Publishing (In)Consistently as a Doctoral Student: Differences in Publication as a Function of Mentorship

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Research and Publishing

Abstract

The current study examined the consistency of the number of articles published in peer-reviewed journals across doctoral students in the field of biological sciences, and the relationship between publications and mentoring experiences. We used a mixture distribution latent state-trait model to examine consistency across latent subgroups. Our findings showed that doctoral publication was a highly state-like construct, indicating a lack of consistency in publishing across time. Further, we found two subgroups that characterized differences in average publications across time, yet both subgroups lacked consistency when evaluating yearly publication rates. No significant association was identified between doctoral students’ publications across six years and mentoring, showing no evidence that doctoral mentorship from faculty members effectively impacted students’ involvement in publishing.

Authors

• Feng Zhang, Utah State University

• Kaylee Litson, Utah State University

• David F. Feldon, Utah State University