Crosswalk

Revised draft 10-29-07

Crosswalk of IGERT Follow-up Study Desired Focal Issues to Research Questions, Evaluation Indicators, and
Data Sources
Study Goal: To determine the value of an IGERT Traineeship in preparing scientists and engineers who will pursue
careers in research and education with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and
technical, professional, and personal skills to become, in their own careers, leaders and creative agents for change.
Note: All analyses will examine together and separately the various groups of IGERT PhD Completers, IGERT Masters
Completers, Comparison PhD Completers, as relevant. We will also examine differences by subgroups as relevant.
Key:
Subgroups for Cross-tab Analysis:
G= Gender, URM= Under Represented Minority, STEM = STEM discipline, YIP= Years involved in IGERT
Program, YFP = Year first participated in IGERT; IE= International Experience
Data Source:
CG= Comparison Group, OE= Open End, MD= Monitoring Data, NN= National Norms, I= Interview, S=Survey
National Surveys:
APA= American Psychological Association’s 1997 Doctorate Employment Survey
Golde= Chris Golde’s Survey on Doctoral Education
LIT – Leaving the Ivory Tower (noncompleter survey)
PS = Physical Science Ph.D. Careers Project: Career and Work Survey
SED = 2004 Survey of Earned Doctorates
SDR = 2003 Survey of Doctorate Recipients
3ML – Three Magic Letters

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #1: Diversity and breadth of interests among IGERT versus traditionally trained STEM students.
Research Questions

Indicators (Data Items)

Comparison

Survey
Question

1A. Do IGERT trainees have
more diverse career
perspectives, expectations
and interests than traditionally
trained STEM graduate
2
students (TTS)?

1.

Why do IGERT trainees pursue careers in
STEM? What elements do IGERT trainees
report as their most important priorities in
pursuing a scientific career? Do IGERT
trainees report different priorities than TTS?

A. What’s most important to you in a scientific
career? (top 3 most important)

CG,

A1

1B. Does IGERT attract
students who otherwise might
not have chosen graduate
school in STEM?

2.

For what reasons did IGERT trainees pursue
graduate training in STEM? Do these reasons
differ from the reasons for which TTS pursued
graduate training in STEM?

B. Reasons for pursuing graduate school in a
STEM field (all, most important)

Focal Questions
1

Notes: Examine personal motivations then,
now, and how they relate. (Parallel to Y)

NN =SDR
C10

Subgroups: G, URM

Notes: Retrospective item, addresses
motivation

CG,
NN=3ML A11

A2, A3,
A4

n/a

A5

Subgroups: G, URM
3.

What role does IGERT play in attracting IGERT
trainees to IGERT graduate programs?

C.

Role of IGERT in decision to pursue
graduate school (analyzed by students’
year in graduate program when first
participating in IGERT)

Notes: addresses motivation
Subgroups: G, URM, YFP
1C. Has IGERT contributed to
broadening participation (i.e.,
to include more women, and
minorities) in STEM graduate
fields?

1

2

Analysis of questions 2 and 3 above for sub-groups
of women and underrepresented minorities.

n/a

“IGERT trainees” refers to two groups of formerly funded trainees: PhD Completers and Masters Completers. Non-IGERT comparisons will exist for the
PhD Completers.
We will use two categories of “traditionally trained STEM graduate students” – national norms (NN) from various national studies, and a carefully
constructed comparison group (CG) surveyed for this study.
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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #2 Satisfaction with graduate experience and completion of graduate degrees among IGERT trainees as
compared to traditionally trained STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions

Indicators

2A. Are IGERT trainees more
satisfied with their graduate
experience compared to
traditionally trained STEM
graduate students?

4.

D. Degree to which respondents recommend
their graduate program

2B. Are IGERT trainees more
likely to complete graduate
degrees than traditionally
trained STEM graduate
students?

5.

2C. How long do IGERT
trainees take to complete
their degrees as compared to
traditionally trained STEM
graduate students?

Note: We added B2 to be
able to control for the few
IGERT projects that enrolled
Masters students.

To what extent would IGERT trainees and TTS
recommend their graduate program to
prospective students?

