What Predicts Undergraduate Students’ Decision to Pursue a Career in Biomedical/Behavioral Research within an Upper-Division Research Training Program? A Study of Trainees’ Science Identity and Educational Outcomes

Hiromi Masunaga, Chi-Ah Chun, Kim-Phuong L. Vu

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Abstract


This study examined how science identity and positive educational outcomes relate to student trainees’ decision to pursue a research career in health-related sciences, within the context of a two-year research training program that prepares diverse undergraduate students for a research career. In analyses using the evaluation data, science identity and one of the positive educational outcomes significantly predicted trainees’ decision to pursue a research career in biomedical and behavioral sciences. In general, students with stronger science identity and interest in pursuing research in academia exhibited a firmer decision to pursue a research career in sciences. In a separate analysis that examined the associations between the trainees’ decision to pursue a health-related research career and their underrepresented minority identities, gender, and disciplinary track, results revealed that: (1) the interaction between trainees’ disciplinary track (i.e., biomedical vs. behavioral sciences) and their underrepresented minority status was associated with their decision to pursue a research career, but (2) the gender x disciplinary track interaction was not. Emphasizing the need for supporting diverse undergraduate trainees to solidify their science identity and preparing them for a research career in academia, we discuss implications of our findings for research training programs with similar aims.


Keywords


Science identity, Undergraduate research, Biomedical research training, Diverse students

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References


Masunaga, H., Chun, C. A., & Vu, K.P.L (2023). What predicts undergraduate students’ decision to pursue a career in biomedical/behavioral research within an upper-division research training program? A study of trainees’ science identity and educational outcomes. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 9(4), 920-936. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.3238




DOI: https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.3238

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International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES)
 
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

ISSN: 2148-9955 (Online)