SIGMA XITHE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY

The global honor society of scientists and engineers that recognizes scientific achievement

The Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey Project

Jenny Zilaro

Manager, Early Career Services

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

jzilaro@sigmaxi.org

Project Funding

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Partner Organizations

National Postdoc Association

Science’s Next Wave

NBER/Sloan Scientific Workforce Group

What is a postdoc? Apprenticeship for the purpose of gaining

scientific, technical, and other professional skills that advance the professional career.

Temporary position

Background Postdoc population has grown to ~50,000

At research universities, life sciences postdoc population almost as large as tenure-track/tenured life sciences faculty

Formerly optional, now essentially required Universities and other postdoc employers

have been slow to meet needs of this growing population

Background Reports have indicated some problems:

Low pay, no minimum wage (“volunteer” postdocs)

Don’t always have access to benefits Few standards for supervision (e.g. annual

reviews, grievance procedures, authorship policies)

“Postdoctoral education today is almost exactly where Ph.D. education was in the 1890s - very ad hoc,”

Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California and chair of the Association of American Universities (AAU) Committee on Postdoctoral Education.

Recent Developments National Academy, AAU reports NIH, NSF initiatives National Postdoctoral Association

Sigma Xi’s Response Postdoc issues tie into Sigma Xi’s commitments to

the health of the research enterprise, ethics and honor in science

Developed proposal to create resources to help postdocs help themselves

Received $350,000 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation + $20,000 from the National Bureau of Economic Research Science and Engineering Workforce Project

Existing Data Official information on postdocs is limited Most of what exists is demographic

information aggregated at the national level

Information Needs Deans, postdoc offices, PDAs are working to

enhance the postdoctoral experience They need reliable local information, cross-

institutional comparisons What are the needs of the postdocs at our institution /

school / department? How does our institution / school / department compare

to its peers? Info on specific local topics

Taking Initiative Dozens of existing local postdoc surveys

See http://www.phds.org/?section=164 Most conducted by postdoc associations Considerable interest in the end-product

Associations have particularly strong motivation because they have a direct stake in the outcome

Quality, methods all over the map Existing local surveys are too local – not useful

for national comparisons

Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey Vision Better leverage local surveys

Tap existing interest and energy Increase coverage Improve quality Optimize impact

Create mechanism for ongoing surveys Goal is not a single snapshot Create tools to foster future surveys

Primary Goal

Enhance and optimize the postdoc experience.

Additional Goals Help existing organizations benchmark

postdoc experience Help get new postdoc associations / offices

off the ground Provide useful information to funding

agencies

Survey Characteristics TIMELINE: Pilot in Fall 2003, full survey

commences Spring 2004 TARGET: Variety of U.S. institutions,

institution types; census of postdocs in all participating institutions, plus ‘at-large’ category

COVERAGE: At least 20-30 institutions, will accept all interested

Survey Characteristics Online instrument, hosted by Sigma Xi Locally administered, customizable Institutions opt in to ‘sharing’ data with

peer institutions “Kit” will provide materials, instructions Audited privacy policy, confidentiality

agreement

Survey Kit Kit will standardize procedures but allow

flexibility at local level Will include:

Questionnaire, guidelines for using and customizing software

Promotional materials, marketing strategies Financial support upon request Customizable reports

Survey Kit: Questionnaire Professionally designed by RTI

International Common set of questions

Questions can be extended locally Developed in cooperation with postdocs,

postdoc administrators, funders, researchers Starting point: AAU and National Academy

recommendations and a compilation of past surveys

Survey Kit: QuestionnaireNational scope offers new and interesting

opportunities Big picture questions

E.g., what factors are strongly associated with positive postdoc experiences?

Value of independence Impact on families Conflict resolution

Survey Kit: Questionnaire Can also focus on populations of special interest

Non-citizen postdocs Female postdocs Underrepresented minority postdocs First year postdocs

Compare across institutions Absolute and relative numbers

We want your input on questions! http://postdoc.sigmaxi.org/questions

Survey Kit: Methodological Guidelines Created in cooperation with RTI

International Designed to accommodate range of

resource levels at institutions Provides guidelines for:

Contacting postdocs, Encouraging participation, Follow-up reminders.

Survey Kit: Software and Funding Data-gathering and report generation

software Automate many survey tasks Main local tasks will be marketing

Modest financial resources Pay for cash incentives, photocopying,

envelope-stuffing, etc.

Survey Kit: Confidentiality Set forth standards for participant data

protections All survey materials will be approved by

the RTI IRB, and a package will be provided to institutions to facilitate internal IRB processes

Survey Kit: Pilot Study Test sites:

UNC Chapel Hill National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

(NIEHS) University of Pittsburgh University of California at San Diego Georgetown University

Non-response Study Look at demographics of non-respondents at an

institution with good postdoc records (UNC)

Full Survey Commencing Spring 2004 At least 20-30 Institutions of varying type will

participate, will accept all who are interested

Reports Provide administrators / postdoc

associations / postdocs with detailed reports Provide comparative data

Within institutions• Compare data across schools / departments

Between institutions• Compare selected data across peer institutions

• Benchmark against peers

More Information If you are interested in more information,

visit http://postdoc.sigmaxi.org

Contacts Jenny Zilaro, Project Manager jzilaro@sigmaxi.org Geoff Davis, Principal Investigator

gdavis@sigmaxi.org

Pam Blondin, Co-PI pblondin@sigmaxi.org

Our AdvisorsEleanor Babco, Commission on

Professionals in Science & Technology Daniel Besser, The Rockefeller Univ. and

National Postdoc Assn (NPA) Enriqueta Bond, The Burroughs Wellcome

Fund Orfeu Buxton, Harvard Medical School,

NPA Lynda Carlson, National Science

Foundation (NSF)Joseph Cerny, Univ. of California, Berkeley Karen S. Christopherson, Stanford Univ.

School of Medicine, NPA Daryl Chubin, NACME Philip S. Clifford, Medical College of

Wisconsin Roman Czujko, Director, Statistical

Research Center, Institute of PhysicsMarye Anne Fox, North Carolina State

Univ.W. Franklin Gilmore, Montana Technical

Univ., 2002-2003 President of Sigma XiRichard Freeman, Herbert Ascherman

Chair in Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research

Chris Golde, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Neal Lane, Rice Univ.Jim Lightbourne, NSFSharon Milgram, Associate Professor,

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Maresi Nerad, National Research Center for Graduate Education, Univ. of Washington

Paula Park, The Scientist Graham Peaslee, Hope College Peter Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden,

2003-2004 President of Sigma XiWally Schaffer, NIH Research Training

Office Nancy Schwartz, Univ. of Chicago Lewis Siegel, Duke Univ. and Council of

Graduate Schools Leslie Sims, Council of Graduate Schools Avi D. Spier, CEO, Allon Therapeutics, Inc.,

NPAPeter Syverson, Council of Graduate

Schools

www.sigmaxi.org

SIGMA XITHE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY