previous research experience essay example

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My first research experience: being open to the unexpected, by claire fresher, peer research ambassador.

Many things surprised me when I started my first research opportunity. I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard a few things from upperclassmen about their own experiences and had attended a couple presentations from OUR, which is what got me interested in research in the first place, but I had no idea what my personal research experience was going to be like.

Something I hadn’t expected was how many people there are in a research group to support you and how willing people are to help. When I started my research position, I was introduced to a graduate student that worked in the lab station right next to mine. She showed me around the lab space and set me up on my computer. She was always there to ask quick questions or help me with any problems I encountered, as were the other people using the lab space, even if they weren’t in my specific lab group.

After a few weeks, I was given a partner who was also an undergraduate and I was introduced to the other undergraduates in the lab who I met at our weekly lab meetings where I got to hear what everyone was working on. I personally loved having a partner who could help me on the specific project I was assigned since I didn’t want to interrupt the other people in the lab with every question I had when they had other similar projects they were working on.

There was definitely a learning curve when I first started since I had never seen anything like this before. I started with basic literature research and began getting a better look into the broad topic which made it easier to really dive into the specific project that I was working on. In the beginning the work seemed a little intimidating but once I got comfortable in the lab space and knew I had people that could help me it was a lot easier to really get going and get into the really interesting parts, which is actually discovering new and exciting things!

I think the most important thing that I went into research with was being open to anything, and not being set on one way of learning or doing things. This was beneficial since it allowed me to be able to learn something completely new and be open to doing things differently than I had done before.

Throughout the course of my research experience, I know that I have changed in many ways. I learned how to work independently, how to be more analytical in my work, and how to ask the important questions that led to new discoveries. Research really has taught me to be open to the unexpected, and even welcome it, since being open has made me into a better researcher and student.

Claire is a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Mathematics. Click here to learn more about Claire.

Significant Research Experience Essay

If you’re applying to MD-PhD programs, you’re also required to write an essay that describes your significant research experiences. In this essay, please specify your research supervisor’s name and affiliation, the duration of the experience, the nature of the problem you studied, and your contributions to the research effort. This essay is limited to 10,000 characters.

If you were an author of a publication about your research, please enter the full citation in the Work/Activities section of your application.

Please note: If you change the program type to a Combined MD-PhD Program at a designated school after you submit your application to the AMCAS program, you will need to complete the MD-PhD and Significant Research Experience Essays before you can resubmit your application.

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The Significant Research Experience Essay

• First Online: 23 September 2020

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• Jonathan Sussman 4 ,
• Jordan Setayesh 5 &
• Amitej Venapally 6  

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One of the most unique and substantial parts of the MD/PhD application is the significant research experience essay, which is a part of the primary AMCAS application. In this essay, applicants describe their research positions, projects, and accomplishments in detail. This chapter explains how to structure and write this essay in terms of the scientific method. It is important for applicants to demonstrate involvement in every step of the scientific process, from designing the experiments to communicating the results. However, this essay serves as an excellent medium through which applicants can explain how their research interests have evolved over time and the most important lessons they learned through research. In effect, this essay can be viewed as a technical-based personal statement.

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2020 AMCAS Applicant Guide. American Association of Medical Colleges. 2020. https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/14/6f/146f366e-d54a-4792-9870-ffe451b2e473/aamc-2020-amcas-applicant-guide041119.pdf . Accessed 11 June 2020.

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Sussman, J., Setayesh, J., Venapally, A. (2021). The Significant Research Experience Essay. In: The Complete MD/PhD Applicant Guide. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55625-9_8

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How to List Research Experience on Your Resume

Applying for a role that requires research skills? Here’s how to list your research experience on a resume, with examples you can follow.

3 years ago   •   7 min read

Research experience isn’t just for science and academia. Research is a valuable skill that’s required for a number of roles and industries, which means it almost certainly has a place on your resume. And no — that doesn’t mean writing “research” in your skills section and moving on.

