fun offers resources on a wide range of topics such as grants and funding opportunities, science presentations and reporting, as well as links to resources on physics and chemistry. Dr. Wade also loves to doodle and her blog showcases a number of vibrant, fascinating doodles, each of which depicts various aspects of a single topic such as science careers, tips for scientists speaking to journalists, imposter syndrome, etc.

Turns out @Malala wants girls to study physics too. #ICWIP2017 #GirlsInSTEM pic.twitter.com/kqxd3JfRA6 — Dr Jess Wade ‍ (@jesswade) July 20, 2017

23. Nick Hopwood ( @NHopUTS ):

Nick Hopwood is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. He blogs about a host of topics related to “doctoral research and supervision, early career academic experiences, social science research methodology, academic work and publishing,” and whatever else catches his interest. His blog posts - which include a mix of blogs, videos, and podcasts - are well-organized and archived under categories such as being a doctoral student, academic work and careers, conference presentations, and academic writing. In addition, Nick has an interesting, unconventional take on academic rejection that gained more than 1,000 retweets on Twitter!

My new display of rejections for all visitors to my office to enjoy! #phdchat #ecrchat #academia #peerreview pic.twitter.com/o8rBkaa1jp — Nick Hopwood (@NHopUTS) June 21, 2017

24. patter ( @ThomsonPat ):

Patter is a blog managed by Pat Thomson, Professor of Education in the School of Education, University of Nottingham. Mainly catering to PhD students and early career researchers, Professor Thomson blogs about topics such as academic writing, research education, conferences, and funding. She delves into the tiniest of details when it comes to academic writing, sharing her insights on writing a research question, citations and references, using images in your research paper, finding relevant publications within your field for a good literature review, etc. Although her blog covers of a variety of subjects pertaining to academic life fairly comprehensively, she also welcomes guest contributions.

How “the contribution” can help to organise the thesis. #phdchat #phdadvice #phdforum #thesis #research https://t.co/XFYt6o4j1u — pat thomson (@ThomsonPat) April 2, 2018

25. PhD Talk ( @ evalantsoght ):

PhD Talk is a blog managed by Dr Eva Lantsoght, Researcher at Delft University of Technology. PhD Talk publishes blog posts on the “process of doing a PhD, the non-scientific skills you need during your PhD,” and Dr. Lantsoght’s experiences living abroad and travelling. She also blogs about her current research interest, structural concrete. Her blog posts cover research and academic writing tips, as well as other topics such as presenting at academic conferences, life as a PhD, being productive, and managing time effectively. Dr. Lantsoght also encourages submissions from guest contributors, with a special invitation to those wanting to take a whack at academic blogging before starting a website of their own.

Do you use first person in your academic writing? — Dr Eva Lantsoght (@evalantsoght) April 20, 2018

26. PLOS ECR Community ( @PLOSECR ):

As described on the PLOS website, PLOS ECR Community is a forum for the next generation of scientists and science writers. The blog aims to provide an “outlet for promising writers who are currently studying a science discipline at the undergrad, graduate or post-doctoral levels.” Managed by PLOS Social Media Associate, Sara Kassabian , all blog posts are contributed by a community of undergrads, graduate students, and post-docs hailing from various academic disciplines. So in addition to providing insightful tips, each post also entails an interesting real-life experience of the contributing ECR. PLOS ECR Community covers topics such as surviving academic conferences as a PhD student, organizing papers references, and the pros and cons of blogging as an ECR.

If you're preparing your first conference talk and feeling nervous, check out today's post for reassurance that you can do it! #ECR #PhDChat https://t.co/3rl5gREPVC — PLOS ECR Community (@PLOSECR) April 10, 2018

27. Reciprocal Space ( @Stephen_Curry ):

Reciprocal Space is a blog managed by Stephen Curry, Professor of Structural Biology at Imperial College, London. Through this blog, he aims to share “what it’s like to work in science in the UK in the 21st Century, to explore the larger social and political responsibilities of being a scientist” as well as his own musings on other topics that may not be directly related to science. Professor Curry’s blog posts cover topics ranging from academic publishing and peer review to open access, life in science, and his own experiences and learnings from attending academic conferences.

My piece in Nature on the next steps for a reinvigorated DORA: time to change how we judge research https://t.co/lXRyybwAtx — Stephen Curry (@Stephen_Curry) February 7, 2018

28. Scientist Sees Squirrel ( @ StephenBHeard ):

Scientist Sees Squirrel is a blog managed by Dr. Stephen Heard, an evolutionary ecologist and entomologist at the University of New Brunswick and the author of the book “ The Scientists’ Guide to Writing .” Dr. Heard and his associates seek to understand “how ecological interactions and environmental contexts have influenced the assembly and evolution of ecological communities.” He blogs about aspects of academic writing and publishing such as writing an effective methods section, handling peer review, journal rejection, etc.

More on "Can a thesis chapter be coauthored", from readers - really interesting comment thread, and examples! Yes, the same paper *can* appear in two different theses. https://t.co/t9IEu3V5As — Stephen Heard (@StephenBHeard) April 13, 2018

29. Shut Up & Write Tuesdays ( @SUWTues ):

Shut Up & Write Tuesdays is a “virtual writing workshop for academic folk.” Regardless of the kind of academic literature you are writing – thesis chapter, journal article, conference abstract, or something else – their basic aim is to “help you set aside dedicated writing time and make progress.” Dr. Siobhan O’Dwyer , Senior Lecturer in Ageing and Family Care, University of Exeter, is the founder and coordinator of Shut Up & Write Tuesdays. She is joined by multiple hosts who organize three virtual Shut Up & Write sessions on Twitter on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The blog maintains a list of writing tips that offers writing advice from around the web. It also offers a list of “non-academic reads” with a view to inspiring readers to learn and apply the techniques and strategies of other writers to their own academic writing.

READY, STEADY, GO!!! And we're off & writing... For the next 25 minutes. See you when we get to the break! #SUWTues pic.twitter.com/m869trjgj5 — ShutUp&WriteTuesdays (@SUWTues) April 17, 2018

30. Surviving Science ( @NatashaTracey ):

Surviving Science is a blog managed by Natasha Tracey, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, studying cancer research. The inception of her blog was fueled by her strong passion for science communication. Through “Surviving Science” she aims to share her experiences as a PhD student, both highs and lows. Natasha’s blog posts cover topics such as how to write different sections of a research paper, how to critically analyze a paper, and dealing with peer reviewer comments. She also blogs about her own research dealing with breast cancer.

New post now live on the blog...some science #realtalk #phdchat https://t.co/hgzmAD4cnk — Natasha Tracey (@NatashaTracey) February 13, 2018

31. The Comfort Pursuit ( @ silgtavares ):

The Comfort Pursuit is a blog managed by Dr. Silvia Tavares, Lecturer in Urban Design at James Cook University. At the surface, it may seem that “The Comfort Pursuit” only showcases Dr. Tavares’ interest in the interfaces between architecture, urbanism, and landscape. However, a closer look at the various categories the blog has to offer revealed that Dr. Tavares also shares insights on academic writing, postgraduate life, and relevant tools and websites for researchers.

"It takes courage to find your voice in the noise of other people’s thoughts - which is what research writing is...” from How to be an Academic by Inger Melbourne #acwri https://t.co/umFEoOpdKH pic.twitter.com/mt9KUhf6Cd — Dr Silvia Tavares (@silgtavares) March 28, 2018

32. The Mad Scientist Confectioner's Club ( @ BioDataGanache ):

The Mad Scientist Confectioner’s Club is a blog run by Dr. Jason McDermott, Senior Research Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He is also the man behind the unique academic and research-based comic series on Twitter known as RedPen/BlackPen . According to Dr. McDermott, this blog covers the various elements of his own life and a few that go beyond. He blogs about various topics that fall within the realm of academic publishing such as academic writing, peer review, the scientific method, research funding, and science communication. Coupling each blog post with one of this fascinating doodles, Jason’s blog makes for an exciting reading experience!

You might also remember him from our list of 27 Hilarious academics on Twitter . Here’s a glimpse of one of his comics to jolt your memory!

Not even when you're stranded on a desert island... #phdproblems pic.twitter.com/yFYxKiYYs8 — RedPen/BlackPen (@redpenblackpen) April 20, 2018

33. The PhD Blog ( @Rob_MacIntosh ):

The PhD Blog is suitable for anyone who is considering or is already doing doctoral level research. It is managed by managed by Robert MacIntosh, Honorary Professor, University of St. Andrews and Head of School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University. While most of the PhD Blog’s posts are intended for an audience studying management, many of the topics covered are transferrable to other disciplines and settings. Professor MacIntosh blogs about topics such as research methodology, epsitemology and ontology, research questions , and finding gaps in the literature.

