Phase 1: 2005 focus group with SED respondents about postdoc intentions
Six focus groups designed to explore the:
- Motivations
- Expectations
- Perceptions
behind the decision to take a postdoc.
The participants included recent graduates of research doctoral programs and PhD students who were close to graduation. Approximately one-half of each focus group’s participants were either foreign-born or US born and belonging to an ethnic / racial minority background.
Four groups were dedicated to students planning to take or currently held a postdoc. The remaining groups consisted of individuals without plans for a postdoc. The sessions were conducted in two modalities: in person (August, 2005) and computer-assisted telephone interviews (mid-October, 2005).
To read the report, click here.
2007 focus group on postdoc definitions and postdoc-related data in institutions
Four focus groups with postdoc employers in Washington DC, Boston, and San Francisco. These sessions explored how:
- “Postdoc” is defined
- Postdoc data are stored and updated
- Postdoc data are reported
The participants were selected for their knowledge about postdoc-related data at their institutions. The participants represented:
- Academic administrators (at the university and department levels)
- Human resource administrators from non-academic institutions
- Representatives of professional organizations
- Postdocs
The group sessions were conducted in person during March and early April, 2007.
To read the report, click here.
Stanford 2007 postdoc definition focus groups
Six focus groups of postdocs from institutions across the US. They were conducted between March 31 and April 1, 2007. One session included postdocs from a single academic institution. The rest were held at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).
Participants discussed several aspects of a definition of a “postdoc.” They were especially interested in aspects that were exclusive to postdocs—and that distinguished postdocs from other research staff.
Participants were asked to evaluate five existing “postdoc” definitions. Three of the five NPA sessions were devoted postdoc definitions, and two additional focus groups discussed issues related to compensation and benefits.
2008 focus groups with US-degreed and foreign-degreed postdocs
Four focus groups designed to a national postdoc questionnaire by:
- Prioritizing content areas
- Exploring differences between US degreed and foreign-degreed postdocs (in relation to the questionnaire topics)
The groups were conducted in person in southeast Michigan during August, 2008. Two sessions were comprised of US-degreed postdocs and two sessions were comprised of foreign-degreed postdocs.
To read the report, click here.
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