Exploring and Examining Mentorship for Research Productivity and Professional Readiness: A Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: The Mentoring Experience for Students in Higher Education

Abstract

This study aimed to examine graduate students and faculty perceptions of mentorship, as it pertains to research productivity and professional readiness using a sequential-explanatory design method. In the first phase, 191 graduate students completed an online survey about their experiences with mentorship. Forty-six percent of participants have a faculty mentor. Graduate students who were satisfied with their mentors also reported greater productivity in research. Furthermore, multiple regression revealed competence had the greatest predictive effect on graduate students perceived success and professional readiness. In the second phase, qualitative analysis of focus groups with 10 faculty revealed eight main themes about their experiences as mentors: satisfaction, strategy, benefits, definition, challenges, components, functions, and competence.

Authors

• Makinde Omojiba, University of North Dakota

• Robert H. Stupnisky, University of North Dakota