Get some help with #methodology #epistemology and #ontology for #phd students and others. #phdchat #phdlife ... https://t.co/eXS86IwKer pic.twitter.com/ov2wz3Qk0N — Robert MacIntosh (@Rob_MacIntosh) October 4, 2017

34. The Research Whisperer ( @researchwhisper )

The Research Whisperer is jointly managed by Dr Tseen Khoo , Lecturer, Research Education and Development, La Trobe University and Jonathan O'Donnell , Senior Advisor, Research Development at RMIT University. Similar to another academic blog, The Thesis Whisperer, it consists of blog posts by a number of contributors, all of which broadly focus on “doing research in academia.” More specifically, the posts cover topics such as finding funding, research culture, and building academic track-records. A special feature of The Research Whisperer is that it encourages readers to share their questions, interests, and feedback, which in turn function as a pool of potential ideas for new blogposts.

How to Write an Abstract for a Conference. Useful advice from @exordo . https://t.co/8D6jBY6nT3 — Research Whisperer (@researchwhisper) April 13, 2018

35. The Serial Mentor ( @ClausWilke ):

The Serial Mentor is a blog managed by Claus Wilke, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of Texas. The Serial Mentor offers a series of blog posts on scientific writing. Each of the posts is well organized and, according to Professor Wilke, can be considered as sections of books he may have written. He covers tips and advice on writing effectively, drafting grant proposals, writing and submitting research papers, etc. He also talks about career development-related topics such as how to be successful in graduate school, making effective presentations, and applying for academic jobs.

New preview chapter: Telling a story with data https://t.co/XhkD2HnxX8 pic.twitter.com/jG6pN4SAIy — Claus Wilke (@ClausWilke) March 18, 2018

36. The Skeptical Scientist ( @ Research_Tim ):

The Skeptical Scientist is a blog managed by Tim van der Zee, PhD student at Leiden University. Explaining the name of his blog, Tim says that skeptical scientists are those who are skeptical about their own research, about what they read, and that they aim to maximize evidential value. Through this blog, he shares his thoughts about research methodology, study design, evidence, (statistical) inference, and on how we can improve science. The Skeptical Scientist covers topics such as how to apply for an academic job and how to interpret confidence intervals.

I just got accepted as a visiting fellow at the University of Michigan, meaning I'm going to Ann Arbor this summer for three months! pic.twitter.com/PZi1uUgWFm — Tim van der Zee (@Research_Tim) April 19, 2018

Check out Tim van der Zee's guest article on Editage Insights - Why you should be a skeptical scientist

37. The Thesis Whisperer ( @thesiswhisperer )

As the name indicates, The Thesis Whisperer aims to help research and PhD students through their journey towards completing a thesis or a dissertation. The blog publishes articles written by multiple contributors across the globe, all of which are edited by Dr Inger Mewburn , Director of Research Training at the Australian National University. The Thesis Whisperer’s archives include interesting PhD stories and experiences combined with useful tips to help PhD students conquer different challenges they face. Some of these tips cover writing and submitting a thesis, coping with stress, staying on track to achieve PhD goals, attending conferences, etc. Given that the blog’s contributors share tips that helped them scale their own PhD challenges, there is a personal touch and charm to each blogpost.

When I needed to make an index I tried to google a how to, but I couldn’t find one. Not as easy as I thought! Here’s my walk through - an extract from our forthcoming book “Writing Trouble” https://t.co/s8ptxDESoq #phdchat #acwri #writing #phdadvice — Dr Inger Mewburn (@thesiswhisperer) April 10, 2018

38. WebMz ( @webmz_ ):

WebMz is a blog managed by Dr. Maryam Zaringhalam, biologist, science writer, and 2017 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Dr. Zaringhalam writes for a variety of interesting scholarly and academic blogs, and each of her blog posts is archived on WebMz. Her blog covers a host of topics including women in science, the importance of speaking about failure in science, and exploring alternative academic career options.

Highlighting the ways science fails to be inclusive and equitable is important. But we can’t do that at the expense of highlighting the amazing work women and minorities have put in to make it better. Anyway, it’s me for @Slate ! https://t.co/07LDgRBnpE — Maryam Zaringhalam, PhD (@webmz_) April 6, 2018

39. Write, Publish, Thrive ( @WriteNThrive ):

Write, Publish, Thrive is a blog about writing, publishing, and scholarly life. It is managed by Dr. Rich Furman , Professor at the University of Washington. Dr. Furman aims to help academics “maximize their strengths and transcend their psychosocial barriers so they can build powerful careers and thrive.” In light of this, Write, Publish, Thrive offers practical tips for publishing scholarly articles, and strengths-based coaching for academics, amongst other resources.

Write, Publish, Thrive! A Blog about Writing, Publishing and the Scholarly Life: Finessing Responses to Editors https://t.co/EtmcJGvQEn — Rich Furman (@WriteNThrive) March 17, 2018

40. Writing for Research ( @Write4Research ):

As one of the prominent London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Blogs, Writing for Research provides insightful, practical advice and commentary for an audience ranging from PhD students and early career researchers to full-time teaching professionals and researchers working outside academia. As the sole contributor to all posts on this blog, Patrick Dunleavy , Professor of Political Science and Public Policy in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics, aims to share the best approach to “write and communicate at an advanced research level.” With distinct, well-defined sections covering topics such as research writing, doing PhD work, and writing blogs, Writing for Research offers you “a menu of suggestions,” which you can choose to apply based on its relevance and suitability to your own academic career.

Top Ten style checks for PhDs or creative non-fiction writers https://t.co/ZqCJk2VEgr via @Write4Research — Writing For Research (@Write4Research) April 13, 2018

That brings us to the end of our list of blogs by academics. What did you think of the blogs? How many of these were you already following? Do you know of other such blogs offering useful tips on academic writing and related topics? Write to us in the comments section. We’d love to hear you views!

Note: The blogs mentioned above have been listed alphabetically. However, this is not an exhaustive list and will be updated as and when we come across similar blogs.

27 Hilarious academics on Twitter you need to start following today

"Scientists who selfie" and othe memorable moments on academic Twitter in March 2018

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How to tackle the PhD dissertation

Finding time to write can be a challenge for graduate students who often juggle multiple roles and responsibilities. Mabel Ho provides some tips to make the process less daunting

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Writing helps you share your work with the wider community. Your scholarship is important and you are making a valuable contribution to the field. While it might be intimidating to face a blank screen, remember, your first draft is not your final draft! The difficult part is getting something on the page to begin with.

As the adage goes, a good dissertation is a done dissertation, and the goal is for you to find balance in your writing and establish the steps you can take to make the process smoother. Here are some practical strategies for tackling the PhD dissertation.

Write daily

This is a time to have honest conversations with yourself about your writing and work habits. Do you tackle the most challenging work in the morning? Or do you usually start with emails? Knowing your work routine will help you set parameters for the writing process, which includes various elements, from brainstorming ideas to setting outlines and editing. Once you are aware of your energy and focus levels, you’ll be ready to dedicate those times to writing.

While it might be tempting to block a substantial chunk of time to write and assume anything shorter is not useful, that is not the case. Writing daily, whether it’s a paragraph or several pages, keeps you in conversation with your writing practice. If you schedule two hours to write, remember to take a break during that time and reset. You can try:

The Pomodoro Technique: a time management technique that breaks down your work into intervals
Taking breaks: go outside for a walk or have a snack so you can come back to your writing rejuvenated
Focus apps: it is easy to get distracted by devices and lose direction. Here are some app suggestions: Focus Bear (no free version); Forest (free version available); Cold Turkey website blocker (free version available) and Serene (no free version).

This is a valuable opportunity to hone your time management and task prioritisation skills. Find out what works for you and put systems in place to support your practice.

Resources on academic writing for higher education professionals
Stretch your work further by ‘triple writing’
What is your academic writing temperament?

Create a community

While writing can be an isolating endeavour, there are ways to start forming a community (in-person or virtual) to help you set goals and stay accountable. There might be someone in your cohort who is also at the writing stage with whom you can set up a weekly check-in. Alternatively, explore your university’s resources and centres because there may be units and departments on campus that offer helpful opportunities, such as a writing week or retreat. Taking advantage of these opportunities helps combat isolation, foster accountability and grow networks. They can even lead to collaborations further down the line.

