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Mentoring Best Practices

Because so much about being a successful researcher must be learned in the context of being a researcher, successful mentoring relationships are essential both for the individual and for science collectively. While it is clear that mentoring is important for career development, insufficient mentoring is frequently a contributing factor to research misconduct (Wright et al., 2008).

The term “Mentor” is used often in academia and research, but its meaning is confounded by many different uses. For example, is someone a mentor because they are a student’s thesis advisor? Or the head of a research group? Can someone have more than one mentor? Is it possible to assign mentors, or is a mentoring relationship one that may or may not develop between two individuals over time? These questions beg the fundamental question of what it means to be a mentor.

In reviewing the literature about mentoring it is clear that in the research environment this term is variably defined to include advice in at least three domains: scientific, professional, and personal. It is rare that one individual can successfully serve as a mentor in all of these domains. Scientific Mentoring includes teaching and facilitating learning with respect to the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful as a researcher. The focus of Professional Mentoring is the career trajectory and development for someone pursuing a career in science. Personal Mentoring might focus on issues such as dealing with special circumstances (e.g., a disability or entering a field in which your gender is underrepresented) or decisions about marriage, having children, dealing with aging parents, and/or moving with a partner, all in the context of pursuing a research career. For most of those involved in studying and teaching about mentoring, it is important to emphasize that a mentor is seen more as an advisor than as a supervisor. A mentor is someone who typically assists, suggests, and even nudges, rather than directs, orders, or commands.

Examples of key factors that might be covered by mentoring include:

  • Knowledge and skills to be a successful researcher
  • Career development and networking
  • Political, ethical, economic, and social dynamics of being a member of the research community
  • Effective interactions with others as a teacher, member of a team, group leader, administrator, and manager
  • Handling of special personal circumstances (e.g., issues related to gender, race, national origin, language, or disability)

As a minimum, a trainee might ask: Do I have adequate mentoring resources to support me in all of these areas? A research group leader or thesis advisor might ask: Am I adequately preparing my trainees in all of these areas, or at least directing them to useful resources? And all members of the research community might ask: Are there other aspects of being a researcher that could benefit from more effective mentoring?

On Mentoring

  • Anderson MS, Horn AS, Risbey KR, Ronning EA, De Vries R, Martinson BC (2007): What Do Mentoring and Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research Have To Do with Scientists' Misbehavior? Findings from a National Survey of NIH-Funded Scientists. Academic Medicine 82(9):853-860.
  • Anderson MS, Louis KS (1994): The graduate student experience and subscription to the norms of science. Res Higher Ed 35:273-299.
  • Macrina FL (2014): Chapter 3. Mentoring. In: (Macrina FL, au.) Scientific Integrity. An Introductory Text with Cases. 4th Edition, ASM Press, Washington, D.C.
  • Resources for Research Ethics Education (2016): Mentoring
  • Swazey JP, Anderson MS (1996): Mentors, advisors, and role models in graduate and professional education. Association of Academic Health Centers, Washington, DC.
  • Wright DE, Titus SL, Cornelison JB (2008): Mentoring and Research Misconduct: An Analysis of Research Mentoring in Closed ORI Cases. Science and Engineering Ethics 14(3): 323-336.

For Mentors

  • National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine (1997): Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C, 84 pp.
  • National Institutes of Health: A Guide to Training and Mentoring in the Intramural Research Program at NIH.
  • University of Michigan (2011): How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty. Rackham Graduate School.
  • Zimmerman E (2010): A Modern Mentor is a Listener, Too. NY Times 4 June 2010
To help trainees learn more about the importance of mentoring, and to help mentors learn about how they can be more effective, please refer to Mentee Resources and the associated readings recommended for Students.