Why you should list research experience on your resume

If you’re applying for a job that involves research, listing research experience is a no-brainer. Research-specific positions, scientific jobs like Research Assistants , Lab Assistants or Technicians, graduate school applications, and most jobs in academia all require evidence of research skills. Even outside these positions, research experience demonstrates valuable transferable skills, like critical thinking and attention to detail . Which is not to say that you need to include research experience on every resume — if it makes you a stronger candidate, include it, but if it isn’t relevant and doesn’t add anything else to your candidacy, leave it off.

Research experience resume example

Before we dive right in, here's a sample resume that emphasizes research skills. You can use this as a template or as inspiration to write your own resume from scratch.

Download: PDF | Google Docs

How to list research experience in your resume

Like a lot of desirable skills, research is a soft skill , meaning it’s not something you can claim as an objective fact on your resume without backing it up. What you can do instead is prove it — what previous role involved a lot of research? What resume accomplishments do you have that highlight your research experience? Showing how you used research skills in action is the best way to demonstrate the value you could bring to the company and role you’re applying for.

There are a number of ways you can highlight research experience on your resume:

In a dedicated section

In your work experience, in your education section, listing research publications, in a projects section, in your skills section, in your resume summary.

Let's take a look at each of these options in a little more depth. But first, let's look at an annotated example to help set the context.

If you come from a research background, you might want to title your work experience ‘Research.’ Alternatively, you could create two experience sections — one titled ‘Work Experience’ and one titled ‘Research Experience’ — if you also have a lot of non-research experience but want to highlight your most relevant experience first. You can go into more detail when applying for a research-focused role by describing the project and specifying the nature of the research and your role in it.

More information: How to title different sections of your resume

Including research experience in your main work experience section is appropriate if it was paid work or if it was your most recent and relevant experience. List the employer — for example, the university or research department — job title, dates, and accomplishments, just like you would any other work experience.

More information: How to list your work experience on your resume

If you’re a current student or recent graduate, you can list your education section at the top of your resume. You can also make this section a little more comprehensive if you don’t have a lot of work experience, by including things like awards, coursework, and academic research.

If you undertook research as part of your studies and it demonstrates skills relevant to the job you’re applying for, list your research accomplishments in bullet points under the education section of your resume.

More information: The must-haves when writing your education on your resume

If you have a lot of publications that came out of your research, and you want to draw attention to them — and if they’re relevant to the job you’re applying for — consider creating a separate publications section . Formal publications like these are an excellent way to add credibility to your research experience.

List each publication in a new bullet point with the title, year, and name of the magazine, website, or journal. Academic publications can be listed more formally if it’s relevant, like if you’re applying for graduate school or a role in academia.

When it comes to listing research on your resume, like other soft skills, you need to show you’ve used this skill in your previous roles by showcasing your research related accomplishments. Upload your resume to the tool below to find out if your resume highlights your most relevant research experience and achievements.

If your research experience is less extensive or wasn’t quite relevant enough to include alongside your work experience or education, you can still highlight it in a projects section. Keep this brief and include 1-2 bullet points showcasing your key research accomplishments.

More information: How to list projects on a resume

Research skills can go in your skills section — as long as they’re hard skills. Steer clear of listing generic skills like “Research” — instead, use our keyword finder to look for relevant skills and keywords and include specific hard skills like data analysis, project management, software proficiency, and certifications.

You can also use the skills search tool below to get a list of hard skills relevant to the research-focused role you’re applying for.

More information: How to write a resume skills section

If you’re applying for a position where research experience is essential, consider emphasizing your experience by including a short resume summary at the top of your resume. This should include the title of the job you’re applying for and a brief overview of your background and key skills.

More information: Generate a summary for your resume

Examples of listing research experience on your resume

No matter where you choose to include it, always list research experience in concise, accomplishment-focused bullet points . These should follow the structure of action verb + what you did + what the result was. Here are some examples of resume bullet points you can use or modify to suit your own research experiences.

Highlight research projects

• Assisted with cell development research projects as part of the Leukemia Research team — identifying cell changes, determining cell counts and coulter counters with 98% accuracy.

If you have significant research experience, describe it! The more relevant it is to the position you’re applying for, the more detail you can go into. Make sure to specify exactly what stages of research you worked on and what your contribution was.