Check in with your advisers and mentors. Reach out to your networks to find out about other people’s writing processes and additional resources.
Don’t be afraid to share your work. Writing requires constant revisions and edits and finding people who you trust with feedback will help you grow as a writer. Plus, you can also read their work and help them with their editing process.
Your community does not have to be just about writing! If you enjoy going on hikes or trying new coffee shops, make that part of your weekly habit. Sharing your work in different environments will help clarify your thoughts and ideas.

Address the why

The PhD dissertation writing process is often lengthy and it is sometimes easy to forget why you started. In these moments, it can be helpful to think back to what got you excited about your research and scholarship in the first place. Remember it is not just the work but also the people who propelled you forward. One idea is to start writing your “acknowledgements” section. Here are questions to get you started:

Do you want to dedicate your work to someone?
What ideas sparked your interest in this journey?
Who cheered you on?

This practice can help build momentum, as well as serve as a good reminder to carve out time to spend with your community.

You got this!

Writing is a process. Give yourself grace, as you might not feel motivated all the time. Be consistent in your approach and reward yourself along the way. There is no single strategy when it comes to writing or maintaining motivation, so experiment and find out what works for you.

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The journal seeks articles that are novel, integrative, and accessible to a broad audience, including an array of disciplines. The content of the journal ranges from Applied research to Theoretical research. In general, papers on all topics are welcome to submit. The journal uses an automated process from manuscript submission to publication. Manuscript submission, peer review, and publication are all handled online, and the journal automates all clerical steps during peer review.

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What Can You Do with a PhD in Psychology?

Key Takeaways

A PhD in psychology will open career opportunities in the fields of research psychology, psychotherapy, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, and even management consultancy.
Psychology positions have a projected job growth of 6% over the next decade.
Those who earn a PhD in psychology work in medical settings, government agencies, educational institutions, or in private practice.

If you’re passionate about building a successful career in psychology, earning a doctorate in psychology could get you there. For those who are passionate about the subject but wonder, “What can you do with a PhD in psychology?“, we’ll help you explore your options so you can decide whether a PhD in psychology is worth the shot.

Woman writing down notes as she talks to her patient during a therapy session

Featured Programs

With a PhD in psychology, you can pursue various career paths, including research psychology, psychotherapy, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, and even management consultancy. Alternatively, a doctorate also helps you pursue different areas of specialization within the field of psychology.

If you are considering a PhD degree in psychology, you’ve likely already earned your bachelor’s and master’s degrees. However, to progress further into the roles of research, academia, authorship, or lectureship, you have to take the next step. If you’re already employed in a field of psychology, earning a PhD helps you level up.

While a doctoral degree gears you up to become a licensed clinical psychologist, there are plenty of other career options to explore. Here’s a list of the most popular career pathways you can pursue with a PhD in psychology, along with their salaries and growth statistics.

Psychological Researcher

Psychological researchers, or research psychologists, deeply understand the human mind. Their primary duties include conducting experiments to test procedures to explore various aspects of psychology. This includes selecting candidates for clinical trials, administering tests, and carefully observing and documenting the outcomes of their research.

By the time they are done with PhD, psychological researchers are capable enough to review existing literature and contribute to scholarly discussions. Some may serve at universities, while others may work for hospitals or government agencies. If you’re passionate about research and writing, this might be a pretty lucrative field with tons of career opportunities.

National average salary: $99,577 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 14% from 2018 to 2028

Clinical Director or Supervisor

The clinical director is one of the most highly paid yet growing careers in psychology . Clinical supervisors monitor psychologists and other mental health professionals to oversee the quality of clinical care provided. They establish best practices for the workplace and check whether the institution complies with regulations in the mental health field.

As a clinical director, you’ll serve in various settings, including mental health clinics, hospitals, universities, or even private practices. Also, these professionals arrange development opportunities for staff members, gather feedback from patients, and delegate cases to team members.

National average salary: $120,761 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 28% from 2021 to 2031

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Psychotherapist

Like clinical psychologists, psychotherapists support individuals with mental health conditions and help them live a fulfilling life. Unlike clinical psychologists, psychotherapists diagnose more general mental health issues. They closely monitor their client’s behaviors, emotions, and thoughts to develop specific treatment plans for them.

Additionally, they use different tools and therapeutic techniques to develop coping strategies for their patients and improve the way they regulate emotions. A PhD in psychology potentially makes you a perfect fit to deal with the complexity involved in psychotherapy. Ultimately, you understand your clients better to know where they’re coming from.

National average salary: $115,281 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 6% from 2022 to 2032

Psychometrics Specialist

A psychometric specialist looks at assessments to gather information about a patient’s personality, symptoms, and cognitive abilities. They often join hands with mental health specialists to facilitate research or diagnose and treat patients. On top of that, these professionals play a key role in collecting data for research and ensuring its accuracy.

They use a combination of interviews, examinations, and standardized tests to gather data about a patient’s psychological state and decode it to help clinicians and researchers reach conclusions. As a psychometric specialist, you’ll work in research or educational institutions, clinics, government agencies, or independently as a consultant.

National average salary: $62,264 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 6% from 2018 to 2028

Human Resource Director

If you would rather work in an organizational setting, a PhD in psychology also helps build a mindset that prepares you to work in HR. HR directors are highly paid individuals responsible for shaping the recruitment and selection process in an organization. They create and implement corporate policies in areas like talent management, employee relations, and workplace culture.

With a PhD in psychology, you bring a deep understanding of human behavior, emotions, and motivation to the role. Plus, as an HR director, you can use the knowledge from your doctorate to develop thoughtful policies, systems, and resources to support employee well-being.

National average salary: $116,601 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 7% from 2021 to 2031

Marketing Director

With a PhD in psychology, you can also serve as a business or marketing director and build a fruitful career. Marketing directors use the knowledge of psychology to bridge the gap between relevant products and customers. Serving at multiple profit or non-profit sectors, these graduates contribute to public relations, management, and technical services.

As a marketing director, your background in psychology equips you with the right knowledge of consumer behavior and effective ways to communicate with them. This, in turn, helps you develop successful marketing campaigns that resonate perfectly with your audience.

National average salary: $120,014 per year
Growth: Expected to grow 10% from 2018 to 2028

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Management Consultant

Management consultancy is another productive career path you can choose after a doctorate in psychology. Management consultants improve an organization’s efficiency, productivity, and performance. With a deep understanding of psychology, you can easily identify and deal with the underlying issues and patterns within your company.

Plus, management consultants provide feedback and recommendations on addressing employee and business management problems. They might also join hands with top-level management to devise practical solutions that align with the company’s core values.

National average salary: $108,555 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 10% from 2022 to 2032

Forensic Psychologist

Forensic psychology is a rapidly growing field that requires individual practitioners to obtain a state license. Psychologists in this field work closely with law enforcement to investigate crimes. For a license, you need to complete a doctoral degree from an APA-approved program and have clinically-supervised work experience.

Licensed forensic psychologists assist legal professionals with addressing the psychological aspects of the cases they’re dealing with. For instance, they conduct evaluations, assessments, and psychological testing to understand the case. Once they have come up with logical reasons, they present their findings and opinions to judges and juries.

National average salary: $87,877 per year
Growth: Expected to grow 6% between 2021 and 2031

Behavioral Health Specialist

As the name suggests, behavioral health specialists counsel and support individuals with behavioral or mental health problems. They use therapeutic techniques to help patients develop new behaviors and cope with their existing condition. Most importantly, they use their psychological knowledge to identify the root causes of their patient’s behaviors.

If you have a PhD in behavioral health, you can work with patients who have severe mental illness or developmental disorders like autism. The advanced degree helps you set developmental goals for your patients and implement evidence-based treatment plans to guard their well-being.

National average salary: $54,663 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 9% between 2018 and 2028

Addiction Counselor

PhD in psychology also enables you to serve as an addiction counselor, where you support patients on their journey to recovery from addictive behaviors. Typically, addiction counselors guide through the rehabilitation process and help manage withdrawal symptoms. They often work together with medical professionals to effectively detoxify clients from drugs and alcohol.

In addition to one-on-one counseling sessions, addiction counselors arrange group therapy sessions. This provides clients with peer support and learning about new experiences and coping mechanisms. They monitor clients throughout the rehabilitation process till they finally achieve sobriety.

National average salary: $65,310 per year
Growth: Projected to grow 18% from 2022 to 2032

Prerequisites for Earning a PhD in Psychology

If you’ve made up your mind and want to earn a PhD in psychology, you’ll generally need at least a bachelor’s degree to get in. While some institutions may also require a master’s degree as a prerequisite, it largely depends on the program you’re opting for. Some universities offer combined master’s and doctoral degrees, so you get both degrees at once.