Comparison

Survey
Question
O3, O6,

Subgroups: G, URM, YIP, YFP
What proportion of IGERT trainees graduate
from their IGERT program (Ph.D., Masters) or
drop out? How do graduation rates for IGERT
trainees (MS, PhD) compare to those for TTS?
(Higher, lower?)

6.

Does IGERT play a role?

7.

How long does it take IGERT trainees to
complete their Ph.D. or Masters degrees?
Does time-to-degree for IGERT trainees vary
from time-to-degree for TTS? (More, less
time?)

E.

Degree earned (PhD, Masters, No
degree)

Subgroups: G, URM, STEM

CG, NN=
S&E
Indicators

B4

CG

B12

(Confirming monitoring data)
F.

Degree to which IGERT experience
contributed to IGERT trainees’ ability to
complete degree.

Two measures: time from undergraduate
degree and time from graduate enrollment,
controlling for prior Master’s degree, time
stopped out, and discipline.

CG, NN=
S&E
Indicators

G.

Date of Undergraduate degree

P5

H.

Date of graduate enrollment

B1

I.

Date of graduation / departure

B5,B6,B8

J.

Whether or not students had a Master’s
degree prior to entering,

B3

K.

STEM discipline of degree

B10, B11

L.

Originally enrolled in PhD versus Masters

B2

Subgroup: G, URM, STEM

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #2 Satisfaction with graduate experience and completion of graduate degrees among IGERT trainees as
compared to traditionally trained STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions

Note: Questions B7 and B9
address something that was
not an original indicator.
Given that our sample is
designed to include people
who got a degree, the
number of respondents who
even get these questions will
be very small and not
representative.

8.

Do IGERT trainees who leave without a PhD
subsequently earn a PhD at rates higher than
TTS?

Indicators
M.

Subsequently pursued additional
education and obtained degree

Comparison

Survey
Question
B7, B9

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #3: Preparation for STEM careers of the 21st century among IGERT trainees as compared to traditionally trained
STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions

3A. How successful are
IGERT trainees in entering
and persisting in STEM
careers after graduation as
compared to traditionally
trained STEM graduate
students?

9.

What is the average number of months for
IGERT trainees between leaving the IGERT
institution and obtaining a job?

Indicators

Comparison

Survey
Question

N.

Time between leaving institution and
obtaining first position in workforce
(including postdoctoral fellowship)

CG, NN=
APA #22

C2

O.

Respondents perceived role of IGERT
experience in obtaining position

CG

C6,N7

What role (if any) does IGERT play in
trainees obtaining a position?

P.

Possession of job offer before leaving
institution

Do IGERT trainees have job offers
before leaving their institution?

Q.

Respondents’ perceptions about their
job competitiveness and preparation,.

Do IGERT trainees take more or less time
than TTS to obtain a job?
10. How competitive are IGERT trainees in the
job market for new PhD/Masters graduates?

C1

C5, N3

Are IGERT trainees being recruited by
employers while they are still in their
graduate program?
How competitive are IGERT trainees relative
to TTS?
11. What percent of IGERT trainees are currently
employed?
Are they more likely to be employed than
TTS?

R.

Currently working for salary or wages.
Current position a postdoctoral
appointment or fellowship.
If not working, reasons for not working

CG,
NN= SDR
A1

C3
C4
N1

Subgroup: G

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #3: Preparation for STEM careers of the 21st century among IGERT trainees as compared to traditionally trained
STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions

3B. How do IGERT trainees
compare with traditionally
trained STEM graduate
students in the breadth of the
range of careers entered, the
diversity of responsibilities
assumed, and their
positioning in careers on the
cutting edge of STEM
research, interdisciplinary
and/or emerging fields in
STEM?

12. What types of positions do IGERT trainees
consider when entering the workforce?

Indicators
S.

Type of employment sectors (i.e.,
government, business, nonprofit) sought
after for first position upon leaving
graduate school (the three most desired)

13. What factors are important to IGERT trainees
when considering a career, as compared to
TTS?

T.

