NSF Centers for Chemical Innovation Survey Pre-tests

Survey of Current and Former Graduate Students and Postdocs
OMB# 3145-0215

Pilot only:
Thank you for agreeing to help pilot test this survey. Your feedback will help us improve the survey
before we send it to other CCI participants.
Please review the instructions on this page and the next before beginning. On each page of the survey
we have included a text box for you to add comments about any questions that are not clear or relevant
to you. You only need to fill in these text boxes for any survey items for which you have specific
comments. At the end of the survey, we have included a brief set of questions on your overall
impressions of the survey’s content, clarity, and length.
All respondents:
The survey solicits responses from graduate students and postdocs who have participated or are currently participating in
the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program. The survey is part of the external
program evaluation, which aims to understand the role of the CCIs in graduate and postdoctoral training and career
development. All survey responses will be aggregated to not reveal individual identities. The survey should take no more than
15 minutes to complete.

INSTRUCTIONS
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Please use the survey's navigation buttons (“Back” and “Next”) to move through the questionnaire.
You may exit the survey at any time by pressing the “save and continue later” button. When you re-open the
survey, you will be able to continue where you left off.
Once you reach the last question in the survey, you will see a “submit” button. After clicking this button, your
survey will be complete and you may close your browser. Once submitted, you will not be able to return to
the survey without contacting our team.
If you have any questions regarding the survey, you can contact us at [email protected].

[Verification]

Past and current:
1. Is your name: [First Name, Middle Name/Initial, Last Name]?
□ Yes, this is correct
□ No, my name has changed or is misspelled. My name is: _________
□ No, I am not the person named above  Exit the survey
Past and current:
2. All of the questions in the survey refer to your participation in the following NSF Center for
Chemical Innovation (CCI): [CCI name]
Please note that your center may have been funded under a predecessor to the NSF CCI
program such as Chemical Bonding Centers (CBC).
□ I have participated/still participating in this CCI  3
□ I have participated/still participating in a different CCI  A
□ I have not participated in the CCI program  Exit the survey
A. Please select from the list of options
If you participated in more than one CCI, please select the CCI with which you have
been most extensively involved.
[pull-down menu of CCIs]
Past and current:
3. Are you still part of this CCI? Select one.
□ Yes  current
□ No  past
Past only:
4. Why are you no longer participating in CCI? Select all that apply.
□ Graduated/completed postdoctoral training
□ Left for another reason  A
A. Please indicate all reasons that apply.
□ Insufficient funding
□ Advisor left the CCI
□ Completed CCI-related project and moved on to a project not related to CCI
□ Was assigned to a different project
□ Was not interested in research being conducted
□ Did not get along with advisor/inadequate mentoring
□ Did not get along with people in the center
□ Did not get resources I needed
□ Decided to pursue another career path
□ Did not like being part of a center
□ Left graduate/postdoctoral program before completion

□
□

Personal/family reason or change in life circumstances
Other, please explain: ____________

[Career status and plans]

Past only:
5. During your final year at CCI, were you: 5
□ A terminal masters student
□ A doctoral student
□ A postdoctoral scholar
Past only:
6. How many people served as mentors to you (either formally or informally), providing guidance,
feedback, and support for your development and research? Select one.

□
□
□
□
□

I had a single mentor who participated in CCI
I had a single mentor who did not participate in CCI
I had multiple mentors who all participated in CCI
I had multiple mentors, but not all of them participated in CCI
I did not have any mentors

Past only:
7. Listed below are decisions you may have made related to your next career steps. Did your CCI
experiences influence any of these? Select all that apply. 6
□ What type of institution to join – e.g., university, industry, government
□ What type of career to pursue – e.g., research, teaching, entrepreneurship
□ Whether to pursue a doctoral or professional degree – display row only if respondent was a terminal

□
□
□
□
□
□

masters student according to Q5

Whether to pursue postdoctoral training
Choice of specific employer
Choice of discipline/field of study
Choice of research problem
Choice of advisor/mentor
None of the above

Past only:
8. Are you currently enrolled in a degree program?

□
□

Yes  A
No
A. Is your degree program in a chemistry discipline?

5
6

AAAS STC Current Student Survey, Item 1b adapted
Q4-6 STC graduate student survey item A12 adapted

□
□

Yes
No

9. Which of the following best describes your current principal employer? Select one.

□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□

Not employed
College or university (excluding work as a Research or Teaching Assistant)
Industry/business
Government (including government research labs)
Non-government lab
Research institution/think tank
Other nonprofit organization or private foundation
K-12 school or district
Entrepreneur/self-employed
Other, please specify: ______

Current only:
10. Are you: 7
□ A terminal masters student  A
□ A doctoral student
□ A postdoctoral scholar
A. After you graduate, are you planning to pursue a PhD?
□ Yes  B
□ No  C
□ Unsure
B. Has your CCI experience positively influenced your interest in pursuing a PhD?
□ Yes, it increased my interest in pursuing a PhD
□ No, I was already planning to pursue a PhD
C. Has your CCI experience negatively influenced your interest in pursuing a PhD?
□ Yes, it decreased my interest in pursuing a PhD
□ No, I was not planning to pursue a PhD