However, the most integral part of your PhD program is the area you’ve chosen. When applying, it’s recommended to thoroughly research the specialties the universities on your radar are offering. This isn’t just about coursework since the topics of your dissertation will also depend on your chosen concentration.

Plus, to make sure you quickly get through the admission process, it’s important to prepare for it beforehand. While the specific requirements depend on your university, here’s a list of some basic prerequisites when applying for a PhD in psychology:

A bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field
A master’s degree (depending on the institution)
Strong academic record
Letters of recommendation
Relevant research experience or coursework
Statement of Purpose (SoP)
Interview (as a part of the application process)

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Benefits of Earning a PhD in Psychology

Even if you’re sure about earning a PhD in psychology, it’s best to take a look at the benefits to check whether they align with your future goals. While the time required to complete a PhD may be significant, the benefits you reap make it worthwhile. Here’s an overview of the pros of getting a PhD in psychology:

Obtaining a License

Earning a doctorate in psychology is the only path to practice independently as a licensed psychologist. A license allows you to diagnose and treat mental disorders and provide therapy sessions to clients.

Better Employment Opportunities

Many employers, including those in the educational sector, prefer PhD holders over candidates with a master’s in psychology . This is due to years of experience and practice acquired through a doctoral program. For instance, PhD holders are often preferred for faculty positions, research roles, and leadership positions.

Skill Development

PhD holders are seen as authorities in the field of psychology and research. Through extensive training and coursework, PhD students develop advanced knowledge and skills in areas like research methodology, statistical analysis, and clinical assessments.

High Paying Positions

Doctoral degree holders in psychology are paid way higher than those with bachelor’s degrees. The difference in salary reflects the higher earning potential that comes with advanced degrees in psychology. For instance, candidates with a PhD may easily qualify for higher paying positions in academia, clinical practice, research, or consulting.

Where can you work with a doctorate in psychology?

Fortunately, you can choose from plenty of workplace options once you get your PhD in psychology. You may work as a psychologist in a clinic or even begin practicing privately. Some individuals with a doctorate serve at government agencies, hospitals, and even educational institutions.

How long does it take to get a PhD in psychology?

Generally, getting a PhD in psychology takes around 5-8 years , including some hands-on experience and a year-long internship. However, it’s worth noting that PhD programs are highly competitive. So, the earlier you prepare for your dream university for your psychology degree , the sooner you can secure a spot.

We hope we’ve adequately answered the question “What can you do with a PhD in psychology?” for you and you have more clarity about whether this is the right path for you. Whether you’re into clinical practice, research, or social service, a doctorate in psychology can accommodate your personal preferences if you pick the right area for yourself.

Introduction
Conclusions
Article Information

The face coverings tested in this study included a 2-layer nylon mask with ear loops (54% recycled nylon, 43% nylon, 3% spandex), tested with and without an optional aluminum nose bridge and filter insert in place (A), a cotton bandana folded diagonally once “bandit” style (B), a cotton bandana folded in a multilayer rectangle according to the instructions presented by the US Surgeon General (C), a single-layer polyester/nylon mask (80% polyester, 17% nylon, 3% spandex) with ties (D), a polypropylene mask with fixed ear loops (E), a single-layer gaiter/neck cover balaclava bandana (92% polyester and 8% spandex) (F), and a 3-layer cotton mask (100% cotton) with ear loops (G).

A medical procedure mask with ear loops (A) was modified by tying the ear loops and tucking in the side pleats (B), attaching ear loops to a 3-dimensional–printed “ear guard” (C), fastening ear loops with a 23-mm claw-type hair clip placed behind the wearer’s head (D), placing a ring of 3 ganged rubber bands over the mask and around the wearer’s ears (E), and sliding a 10-inch segment of nylon hosiery over the fitted procedure mask (F).

The overall FFE for a medical procedure mask with ear loops (A), medical procedure mask with the ear loops tied and mask corners tucked against the wearer’s face (B), and 2-layer nylon mask with an aluminum nose bridge and 1 filter insert (C) was 38.5%, 60.3%, and 74.4%, respectively. Particle penetration (y-axes) is defined as particle concentration behind the mask expressed as a percentage of the ambient particle concentration and is calculated during repeated-movement tests (bending at the waist, reading aloud, looking left and right, and looking up and down). The overall percentage of FFE is defined as 100 × (1 − behind the mask particle concentration / ambient particle concentration). Overall FFE percentage and SD were calculated across the length of the test. L/R indicates left/right; U/D, up/down.

Change in Self-Reported Adherence to Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic JAMA Research Letter March 2, 2021 This study uses national survey data to describe overall and regional trends in adherence to protective behaviors (mask wearing, physical distancing, staying at home, others) among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic from April to November 2020. Matthew A. Crane, BS; Kenneth M. Shermock, PharmD, PhD; Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD; John A. Romley, PhD
Mask Mandates, On-Premises Dining, and COVID-19 JAMA JAMA Insights June 1, 2021 This JAMA Insights Clinical Update from the CDC’s COVID-19 Response Team discusses the association of changes in COVID-19 case rates and death rates with implementation of state-issued mask mandates and allowance of any on-premises restaurant dining. Gery P. Guy Jr, PhD, MPH; Greta M. Massetti, PhD; Erin Sauber-Schatz, PhD, MPH
JAMA Network Journals’ Articles of the Year 2021 JAMA Medical News & Perspectives December 28, 2021 This Medical News article is our fifth-annual roundup of the top-viewed articles from each of the JAMA Network Journals. Jennifer Abbasi
Errors in Degree Symbols and Descriptors JAMA Internal Medicine Correction April 1, 2021
Filtration Efficiency of Face Masks Used by the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic JAMA Internal Medicine Editor's Note April 1, 2021 Robert Steinbrook, MD

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Clapp PW , Sickbert-Bennett EE , Samet JM, et al. Evaluation of Cloth Masks and Modified Procedure Masks as Personal Protective Equipment for the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Intern Med. 2021;181(4):463–469. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.8168

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Evaluation of Cloth Masks and Modified Procedure Masks as Personal Protective Equipment for the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

1 Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
2 Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
3 UNC Health Care, Infection Prevention Department, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
4 Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
5 TRC, Raleigh, North Carolina
6 Duke Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
7 Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
Editor's Note Filtration Efficiency of Face Masks Used by the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic Robert Steinbrook, MD JAMA Internal Medicine
Research Letter Change in Self-Reported Adherence to Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic Matthew A. Crane, BS; Kenneth M. Shermock, PharmD, PhD; Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD; John A. Romley, PhD JAMA
JAMA Insights Mask Mandates, On-Premises Dining, and COVID-19 Gery P. Guy Jr, PhD, MPH; Greta M. Massetti, PhD; Erin Sauber-Schatz, PhD, MPH JAMA
Medical News & Perspectives JAMA Network Journals’ Articles of the Year 2021 Jennifer Abbasi JAMA
Correction Errors in Degree Symbols and Descriptors JAMA Internal Medicine

Question What are the fitted filtration efficiencies (FFEs) of consumer-grade masks, improvised face coverings, and modified procedure masks commonly used during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic?

Findings In this comparative study of face covering FFEs, we observed that consumer-grade masks and improvised face coverings varied widely, ranging from 26.5% to 79.0% FFE. Modifications intended to enhance the fit of medical procedure masks improved FFE measurements from 38.5% (unmodified mask) to as much as 80.2%.

Meaning Simple modifications can improve the fit and filtration efficiency of medical procedure masks; however, the practical effectiveness of consumer-grade masks available to the public is, in many cases, comparable with or better than their non-N95 respirator medical mask counterparts.

Importance During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the general public has been advised to wear masks or improvised face coverings to limit transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there has been considerable confusion and disagreement regarding the degree to which masks protect the wearer from airborne particles.

Objectives To evaluate the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of various consumer-grade and improvised face masks, as well as several popular modifications of medical procedure masks that are intended to improve mask fit or comfort.

Design, Setting, and Participants For this study conducted in a research laboratory between June and August 2020, 7 consumer-grade masks and 5 medical procedure mask modifications were fitted on an adult male volunteer, and FFE measurements were collected during a series of repeated movements of the torso, head, and facial muscles as outlined by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol. The consumer-grade masks tested included (1) a 2-layer nylon mask with ear loops that was tested with an optional aluminum nose bridge and filter insert in place, (2) a cotton bandana folded diagonally once (ie, “bandit” style) or in a (3) multilayer rectangle according to the instructions presented by the US Surgeon General, (4) a single-layer polyester/nylon mask with ties, (5) a polypropylene mask with fixed ear loops, (6) a single-layer polyester gaiter/neck cover balaclava bandana, and (7) a 3-layer cotton mask with ear loops. Medical procedure mask modifications included (1) tying the mask’s ear loops and tucking in the side pleats, (2) fastening ear loops behind the head with 3-dimensional–printed ear guards, (3) fastening ear loops behind the head with a claw-type hair clip, (4) enhancing the mask/face seal with rubber bands over the mask, and (5) enhancing the mask/face seal with a band of nylon hosiery over the fitted mask.

