Abstract
Postdoctoral training is a typical step in the course of an academic career, but very little is known about postdoctoral researchers (PDRs) working in the UK. This study used an online survey to explore, for the first time, relevant environmental factors which may be linked to the research output of PDRs in terms of the number of peer-reviewed articles per year of PDR employment. The findings showed reliable links between the research output and research institutions, time spent as PDR, and parental education, whereas no clear links were observed between PDRs' output and research area, nationality, gender, number of siblings, or work environment. PDRs based in universities tended to publish, on average, more than the ones based in research centres. PDRs with children tended to stay longer in postdoctoral employment than PDRs without children. Moreover, research output tended to be higher in PDRs with fathers educated at secondary or higher level. The work environment did not affect output directly, but about 1/5 of PDRs were not satisfied with their job or institutional support and about 2/3 of them perceived their job prospects as “difficult”. The results from this exploratory study raise important questions, which need to be addressed in large-scale studies in order to understand (and monitor) how PDRs' family and work environment interact with their research output—an essential step given the crucial role of PDRs in research and development in the country.
Highlights
Postdoctoral researchers (PDRs, referred to as postdocs) have been an integral part of European academia for centuries, and the model was exported to the USA in the 1870s [1]
The PDRs in this study referred to their position as research fellows (44%), research associates (40%), research assistants (7%), postdoctoral scientists (3%), postdoctoral researchers (3%), or research officers (3%)
This study explored, for the first time, links between family and work environments and the research output of PDRs based in the UK
Summary
Postdoctoral researchers (PDRs, referred to as postdocs) have been an integral part of European academia for centuries, and the model was exported to the USA in the 1870s [1]. Lengthy periods of postdoctoral employment may influence subsequent career decisions, as a report commissioned by the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry revealed a significant (and negative) association between the number of years as a PDR and the desire to pursue an academic career in women, but not in men [8]. As well as their own family decisions, it is feasible that PDRs’ career progression may be influenced by their family of origin: family-related factors have been shown to make critical contributions to a student’s performance, which may affect subsequent success in academia [21]. The information obtained here could guide future large-scale studies and help to develop and/or implement policies and programmes to support PDRs in a crucial step in the early-years of their scientific career
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