Factors that were important in choosing
first position out of graduate school
(parallel to A)

14. What careers do IGERT trainees pursue?

U.

Survey
Question

NN=SED
B5 & SDR
A15

C7, N4

NN= SDR
C10

C8, N6

Employment sector

CG, NN=
SED B5, B6
& SDR A15

C9, N5

V.

Characteristics of current employer
(CODED FROM EMPLOYER NAME:
type, size, single or multiple locations,
new firm)

SDR A12 –
A14, A18,
A22

D1, D2, D4,
E1, E2, F1,
F7, G1, G2,
G4, H1-H8

W.

Job title/rank/position

NN=SDR
A19, A20

D3, D5, E3,
E4, F2, F3,
F4, F5, F6,,
G3, G5, H9,
H10

Do they consider a broader range of career
options than TTS?

Do they pursue a broader range of careers
than TTS?

Comparison

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #3: Preparation for STEM careers of the 21st century among IGERT trainees as compared to traditionally trained
STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions

(cont.) 3B. . How do IGERT
trainees compare with
traditionally trained STEM
graduate students in the
breadth of the range of
careers entered, the diversity
of responsibilities assumed,
and their positioning in
careers on the cutting edge
of STEM research,
interdisciplinary and/or
emerging fields in STEM.?

15. Are IGERT trainees more likely to pursue
careers in cutting edge, interdisciplinary,
and/or emerging fields in STEM than TTS?

Indicators
X.

Y.

16. What are the responsibilities of IGERT
trainees in their current positions? Do these
responsibilities differ from those of TTS?

Z.

Extent to which work is interdisciplinary
-

Disciplines used or drawn upon in
dissertation research and in current
responsibilities

-

Extent to which respondents integrate
multiple disciplines and/or work on
multidisciplinary teams

Comparison
CG, NN=
APA #34,
SDR A22

B10, B11,
I1

J2, J3, K1,
K3, K5,L1,
M2, M3

Extent to which work is cutting edge or
emerging. (For IGERT respondents in
Research sector only—Optional
question)

Job responsibilities (R&D,
manufacturing, Tech support, Education,
Admin/Mgmt)

Survey
Question

P7

CG,
NN=SED B7

I2, J1

SDR A31

L2, L3

K2, K4
M1

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Revised draft 10-29-07

Focal Issue #3: Preparation for STEM careers of the 21st century among IGERT trainees as compared to traditionally trained
STEM graduate students.
Focal Questions

Research Questions
17. To what extent are IGERT trainees globally
aware of STEM research in their discipline,
and/or engaged in global interactions as part
of their current responsibilities?

Indicators
AA.

Global relevance to
function/position/work- implications of
work is globally relevant is part of the
global enterprise,

Comparison
CG

Survey
Question
Sub-item h
in D7, E6,
F9, G7,
H12

Subgroup: IE
D8, E7,
F10, G8,
H13

3C. Are IGERT trainees
better prepared for careers
as globally competitive and
aware STEM professionals
compared to traditionally
trained STEM graduate
students?

18. How relevant is the graduate training (IGERT,
other) of IGERT trainees to their current
responsibilities? Do IGERT trainees report
more relevance of their IGERT experiences
than (a) their own other non-IGERT
experiences, and (b) than TTS?

BB.

CC.

Self-reported relevancy of graduate
training (IGERT, other) to current
responsibilities. For each current
responsibility, “How well did your
[IGERT/Graduate] program prepare you
for the following responsibilities?” (4point scale from “Not well” to “Very
well”).

CG

D7, E6, F9,
G7, H12
J5, J6, K6
K7, L4, L5,
M6, M7
O1, O2,
O4, O5

Single greatest contribution and deficit of
IGERT/graduate training to current job
responsibilities

Note: Crossed against Y, Y1, and CC
Subgroup: YIP

19. Within their current careers, as evidenced by
their responsibilities, to what extent do IGERT
trainees demonstrate leadership as
compared to TTS?

DD.

Job responsibilities demonstrating
leadership.

CG, NN=
SDR A33

D6, E5, F8,
G6, H11
D7, E6, F9,
G7, H12

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