Main Outcomes and Measures The primary study outcome was the measured FFE of common consumer-grade and improvised face masks, as well as several popular modifications of medical procedure masks.

Results The mean (SD) FFE of consumer grade masks tested on 1 adult male with no beard ranged from 79.0% (4.3%) to 26.5% (10.5%), with the 2-layer nylon mask having the highest FFE. Unmodified medical procedure masks with ear loops had a mean (SD) FFE of 38.5% (11.2%). All modifications evaluated in this study increased procedure mask FFE (range [SD], 60.3% [11.1%] to 80.2% [3.1%]), with a nylon hosiery sleeve placed over the procedure mask producing the greatest improvement.

Conclusions and Relevance While modifications to improve medical procedure mask fit can enhance the filtering capability and reduce inhalation of airborne particles, this study demonstrates that the FFEs of consumer-grade masks available to the public are, in many cases, nearly equivalent to or better than their non-N95 respirator medical mask counterparts.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a transmissible virus that infects the upper and lower respiratory tract, 1 leading to a high viral titer in saliva and respiratory secretions. 2 A key public health control strategy for mitigating SARS-CoV-2 transmission is use of masks or face coverings by the public. 3 Masks that completely cover the nose and mouth are effective at reducing seasonal coronavirus and influenza transmission when worn by infected persons 4 , 5 and noninfected persons who may come into contact with infected individuals. 6 , 7 This is supported by emerging epidemiologic data that indicate that community-wide use of masks can effectively contribute to the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. 8

As the adoption of face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic becomes commonplace, there has been a rapid expansion in the public use of commercial, homemade, and improvised masks that vary considerably in design, material, and construction. Similarly, the press and social media outlets have reported on numerous innovative “hacks,” devices, and modifications (enhancements) that claim to improve the performance characteristics of conventional masks (typically surgical or procedure masks). Despite their widespread dissemination and use during the pandemic, there have been few evaluations of the efficiency of these face coverings or mask enhancements at filtering airborne particles. In this study, we used a recently described methodological approach 9 based on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Fit Test to determine the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of various consumer-grade and improvised face masks, as well as several popular modifications of medical procedure masks.

Fitted filtration efficiency tests were conducted between June and August 2020 in a custom-built exposure chamber (US Environmental Protection Agency Human Studies Facility in Chapel Hill, North Carolina) as recently described. 9 The institutional review board at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill waived the need for study approval as well as individual consent needed for device testing. Briefly, a TSI 8026 Particle Generator was used to supplement the chamber with sodium chloride (NaCl) particles that had a count median diameter of 0.05 μm (range, 0.02-0.60 μm) as measured by a scanning mobility particle sizer. The test atmosphere was allowed to stabilize for 30 minutes before FFE testing. The chamber temperature and humidity during testing ranged from 73.4 °F to 85.1 °F and 10% to 50%, respectively. The test atmosphere used for this study reflects typical indoor conditions, with exposure to small particles that are slightly smaller than individual SARS-CoV-2 virions (reported to range between 0.06 μm and 0.14 μm 10 ). A sampling port was installed in each mask using a TSI model 8025-N95 Fit Test Probe Kit to allow sampling behind the mask. All masks were fitted on a man (weight, 165.3 lb; height, 5 ft and 10.1 in; head size, 23.0 in) with no beard. A pair of TSI 3775 Condensation Particle Counters were run in single-particle analysis mode to continuously monitor ambient particles (0.02 μm-3 μm) in the chamber just outside the face mask and particles in the breathing space behind the face mask at a sampling rate of 1 second.

Fitted filtration efficiency measurements were collected during a series of repeated movements of the torso, head, and facial muscles as outlined by the OSHA Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol (Modified Ambient Aerosol CNC Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol For Filtering Facepiece Table A–2—RESPIRATORS). The FFE corresponds to the concentration of particles behind the mask expressed as a percentage of the particle concentration in the chamber air, and was measured for the duration of each test described in the OSHA protocol (bending at the waist, reading aloud, looking left and right, and looking up and down). The overall percentage of FFE is calculated as 100 × (1 − behind the mask particle concentration / ambient particle concentration), and the percentage of FFE and the standard deviation were calculated across the length of the test. The total testing time for each mask was approximately 3 minutes.

Two categories of products were tested for this study: consumer-grade face masks and medical procedure masks with and without enhancements. The following consumer-grade masks were tested ( Figure 1 ): (1) a 2-layer nylon mask (54% recycled nylon, 43% nylon, 3% spandex) with ear loops (Easy Masks LLC) tested with an optional aluminum nose bridge and filter insert in place ( Figure 1 A), (2) a cotton bandana folded diagonally once “bandit” style ( Figure 1 B) or in a multilayer rectangle according to the instructions presented by the US Surgeon General ( Figure 1 C; https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-make-cloth-face-covering.html ), (3) a single-layer polyester/nylon mask (80% polyester, 17% nylon, 3% spandex) with ties (Renfro Corporation) ( Figure 1 D), (4) a polypropylene mask with fixed ear loops (Red Devil Inc) ( Figure 1 E), (5) a single-layer gaiter/neck cover balaclava bandana (92% polyester and 8% spandex; MPUSA LLC) ( Figure 1 F), and (6) a 3-layer cotton mask (100% cotton) with ear loops (Hanesbrands Inc) ( Figure 1 G).

The baseline FFE of unmodified medical procedure masks with elastic ear loops (Cardinal Health Inc) was measured (n = 4) and compared with the FFE of the same type of mask with various modifications designed to enhance its function ( Figure 2 ). The following modifications were tested: (1) enhancing the mask/face seal by tying the ear loops and tucking in the side pleats ( Figure 2 B; https://youtu.be/UANi8Cc71A0 ), (2) fastening ear loops behind the head with 3-dimensional–printed ear guards ( Figure 2 C; https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4249113 ), (3) fastening ear loops behind the head with a 23-mm claw-type hair clip ( Figure 2 D), (4) enhancing the mask/face seal by placing a ring of 3 ganged rubber bands over the mask, with the center rubber band placed over the nose and chin of the participant and the left and right side bands looped over each ear ( Figure 2 E; “fix-the-mask” 3–rubber band method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVjGCPfRwUo ), and (5) enhancing the mask/face seal by sliding a 10-inch segment of nylon hosiery over the fitted mask ( Figure 2 F). 11

This study evaluated the FFE of 7 consumer-grade masks and five procedure mask modifications. The mean (SD) FFE of consumer-grade face masks tested in this study ranged from 79.0% (4.3%) to 26.5% (10.5%), with the washed, 2-layer nylon mask having the highest FFE and the 3-layer cotton mask having the lowest. The cotton bandana folded into a multilayer rectangle affixed to the ears with rubber bands, as described by the US Surgeon General, provided a mean (SD) FFE of 49.9% (5.8%). Folding the bandana bandit style produced a similar result (mean [SD] FFE, 49.0% [6.2%]). The tested mean (SD) FFE of the single-layer polyester gaiter/neck cover balaclava bandana was 37.8% (5.2%). The single-layer polyester/nylon mask, which is attached with tie strings, tested at a mean (SD) FFE of 39.3% (7.2%). The polypropylene mask with nonelastic (fixed) ear loops tested at a mean (SD) FFE of 28.6% (13.9%).

As expected based on data from our previous work, 9 a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health–approved 3M 9210 N95 respirator used as a reference control provided very high mean FFE (98.4% [0.5%]; n = 1) ( Table ). The medical procedure masks with elastic ear loops tested in this study had a mean (SD) FFE of 38.5% (11.2%) ( Figure 3 A), which was lower than that of medical surgical masks with tie strings (71.5% [5.5%]; n = 4). Tying the ear loops and tucking in the corners of the procedure mask to minimize gaps in the sides of the mask increased the mean (SD) FFE to 60.3% (11.1%) ( Figure 3 B). The “fix-the-mask” 3–rubber band modification and the nylon hosiery sleeve modifications, which were also intended to reduce gaps between the mask and the wearer’s face, improved mean (SD) FFE to 78.2% (3.3%) and 80.2% (3.1%), respectively.

