Dear Students,

For those of you with research experiences in the life sciences (at least 2 quarters or 1 summer), consider contributing your thoughts by filling out this National Science Foundation Survey on how undergraduate students are mentored. The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and they will send you $20 for participating.

The study is being conducted by the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, University of Texas at Austin. Please see below for full description and link to survey. For questions regarding the survey, contact: Mentors@austin.utexas.edu

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Dear Undergraduate Researcher,

We are conducting a study examining how undergraduate researchers in the life sciences are mentored. It is called the “National study of undergraduate-postgraduate-faculty mentoring triads.” This is the first large-scale study investigating how undergraduate researchers are affected by being mentored by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and/or faculty members. The results from this study will help design effective undergraduate research experiences, which are critical for developing the next generation of scientists, for developing students’ understanding of what science is and how science is done, and for retaining students in the sciences.

If you have conducted at least one semester or summer of undergraduate research in the life sciences within the past two years, we want to hear about your experience!

Your participation will involve completing an online survey about your research experience. This will include personal questions about your interactions and relationship with the faculty member, graduate student, and/or postdoctoral researcher with whom you have conducted research, and questions about your personality, which may affect mentoring.

The survey will take about 30 minutes to complete, and you will receive a $20 check for your participation.

We would like to stress that all of your responses will be kept confidential, which means that your name and any identifying information about you will not be included in any report about the study results. It is important that we hear from undergraduates who have had both positive and negative experiences so that we can understand the factors that make undergraduate research experiences effective and enjoyable. Your decision to participate is voluntary and will not affect you in any way.

If you are willing to participate, please follow this link to the survey: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Tcp0oDlAcVFRSR

To ensure confidentiality, please take the survey on your own computer or Wi-Fi device.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us at Mentors@austin.utexas.edu or at the numbers below.

Thank you for considering this request!

Dr. Erin Dolan (512-232-8346) and Megha Joshi (512-232-9029)

Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, University of Texas at Austin