Brokering Opportunities
Dr. Locklear, a PhD social scientist, was accepted into a highly competitive health behaviors fellowship program. Although she has an extensive background in qualitative research, her understanding of quantitative data collection and statistical methods is much less developed than that of other fellows in the program, most of whom have a strong background in analyses involving large epidemiologic data sets.
Dr. Feldman, who mentors Dr. Locklear, notices that she is not as engaged as the other fellows during group gatherings such as journal club and the works-in-progress seminar series. He suspects that Dr. Locklear is unsure of how her questions and insights will be received by her peers who share more similar research backgrounds. Dr. Feldman worries that his mentee will not gain maximum benefit from the fellowship program if she continues to stand apart from the group.
Reflections
Q: What kinds of opportunities might Dr. Feldman broker for Dr. Locklear so that she is better integrated into the fellowship program?
A:
- He might first ask Dr. Locklear how she thinks the journal clubs and research seminars are going. She may simply be more introverted and prefer not to talk in the large group setting.
- If Dr. Locklear’s different research background is indeed the source of her tentativeness, Dr. Feldman might invite her to deliver a seminar on qualitative methods for the program or encourage her to bring reports of mixed-methods studies to journal club.
- He could support a collaboration between Dr. Locklear and another fellow that would be mutually beneficial to their research projects and encourage learning.
Q: Now put yourself in Dr. Locklear’s shoes. If you were the mentee in this situation, what might you do to gain the optimum experience from your fellowship?
A:
- You could work with your mentor to identify appropriate ways to increase your quantitative analysis skills.
- You might use your mentor as a sounding board to disclose lapses in your confidence and gain encouragement for your own research agenda.
- You could identify a statistics mentor to advise you on experimental design and analyses that are outside of your expertise.
- If necessary, you could consider joining a different research group that might connect better with your interests.