Modifications to improve the seal of the mask against the face by increasing the tension of the ear loops also improved FFE. Attaching the ear loops to the ear guards device using the center hooks (tightest option) increased procedure mask mean (SD) FFE to 61.7% (6.5%). Similarly, joining the ear loops behind the wearer’s head using a claw-style hair clip increased the procedure mask mean (SD) FFE to 64.8% (5.1%). None of the modifications tested enhanced procedure mask FFE to the level of an N95 respirator.

In this study, consumer-grade masks and medical procedure mask modifications were tested as personal protective equipment (protection for the wearer) against a test aerosol of 0.05-μm NaCl particles. Although the FFE of consumer-grade masks and face coverings was variable, the FFE of some consumer-grade products exceeded that of medical-grade procedure masks. For example, the 2-layer nylon mask with ear loops was tested under various conditions, including with and without an aluminum nose bridge, with and without a commercially available insert, and after 1 wash cycle in a standard household washing machine (air-dried on a drying rack). The unwashed nylon mask without a nose bridge or insert had an FFE of 44.7%. The addition of a nose bridge reduced visible gaps around the nose and increased FFE to 56.3%. Adding a filter insert to the mask with the nose bridge in place resulted in a further increase in FFE to 74.4% ( Figure 3 C). Interestingly, the FFE of the nylon mask (with the nose bridge but without the filter insert) improved slightly to 79.0% after washing. It is unclear why washing alone improved the FFE from 56.3% to 79.0%. It may be that the washing/drying process unraveled some of the fibers to increase the overall filtration surface, and thus filtration efficiency, of the medium, or perhaps it modified the mask shape or size in a way that improved fit, or both. The washing/drying test was not repeated with additional nylon masks. Further investigation to assess the association of single and multiple washing with mask integrity and material disposition would be necessary to validate any improvement in FFE.

The cotton mask, which comprises 3 layers and has a thin, flexible metal nose bridge, had the lowest FFE in this study (26.5%). The relatively loose arrangement of the cotton layers, while providing improved breathability and comfort, may reduce filtration efficiency. Additionally, we evaluated the FFE of improvised face coverings, including a standard cotton bandana and a neck gaiter balaclava bandana. The cotton bandana, when folded either bandit style or according to the US Surgeon General’s instructions, achieved approximately 50% FFE, which is better than the ear loop procedure mask we tested. Neck gaiter balaclava bandanas have also emerged as a popular face covering, particularly among athletes and young adults. As tested in this study, the single-layer gaiter, which was made of 92% polyester and 8% spandex and fits tightly to the wearer’s nose and mouth, had an FFE of 37.8%. While this face covering appeared to fit the wearer well, with no visible gaps in the seal, it may be that the relatively low FFE can be attributed to the low filtering efficiency of a single thin layer of material with large porosity.

For medical procedure masks, modifications that enhanced the fit between the mask and the wearer’s face improved FFE. Simply tying the ear loops and tucking the corners of the mask against the wearer’s cheeks visibly improved mask fit and increased FFE from 38.5% to 60.3% ( Figure 3 , A and B). The most effective modification tested was the use of a nylon hosiery sleeve placed over the procedure mask. This modification, which held the mask tight to the wearer’s face, eliminated all visible gaps and increased FFE from 38.5% to 80.2%. However, donning the nylon sleeve over the procedure mask was cumbersome and limited the wearer’s ability to adjust the procedure mask. Generally, improvements in procedure mask FFE appeared to be associated with the integrity of the seal of the edges of the mask to the wearer’s face, demonstrating the importance of mask fit to maximizing filtration. While all of the modifications described in the Table enhanced protection against airborne particles for the wearer, not all were comfortable or practical for extended use. For example, the 3–rubber band “fix-the-mask” modification created considerable pressure on the wearer’s ears (visible in Figure 2 E), making it uncomfortable after only minutes of wear and raising questions about its adoption by the general public. While the modifications shown in this article can improve mask fit and provide increased filtration of airborne particles, it is important to choose a modification in which discomfort is not a deterrent from wearing the mask for prolonged periods.

The data presented in this article provide information on the use of masks and face coverings as personal protective equipment, which is defined in this study as protection for the wearer against exposure to an aerosol composed of small (0.05-μm) particles. However, we acknowledge that there are limitations to these findings. First, all FFE tests were performed on a single individual to ensure consistency and allow for a controlled comparison between test products. Interperson heterogeneity in facial geometries may result in variability of mask fit and differences in FFE. Second, the size of the NaCl particles used in this study (0.05 μm) may not reflect the most penetrating particle size for all of the mask materials tested. The most penetrating particle size for nonelectret filter media (filters that collect particles by aerodynamic rather than electrostatic mechanisms) can range from 0.2 μm to 0.5 μm. 12 As a result, the reported FFE values at 0.05 μm may slightly overestimate the FFE of particles in the most penetrating size range. However, based on the mechanisms of particle deposition that govern filtration (ie, diffusion, impaction, interception, and sedimentation), it is clear that protection against aerosols of 0.05-μm particles would also confer similar or better protection against much larger aerosols or droplets, 13 which are currently believed to be the predominant source for COVID-19 transmission.

Masks serve a dual purpose to protect the wearer and others. These analyses were designed to quantify the protection that masks offer to the wearer when exposed to others who may be infected. The exact FFE required to prevent respiratory virus transmission is not precisely known. However, evidence from previous studies suggests that even face masks with an FFE less than 95% (eg, surgical masks) are effective in preventing the acquisition of epidemic coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2) by health care clinicians, except possibly during aerosol-generating procedures. 6 - 8 For prevention of an associated coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, N95 respirators had no increased prevention benefit over surgical masks. 7 In this article, we reported that simple modifications to improve medical mask fit can substantially improve filtration efficiency. However, when FFE is considered (combined fit and material filtration), we demonstrated the practical effectiveness of consumer-grade masks to be, in many cases, nearly equivalent to or better than their nonrespirator medical mask counterparts.

Accepted for Publication: November 16, 2020.

Published Online: December 10, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.8168

Corresponding Author: Phillip W. Clapp, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S. EPA Human Studies Facility, 104 Mason Farm Rd, Campus Box # 7310, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 ( [email protected] ).

Correction: This article was corrected on January 25, 2021, to fix an error in a recordered temperature and the use of the word “woven.”

Author Contributions: Drs Clapp and Bennett had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Drs Clapp, Sickbert-Bennett, and Samet served as co–first authors and contributed equally to the work.

Concept and design: Clapp, Sickbert-Bennett, Samet, Weber, Bennett.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Clapp, Samet, Berntsen, Zeman, Anderson, Weber, Bennett.

Drafting of the manuscript: Clapp, Sickbert-Bennett, Weber, Bennett.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Clapp.

Obtained funding: Clapp, Sickbert-Bennett, Anderson, Weber.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Sickbert-Bennett, Samet, Berntsen, Weber, Bennett.

Supervision: Weber, Bennett.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Clapp reported grants from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNC/US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Cooperative Agreement during the conduct of the study. Dr Sickbert-Bennett reported grants from CDC Epicenter (U54CK000483) during the conduct of the study. Dr Anderson reported grants from CDC Epicenter (U54CK000483) during the conduct of the study; grants from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, personal fees from UpToDate, and royalties for authorship outside the submitted work; and being the owner of Infection Control Education for Major Sports, LLC. Dr Weber reported grants from CDC during the conduct of the study. Dr Bennett reported grants from CDC during the conduct of the study and grants from the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Defense, US Food and Drug Administration, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and EPA outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Funding/Support: This study was supported by the Duke-UNC Prevention Epicenter Program for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (U54CK000483) and a cooperative agreement between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the US Environmental Protection Agency (CR 83578501).

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

CDC Epicenters Program Members: Phillip W. Clapp, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Emily E. Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, MS, University of North Carolina Health Care, Deverick J. Anderson, MD, MPH, Duke University, David J. Weber, MD, MPH, University of North Carolina Health Care, and William D. Bennett, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Disclaimer: The research described in this article has been reviewed by the Center for Environmental Public Health and Environmental Assessment, EPA, and approved for publication. The contents of this article should not be construed to represent agency policy nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Additional Contributions: We thank Dr Bennett, the pictured author, for granting permission to publish this information.

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Professional learning

Teach. Learn. Grow.

Teach. learn. grow. the education blog.

Summer learning loss: What we know and what we’re learning

Concerns about students losing ground academically during summer break go back at least a century, with early evidence suggesting that summer contributed to large disparities in students’ outcomes. This narrative spurred expansion of a variety of summer programs and interventions aimed at stemming summer learning loss.