7

AAAS STC Current Student Survey, Item 1b adapted

Current only:
11. Which of the following positions are you most interested in pursuing after you complete your
degree and/or postdoctoral training? Have your career goals changed since you began
participating in the CCI? Select one answer per row. 8
Never been
my goal

Considered
before
involvement
in CCI

Became a
goal since
involvement
in CCI

Faculty member in a research college or university
Faculty member in a 2-year or 4-year teaching college
Program officer/academic administrator
Non tenure-track researcher in a university or a research institute
Researcher in a government laboratory
Research and Development position in industry
Business position in industry or an entrepreneur
Other, please specify:

[Experience with CCI]

Past and current:
12. Have you spent time working in a laboratory/research group of a CCI partner organization (as
an intern, graduate student, visiting scholar, or similar)? Select one.
□ Yes  A
□ No
A. Which of the following best describes the organization(s) in which you worked? Select
all that apply if you worked with more than one type of organization.
□ Academic institution
□ Government laboratory
□ Industry
□ Foundation/non-profit
□ Other, please specify: _____________
B. How much time did you work at CCI partner organization(s) in total?
Days: ______________
Weeks: ______________
Months: ______________
Years: ______________

8

The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Student Survey 2004, adapted, Item 1

C. How valuable was this experience to your career development? Select one.
□ Not at all valuable
□ Somewhat valuable
□ Very valuable
Past and current:
13. On a scale of 1-5, where 1 = very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied, how satisfied are you with
the following opportunities offered through CCI? Select one response per row.
Did not
experience

Experienced, rate
1-5

Mentorship you received
Research opportunities
Internships/visits to other research labs
Attending conferences
Giving presentations
Publishing papers
Applying for grants/fellowships/awards
Collaborating with researchers at your institution
Collaborating with researchers outside of your institution
Entrepreneurship
Teaching and/or course development
Supervising students
Outreach to the general public

Past and current:
14. On a scale of 1-5, where 1=not at all satisfied and 5=very satisfied, how would you rate your
CCI experience overall? Select one.
□ Pull-down menu 1-5. If <3  A
A. What was the primary reason for your dissatisfaction? 9
___________

9
The Office of Naval Research Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)/ Naval Research Enterprise
Internship Program (NREIP) student survey, adapted, Item 22

[Role of CCI]

Past and current:
15. Please indicate, for each item below, whether participation in CCI has proved to be an
advantage, disadvantage, or made no difference to the following:10
An
advantage

No
difference

A
disadvantage

NA/too early
to tell

Breadth of research experience
Access to equipment, facilities, materials
Ability to advance your research project
Ability to take initiative or work on your own ideas
Opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities
Access to faculty
Learning about scientific or engineering areas outside of your
field
Learning about commercialization and entrepreneurship
Learning how to communicate about your research
Quality of education
Quality of training
Quality of mentoring
Access to community of peers
Opportunities to network at conferences
Determining your career direction and options
Job opportunities available to you

Past and current:
16. How well do you think participation in the CCI has prepared/is preparing you for the
following activities?11 Choose one answer per row.
Not prepared

Somewhat
prepared

Well prepared

N/A

Formulating research problems
Critically evaluating published literature
Conducting high-quality research
Solving problems which arise in implementing a research
program
Presenting and publishing your work
Working in a multidisciplinary team
Working outside of academia
Writing fellowships/grant proposals
Communicating with researchers in your field
Communicating with researchers outside of your field
10

AAAS STC Current Student Survey, Item 2a-c adapted
IGERT Student Survey 2004, adapted, Item 14 and SEAP/NREIP intern survey, adapted, Item 23, STC graduate student
survey item C15
11

Not prepared

Somewhat
prepared

Communicating research findings to the general public
Serving as a mentor

[Demographics]

Past and current:
17. What is your gender? 12
□ Male
□ Female
□ Prefer not to report
Past and current:
18. Do you identify as an underrepresented ethnic/racial minority? 13
□ Yes  A
□ No
□ Prefer not to report
A. If so, indicate:
□ Black or African American
□ Hispanic/Latino
□ Native American
□ Alaska Native
□ Native Pacific Islander
□ Prefer not to report
□ Other. Please specify __________

12
13

AAAS STC Faculty survey, item 15 adapted
AAAS STC Faculty survey, item 16 adapted

Well prepared

N/A

Pilot only:
In addition to any feedback that you provided in the comment boxes on each page, please answer the
following questions. You may use the survey's navigation buttons (“Back” and “Next”) to remind
yourself of specific questions. Please be honest and critical in your feedback. The study team will use
your feedback to revise and improve the survey before administering it to other CCI participants.
Are the survey items easy to answer?
□ Yes
□ No  Please explain. _____________
Are the survey instructions easy to follow?
□ Yes
□ No  Please explain. _____________
Are the questions in an order that makes logical sense?
□ Yes
□ No  Please explain. _____________
Are the questions clearly worded?
□ Yes
□ No  Please explain. _____________
Does the survey:
□ Have too few questions about each topic?  Please explain. _____________
□ Have the right amount of questions about each topic?
□ Have too many questions about each topic?  Please explain. _____________
Do you have any other comments about the survey?
□ Yes
□ No  Please explain. _____________