Research Office Links
Mentorship
Mentors are:
Advisors, people with career experience willing to share their knowledge; supporters, people who give emotional and moral encouragement; tutors, people who give feedback on one's performance; masters, in the sense of employers to whom one is apprenticed; sponsors, sources of information about, and aid in obtaining opportunities; models of identity, of the kind of person one should be.
From --Zeldich, M. Mentor Roles, Proceedings from the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Western Association of Graduate Schools, Tempe Arizona, 16-18 March, 1990. Pg.11.
Mentorship is encouraged in the research setting in order to:
- Provide instruction on conducting research responsibly and encouraging the incorporation of a sound code of research behavior
- Improve trainee's self-confidence
- Critique and support trainee's research
- Define clear research focus
- Assist in defining and achieving career goals
- Socialize trainee into the profession
- Assist in development of extensive collegial networks
- Advise how to balance work and personal life
- Teach more efficient utilization of resources
- Assist in the development of future colleagues
From- Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) website at Northern Illinois University, Research Mentoring Module. Accessed on October 4, 2006.
Resources
- Mentor vs. Advisor, by Yolanda Treviņo, Indiana University, University Graduate School
- How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty in a Diverse University. Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Michigan, 2002.
- Mentoring Module, by Columbia University
- Interactive Module on Research Mentorship, by Northern Illinois University