However, in the last five years, there has been a spirited debate about two long-standing questions about students’ summers: 1) the degree to which test scores actually drop during the summer and 2) the degree to which summer break contributes to educational inequities. A new layer to this conversation is the response to the learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. School leaders and policymakers have used the summer break as a potential time for academic recovery. Summer programs have emerged as one of the most popular recovery strategies offered by school districts, with an estimated $5.8 billion of ESSER funds expected to be spent on summer programs by September 2024.

With more focus on the impact of summer on students’ learning and the potential to extend the school year, it is essential for educators, policymakers, and families to have an up-to-date understanding of the impact of summer breaks on students’ learning patterns. In this post, we aim to highlight what is known about summer learning loss by quickly summarizing recent research and posing some questions that remain unanswered about the role of summers on students’ learning.

Students’ test scores flatten or drop during the summer

While our initial understanding of summer learning loss dates back to studies conducted in the 70s and 80s , a recent collection of studies in the last six years provides a fresh look at students’ learning across summers using four modern assessments ( ECLS-K direct cognitive tests , MAP® Growth™, Star, and i-Ready) with large national (though not typically nationally representative) samples. See “School’s out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities,” “When does inequality grow? School, summer, and achievement gaps,” “Evidence of ‘summer learning loss’ on the i-Ready diagnostic assessment,” “Findings on summer learning loss often fail to replicate, even in recent data,” and “Inequality in reading and math skills forms mainly before kindergarten: A replication, and partial correction, of ‘Are schools the great equalizer?’”

Figure 1 compares the test score patterns across four different studies. Three important patterns stand out:

On average, test scores flatten or drop during the summer , with larger drops typically in math than reading.
Studies using test scores from ECLS-K:2011 show that student learning slows down but does not drop over the summers after kindergarten and first grade. However, research using interim and diagnostic assessments ( MAP Growth , Star, and i-Ready ) has found far larger summer drops across a range of grade levels.
Given the sizable differences in the magnitude of test score drops across tests, it remains uncertain whether summer slide should be considered a trivial issue or a serious educational challenge.

Figure 1. Comparison of summer slide estimates across datasets

Two bar graphs compare summer slide estimates for math and reading in grades K–2, 3–5, and 6–8 using data from ECLS-K: 2010–2011, i-Ready, MAP Growth, and Star.

Note: All estimates are reported as the total average summer test score change in standard deviation (SD) units relative to the prior spring test score. Whenever possible, we report the estimate that adjusted scores for time in school prior/after testing in the fall and spring. Sources: Author calculations based on data reported in ECLS-K:20210-11 , MAP Growth , i-Ready , and Star .

Who is most likely to show summer learning loss.

While all three diagnostic assessments show some degree of summer slide in grades 3–8 on average, the research community lacks consensus about whether summers disproportionately impact certain students. Paul von Hippel and colleagues have pointed out that whether and how much summers contribute to educational inequalities (across students of different income levels, races, ethnicities, and genders) depends on the test used to study students’ learning patterns. Nonetheless, we can present a few key patterns from this line of research:

Learning rates are more variable during the summer than during the school year. See “School’s out: The role of summers in understanding achievement disparities,” “When does inequality grow? School, summer, and achievement gaps,” and “Inequality in reading and math skills forms mainly before kindergarten: A replication, and partial correction, of ‘Are schools the great equalizer?’”
Gaps between students attending low- and high-poverty schools do not consistently widen during the summer. See “Is summer learning loss real, and does it widen test score gaps by family income?” and “Is summer learning loss real?”
Test score differences between Black and white students hold steady or narrow during the summer. See “Do test score gaps grow before, during, or between the school years? Measurement artifacts and what we know in spite of them” and “When does inequality grow? School, summer, and achievement gaps,” though results can be sensitive to the metric and test used. See also “Black-white summer learning gaps: Interpreting the variability of estimates across representations” and “Findings on summer learning loss often fail to replicate, even in recent data.”
The field cannot really explain why differences in students’ summer learning occur. See “Rethinking summer slide: The more you gain, the more you lose” and “Inequality in reading and math skills forms mainly before kindergarten: A replication, and partial correction, of ‘Are schools the great equalizer?’”

Planning effective summer programming

It is clear across recent studies that summer is a particularly variable time for students. Summer break is also increasingly a time in which districts are offering a range of academic offerings.

During summer 2022, an estimated 90% of school districts offered summer programs with an academic focus. However, evidence on the effectiveness of academic summer programs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. One study of eight summer programs in summer 2022 found a small positive impact on math test scores (0.03 SD), but not on reading. The improvements in math were largely driven by elementary students compared to middle schoolers. However, the effectiveness of these programs remained consistent across student groups, including race/ethnicity, poverty, and English learner status.

It is crucial to recognize the challenges associated with scaling up summer programs. In the districts studied, only 13% of students participated in the summer programs , which only lasted for an average of three to four weeks. Prior research indicates that for summer programs to yield measurable academic benefits, they should run at least five weeks with at least three hours of instruction a day. Additionally, getting students to regularly attend summer programs remains a significant hurdle. To address this issue, districts should actively recruit families to participate and offer a mix of academic instruction and engaging extracurricular activities. By adopting these strategies, districts can maximize the effectiveness of their summer programs and better support student learning during the break.

If you’re interested in learning more about effective summer programs, we encourage you to read the following:

“Effective summer programming: What educators and policymakers should know”
“Investing in successful summer programs: A review of evidence under the Every Student Succeeds Act”
“Analysis: Summer learning is more popular than ever. How to make sure your district’s program is effective”
“The impact of summer learning programs on low-income children’s mathematics achievement: A meta-analysis”
“The effects of summer reading on low-income children’s literacy achievement from kindergarten to grade 8: A meta-analysis of classroom and home interventions”

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Women in sport
Athletic Performance
Sporting injuries

What did I do?

I aimed to explore the safety and optimal tackle outcomes in women’s rugby union (henceforth called rugby). Using the evidence-based medicine model as a guiding framework, I employed multiple methods, integrating player values and coaching expertise with empirical and systematic approaches ( figure 1 ). 1

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Venn diagram outlining thesis studies and their relation to evidence-based practice (EBP), adapted from Sackett et al . 1

Why did I do it?

How did i do it.

As a physiotherapist and international rugby player, I employed a pragmatic approach to capture the breadth and depth of this overlooked area in a balanced, meaningful way to craft context-specific solutions. 1 I adopted an emergent design, allowing research questions and data collection methods to evolve in real time based on in-the-field learnings. First, I conducted a scoping review investigating the physical, technical demands and preparatory strategies in female field collision sports. 2 Then, I employed a qualitative grounded theory approach, conducting semistructured interviews to explore women rugby players’ experiences of tackle coaching 3 and tackle injuries. 4 5 More detailed qualitative methodology is available in the online supplemental material . In response to player experiences, women’s rugby coaches from any level of competition were invited to participate in an online survey. Coaches were asked about their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding tackle training. 6 Finally, through video analysis, I coded and analysed a random subset of 1500 tackle events to understand the technical characteristics of tackling in Elite women’s rugby. 7 8

Supplemental material

What did i find.

The scoping review confirmed the lack of direct research evidence to inform evidence-based practice regarding tackle preparation in women’s rugby. 2 After establishing sex differences in match demands, I cautioned against the generalisation of androcentric training data to women.

Players’ experiences of tackling in rugby engendered considerable stress and fears of injury. Women’s experiences of tackle skill learning were largely accompanied by reactions of low self-efficacy, and judgements of androcentric coaching norms, limited coaching input, and ‘the bare minimum’ preparation akin to ‘being thrown in the deep end’. 3 Empowering experiences came from graduated, progressive tackle coaching that encouraged player input and accommodated the diverse training needs of women, affording additional time to help them ‘understand the ‘why?’’. 3 I discovered cultural codes of normalising and trivialising often severe tackle injuries as ‘knocks and bangs’ which curtailed women’s opportunity to disclose injuries and deviate from expected behaviour of ‘being a body on the line’. 4 Player’s conformity to risk-taking behaviours and weary acceptance of ‘the bare minimum’ could be traced back to their unfaltering ‘love of the game’ and desire to claim space in rugby. 3 4 This unfolded against a backdrop of gender norms, homophobia and inequitable playing conditions. 5 Applying the socioecological model, I established that beyond players, coaches and match officials, there are other dimensions (eg, club environments, media and wider society) that should be considered when implementing tackle safety and performance strategies in women’s rugby. 3 4

In the global survey, I found that while coaches demonstrated a keen awareness of injury risks and prioritisation of tackle safety, they exhibited disparities between intention and practice. 6 Corroborating the player’s experiences, I observed variability in the duration and types of contact activities prescribed by coaches. Additionally, coaches disclosed barriers to effective tackle training, categorised into four themes: sociocultural factors, coach knowledge gaps, training environments and player training considerations. 6 This provided additional evidence of the multifaceted challenges faced in the pursuit of adequate contact preparation in women’s rugby.

