Mentoring
Research mentoring
Research mentoring, the practice where senior researchers take a special interest in helping an individual develop into a successful professional, seeks to preserve the integrity of the research effort. It is a key means for experienced researchers to share their knowledge and values with those new to research, at an early stage of their career. The University encourages the use of appropriately structured mentoring schemes for the enhancement of academic and research careers.
Good mentoring should begin with:
- a clear understanding of mutual responsibilities
- a commitment to maintain a productive and supportive research environment
- proper supervision and review
- an understanding that the main purpose of the relationship is to prepare mentees to become successful researchers
Informal mentoring might be structured out of an agreement to use ongoing contacts, occurring through the regular day-to-day research activities between colleagues, particularly where mentor and mentee work closely together, such as in research groups.
Mentoring schemes
Mentoring schemes should be based around meetings giving time to allow mentor and mentee to: discuss issues, listen, ask questions, comment and provide feedback, support and challenge views and opinions; share experiences; provide vision, assist with contacts and networking (where appropriate) and help the individual to develop their research and comply with the requirements of their field at that stage. Mentors should provide guidance through the rules for their area of research (eg. how responsibilities are shared in the research setting, how authorship is established) and provide a valuable mix of advice, guidance and information to mentees.
Mentoring should typically support mentees to find ways of achieving their objectives and resolving issues themselves through their own means such as through developing a personal strategy, a plan and targets for their research. A mentor can act as a sounding board for discussion of problems, but should not be expected to solve the mentee's problems. As mentors invest time and resources in mentoring, mentees should respect this time and use resources responsibly, keeping their mentors informed about changing research interests or other circumstances that could affect their work.
In the research on Nobel Laureates conducted by Harriet Zuckerman, she found that more than half (forty-eight) of the ninety-two who did their prize-winning research in the United States by 1972 had worked either as students, post doctorates, or junior collaborators under older Nobel Laureates.
(Zuckerman, H. 1977)