Mentor and Undergraduate Student Comparisons of Students’ Research Skills

Abstract

This paper introduces preliminary results that include both graduate mentor ratings and faculty mentor ratings of undergraduate students’ self-reported assessments of their research experiences. In addition, researchers examined how these ratings differed under four circumstances: (1) the quality of the mentoring relationship, (2) the amount of mentor and student time spent together, (3) the frequency with which the student asked his/her mentor for help, and (4) the amount of control the faculty mentor had over student projects. Results show that students rate their own abilities and skills higher than do their faculty mentors. Authors also noted the greatest discrepancies between faculty and student ratings in situations where the mentoring relationship quality was high, the amount of time spent together was little, the students rarely went to the mentor for advice, and the faculty exerted little control over the student. Suggestions for additional studies exploring the impact of mentoring within undergraduate research are provided.