Building on the recurring theme of multifaceted challenges in tackle preparation, my examination of match footage from elite women’s rugby revealed heterogeneity in the tackle techniques demonstrated, with low overall completion of recommended techniques. 7 Half of tackles exhibited incorrect head positioning and placement, with an average of 14 head and neck contacts to tacklers and 18 to ball-carriers per game. 7 I discovered 7 out of 22 recommended techniques demonstrated a significant association with superior tackle performance. While future research is needed to examine associations with injury outcomes, there may be an opportunity to refine existing tackle safety programmes. 8

What is the most important clinical impact/practical application?

My PhD indicates that there is room for improvement in ensuring women’s rugby players are not only sufficiently prepared for safe and enjoyable sport participation but also adequately represented in research, practice and policy. Some of the thesis findings have been presented to key stakeholders at International and World Rugby research conferences and have helped governing bodies to inform policy, practices and research priorities in women’s rugby. The challenge for coaches, practitioners and policy-makers is to work collectively, moving beyond the status quo and applying ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions towards context-specific strategies that address the multifaceted challenges faced in women’s rugby.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Not applicable.

Ethics approval

This study involves human participants and was approved by Trinity College Dublin, Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (application numbers: 20210906, 20220604). Participants gave informed consent to participate in the study before taking part.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank my supervisors Professor Fiona Wilson and Professor Ciaran Simms for their endless support and guidance over the course of this PhD journey. I would like to thank my wonderful coauthors and all participants for their participation in the studies. I am grateful to the Irish Research Council for funding my PhD (GOIPG/2020/1220) and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) for supporting this programme of research. I also wish to acknowledge Stephen West, Sharief Hendricks and Geraldine Foley as academic collaborators.

Sackett DL ,
Rosenberg WMC ,
Gray JAM , et al
Hendricks S , et al
Cullen P , et al

Supplementary materials

Supplementary data.

This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

Data supplement 1

X @kathryndane2

Contributors I confirm sole responsibility for the PhD conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and manuscript.

Funding This study was funded by Irish Research Council (GOIPG/2020/1220).

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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Keeping a research journal can be a very powerful research tool. Many great minds and historical figures used to journal, including Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison and many more. ... I'm in the fourth year of my PhD and my research journal has more words than my thesis (over 82,000 words so far). It has been a ...
40 Must-read academic blogs for researchers and PhD students
1. Academics Write ( @academicswrite ): As the name suggests, Academics Write is a blog about "academic writing in all disciplines.". Blog owner, Kim Mitchell is from a nursing discipline and is an Instructor at Red River College, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada.
Home- Research Voyage
Welcome to Research Voyage, your ultimate resource for academic research. Whether you're a seasoned researcher, a postgraduate student, or a high school enthusiast, we're here to support your academic journey. Explore Our Blog. Stay ahead in the world of research with our diverse range of blog categories: PhD Insights:
How to tackle the PhD dissertation
The PhD dissertation writing process is often lengthy and it is sometimes easy to forget why you started. In these moments, it can be helpful to think back to what got you excited about your research and scholarship in the first place. Remember it is not just the work but also the people who propelled you forward.
One Stop to All Research Needs
iLovePhD is a research education website to know updated research-related information. It helps researchers to find top journals for publishing research articles and get an easy manual for research tools. The main aim of this website is to help Ph.D. scholars who are working in various domains to get more valuable ideas to carry out their research.
Journal of Student Research
Journal of Student Research (JSR) is an Academic, Multidisciplinary, and Faculty-reviewed Journal (Houston, Texas) devoted to the Rapid Dissemination of Current Research Published by High School Edition, Undergraduate and Graduate students. The journal seeks articles that are novel, integrative, and accessible to a broad audience, including an ...
Do you keep a separate research journal? : r/AskAcademia
By research journal, I mean a journal or notebook where you write down potential research ideas, questions, hypotheses, theories, etc., not necessarily your formal experiment planning or results, or your draft for a grant application. I'm fairly new to research and brand new to keeping a personal journal, and I'm conflicted about whether or ...
What Can You Do with a PhD in Psychology?
With a PhD in psychology, you can pursue various career paths, including research psychology, psychotherapy, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, and even management consultancy. Alternatively, a doctorate also helps you pursue different areas of specialization within the field of psychology.
Journals
The face coverings tested in this study included a 2-layer nylon mask with ear loops (54% recycled nylon, 43% nylon, 3% spandex), tested with and without an optional aluminum nose bridge and filter insert in place (A), a cotton bandana folded diagonally once "bandit" style (B), a cotton bandana folded in a multilayer rectangle according to the instructions presented by the US Surgeon ...
PhD Journals
PHD Journals provide author friendly and easy way to publish research paper and tracking system in multidisciplinary topics. We provide authors a hassle free paper submission system, so that author focuses on their research paper rather than cumbersome procedure. After acceptance of paper by the Editorial Board, paper gets published on high ...
Summer learning loss: What we know and what we're learning
However, research using interim and diagnostic assessments (MAP Growth, Star, and i-Ready) has found far larger summer drops across a range of grade levels. Given the sizable differences in the magnitude of test score drops across tests, it remains uncertain whether summer slide should be considered a trivial issue or a serious educational ...
'Playing catch-up': safety and optimal tackle outcomes in women's rugby
I aimed to explore the safety and optimal tackle outcomes in women's rugby union (henceforth called rugby). Using the evidence-based medicine model as a guiding framework, I employed multiple methods, integrating player values and coaching expertise with empirical and systematic approaches (figure 1).1 Figure 1 Venn diagram outlining thesis studies and their relation to evidence-based ...

Bring PhD assessment into the twenty-first century

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Where To Find Journal Articles For PhD Research: A Beginner’s Guide

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Final thoughts on where to find original journal papers for PhD research

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Publish or Perish: Graduate Students' Guide to Publishing

Understanding Publishing in Graduate School

What Does it Mean to Get Published?

When Should a Ph.D. Candidate Get Published?

How to Get Published

Who Should Get Published?

Where Should Students Get Published?

Realities & Challenges of Getting Published

Lack of time

Lack of confidence

Lack of funding

Intense competition

Finding the right publisher

Adequately addressing feedback

What do Graduate Students Publish?

Tips for Publishing

How many papers should a Ph.D. student try to publish before graduating?

How many journal articles is it possible to publish during a PhD?

Are there PhD students who have no journal publications? Should they be worried about that?

Is it absolutely essential to have publications to apply for a PhD program?

Does publish or perish begin before starting a PhD program?

What is the difference between a published article and a Ph.D. thesis?

Should I first write my Ph.D. thesis or publish journal articles?

From the Expert

Publishing as a student can feel intimidating. Why is this process important for learners to go through?

What are some common mistakes these learners make when preparing their first papers?

What specific advice do you have for them in terms of finding the right outlet, preparing their work, and submitting to journals?

In addition to publishing in journals, how else might a student go about getting recognition in their field while still in school?

Aspiring PhDs: the (un)surprising relation between doctoral students and research productivity

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The Shifting Sands of Academic Output: University of Cape Town Research Output in Education and Social Anthropology—1993–2013

The Shifting Sands of Academic Output: University of Cape Town Research Output in Education and Social Anthropology (1993–2013)

Exploring Researcher Motivation: Implications for PhD Education

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Using stakeholder insights to enhance engagement in PhD professional development

Introduction

Defining stakeholders

Internal stakeholders.

External stakeholders.

Stakeholder identification and engagement

Data collection.

Recruiting/access to and selection of participants.

Conducting interviews.

Data analysis and interpretation/validity.

Subjectivity/ethical issues/limitations.

Stakeholder engagement tool

Use of the stakeholder engagement tool.

Stakeholder 1 –Internal pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers

Support for and perceived benefits of CPD programs identified by pre- and post-doctoral researchers.

Challenges or opportunities to improve identified by pre- and post-doctoral researchers.

Stakeholder 2–Internal faculty and administrators

Perceived ‘benefits’ of CPD identified by faculty/administrators.

Challenges or opportunities to improve identified by faculty/administrators.

Stakeholder 3: External-facing staff (industry relations, tech transfer, communications, alumni relations and development)

Reasons to engage with industry identified by external-facing offices.

Reasons external stakeholders engage with academia identified by external-facing staff.