Research Capacity Building: A Historically Black College/University-Based Case Study of a Peer-to-Peer Mentor Research Team Model

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate a peer-to-peer mentor research team model (PPMRTM) in building investigators’ research skills (i.e., research methods and grant writing) at a historically Black college/university (HBCU) in the United States. Method: Three different theories (i.e., planned change, critical mass, and self-efficacy), contemporary study findings, and our personal experiences as HBCU-based investigators provided a useful framework for developing the PPMRTM and corresponding intervention components. Three faculty members (herein referred to as fellows) and 5 mentors participated in the study. A concurrent equal status mixed methods design was used to triangulate data collected from 2 different sources: (a) a mixed methods (i.e., qualitative and quantitative) Web-based survey and (b) telephone interviews. The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 22 and NVivo Version 10.0. Results: The findings indicated that mentors and fellows were satisfied with the mentorship relationship, the program design, and its processes. Fellows submitted, for the first time in their career, a research proposal to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Minority Serving Institution-Field Initiated Program (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance [CFDA 84.133]; G-4 research or G-5 development) for competitive funding consideration. This was a core goal of the program. They also indicated that their confidence to conduct research improved. Conclusions: The results suggest that the PPMRTM could represent a promising conceptual framework for conducing mentorship at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions to improve early career research scientists’ research skills.