Research mentorship:

We can all benefit from mentorship- as a mentor or as a mentee.

Read the text below to answer the questions:

How do you envision applying mentorship in your career? Are there options in the Academy's mentorship match program that you want to learn more about or possibly use? Are there other areas that you are interested in and hope to find a mentor?

This is a time to start to consider a mentorship plan and think about building your "mastermind approach".

Scientific research is rarely completed by one person working alone. Although some papers in the health sciences have only one author, the typical paper has about four coauthors, and some have dozens of coauthors. For many projects, the bulk of the work is conducted by onelead researcher, defined here as the researcher who will do the majority of the work. (Sometimes the term "lead researcher" refers instead to thesenior researcher, an experienced researcher who guides the work of a newer investigator.) The lead researcher's work typically is supported by several other contributors. Some of these collaborators may be senior specialists who contribute particular types of expertise to the project. Some may be assistants who are involved in labor-intensive aspects of data collection, data entry, and data cleaning. Those contributions make a project a team effort, even if the lead researcher spends many hours working independently on it.

Once an investigator has committed to doing a research project, it is helpful to assemble a team of collaborators early in the research process who can help ensure that the project will be:

• Scientifically valid
• Ethical and culturally appropriate
• Time- and cost-efficient

For students, the first step is identifying at least one professor or other experienced researcher to serve as a mentor. For early career professionals, one or more senior colleagues may be willing to serve as formal or informal mentors. Mentors can help the new investigator identify and connect with other potential collaborators, such as experts on the exposure or disease being examined, the study design or methods being used for the project, or the study population. Technical experts, such as statisticians, librarians, and laboratory specialists, may also be needed. For international research projects, at least one local researcher at the study site should be a coinvestigator who is involved inevery step of the research process, including the selection of the study question, the design of the study, and the collection and interpretation of data.

Some of the individuals the lead researcher communicates with may become core members of the research team and earn coauthorship. Others may play a more limited role as consultants. The lead author should have a conversation with all potential contributors about the amount of time they want to dedicate to the project and their expectations regarding compensation and authorship. For example, a statistical consultant may ask to be paid by the hour to help a researcher think through analysis options as a non-coauthor, the statistician may waive the consulting fee but request coauthorship in return for the development of a data analysis plan, or another arrangement may be requested. The lead author should maintain a record of all the statistical consultants, librarians, laboratory technicians, interviewers, data managers, and others who contribute in a meaningful way to the project. When appropriate, the contributors who do not earn coauthorship can be thanked in the acknowledgments sections of manuscripts that benefited from their contributions. (Always ask for permission to thank people by name, because some people prefer not to have their names published.)

Mentorship:

Mentorshipis a formal or informal relationship in which an experienced mentor offers professional development advice and guidance to a less experienced mentee. It is advantageous for new investigators to seek out a team of several mentors who can provide guidance and advice about research, rather than relying on just one advisor or supervisor. Students writing theses or dissertations typically need to identify a primary mentor and recruit several other established scholars to serve on their supervisory committees, and each of these individuals will bring his or her own expertise and perspectives to the project. New investigators who are not part of a formal research training program may need to seek out their own supervisors and mentors for projects.

New investigators seeking mentorship can identify potential advisors by:

• Asking classmates, colleagues, professors, supervisors, and others about experienced researchers who might be helpful mentors based on shared research interests, the type of mentorship the new investigator is seeking, and whether the communication style of the potential mentor is a good match to that of the mentee
• Searching the profiles of researchers at the new investigator's home institution (or potential collaborating institutions) to see who is actively conducting and publishing research on relevant topics or using relevant methods
• Emailing the individuals identified as potential mentors to share a curriculum vitae (CV) or rsum and request an in-person meeting to learn more about those researchers' current projects and to ask for professional development advice

The new investigator should be prepared for the contacted individuals not to respond or to reply with a message indicating that they are not currently accepting new research assistants, interns, or mentees. Even if a meeting is scheduled, not all conversations will yield a mentor-mentee relationship. An invitation to meet is not an agreement to serve as a mentor. However, all conversations have the possibility of pointing the new investigator to useful resources, including contact information for other individuals who might be well suited to serve as mentors.

Mentor-mentee relationship

Some formal research mentorship programs require both mentors and mentees to sign an agreement letter that spells outthe commitments of both parties, but most mentorships are less formal. A new investigator should not agree to enter into a mentor-mentee relationship before gaining an informed understanding of several key matters, including:

• The potential mentor's time availability.
• The mentor's preferred frequency and style of communication (such as how often emails will be exchanged and how often telephone calls or in-person meetings will be scheduled).
• The roles and responsibilities the mentor agrees to take on.
• The resources the mentor agrees to provide, if the mentee expects the mentor to supply full or partial funding for a project, access to data, access to laboratory facilities or computing equipment, or other types of material support.
• The expectations the mentor has of the mentee.

Once a mentor-mentee relationship is established, there are many things a mentee can do to ensure that the partnership is a productive and pleasant one. Research supervisors appreciate when mentees:

• Communicate often.
• Ask questions.
• Are honest about what they have done and what they plan to do.
• Complete assigned tasks satisfactorily and on time.
• Maintain meticulous research records.
• Are open to receiving constructive criticism.
• Respect the mentor and the mentor's time.

Professional development:

Professional developmentis an ongoing and intentional process of establishing short- and long-term professional goals, identifying and completing activities that enable systematic progress toward achieving those goals, and routinely evaluating performance, competencies, and growth. Mentors can help aspiring researchers identify appropriate goals and actions that will help set the foundation for success in a long-term research career. Examples of professional development activities related to research include:

• Completing online or in-person coursework about research methods.
• Participating in journal clubs that read and discuss recently published research articles.
• Working as a research assistant to gain competencies related to methodology, technical skills, and professionalism.
• Becoming active in professional organizations that host research symposia, sponsor workshops, publish academic journals, and/or provide other opportunities for participating in research-related activities.
• Attending and presenting at local, regional, national, and/or international research conferences, and using this time for networking with both early career and established researchers.
• Enrolling in training programs, which may range from half-day workshops to years-long fellowships.
• Seeking out opportunities to practiceinterprofessionalism, the ability to work and communicate well with colleagues in different practice areas in order to achieve a shared goal.
• Using requirements forcontinuing educationthe completion of approved learning activities in order to maintain a professional licensure or credentialto understand new discoveries in one's field of interest and to acquire new skills that can be applied to research projects.