Mention awards for your research

• Awarded “Total Quality Award” in recognition of consistent high standards of quality work for research excellence (only 3 awarded in class of 500).

If the high quality of your work has been acknowledged by an award, early promotion , or similar outside recognition, include it! In addition to the name of the award or accolade, don’t forget to specify context (e.g. 'out of class of 500 people' to increase its credibility.

Demonstrate technical expertise

• Created over 75 3D models with CAD tools such as Solidworks and ANSYS.

If you have experience with specific software or tools that you’ll be using in the position you’re applying for, include a bullet point accomplishment specifying how you’ve used them. While this isn't direct 'research' experience, it uses tools that are relevant to research projects — this is a good way of showing that you have research skill sets without having formal research experience.

Use 'research-focused' action verbs

• Researched and edited two articles and one book chapter on prenatal substance abuse, policy implication of Human Genome Project.

Use action verbs like "Researched" or "Scoured" which clearly emphasize research skills. In some cases (like in this example), you can list publications in your bullet points itself. If you’ve authored academic papers, books, or articles, this is a great way to show the validity and importance of your research.

Include accomplishments related to research studies

• Oversaw screening and recruitment of over 100 participants to study, liaised with laboratory personnel and site coordinators to ensure study is completed on time with 100% success.

Not all research positions involve pure research. Make sure you highlight appropriate related accomplishments, like managing research study participant data and enrolments or managing a team of research assistants.

Include accomplishments relating to research in your field

• Conducted legal research; organized and analyzed data and evidence for over 50 cases annually.

If research is part of the job description, make sure you include at least one bullet point highlighting how you’ve used those skills in the past. Including metrics, like the number of cases you’ve researched, contextualizes your accomplishments and helps them stand out.

• Conducted marketing research for both buy-side and sell-side resulting in 15 strong leads.

Research isn’t just limited to science and academia. Demonstrate your skills in action by the context and end results of your research, like the number of leads it generated or the increase in sales figures.

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Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research

Tips for Writing about Your Research Experience (Even if You Don’t Think You Have Any)

If you’re someone who hasn’t yet done formal research in a university setting, one of the most intimidating parts of the process can be simply getting your foot in the door. Just like the way your options can seem very limited when applying for your first job, asking for a research position when you have no “experience” can seem discouraging — maybe even to the point of causing you to question whether you should apply in the first place. With that being said, there are some simple tips you can employ when applying for research positions to highlight the link between your existing interests and the work of the position for which you are applying.

First things first: tailor not just your cover letter (for applications that ask for it) but your resume to the position for which you are applying. Even if you’re just sending a casual email to a professor to ask about the research that they’re doing, as a rule, it never hurts to attach your resume. I also like to think that submitting a resume even without being asked to shows that you’re serious about doing research, and have taken the time to put together a thoughtful inquiry into a position. If you’ve never written a cover letter or resume before, don’t fret. The Center for Career Development has some great online resources to help you create one from scratch. If you are looking for more individualized help, you can also schedule an appointment to get one-on-one feedback on your application at any stage in the writing process.

One of the things that I’ve found, however, is that the single-page format of a resume often isn’t enough space to include all of the information about every single thing you’ve ever done. Rather than trying to jam as many impressive accomplishments as you can onto a page, your goal should be to create a resume that gives a cumulative sense of your interests and experiences as they relate to the position for which you are applying. One of my favorite ways to do this is to create a “Research” section. “But Kate, what if I don’t have any research experience?,” you ask. Remember that paper you wrote about a painting by Monet in your favorite class last semester? Write the title down, or even a sentence or two that summarizes your main argument. The art museum you’re hoping to do research at will love knowing that your interest in their current exhibition on Impressionism is rooted in classes you’ve taken and the projects you’ve done in them, no matter how new you may be to a topic. Your interest in a specific research position has to come from somewhere, and your resume is an important part of demonstrating this to others.

What I would like to reassure you of is that it’s normal to be an undergraduate with very little research experience. The people reading your application —whether it be for an official program or even if it’s just a friendly email with a few questions— know that you are a student and will probably be excited to offer you guidance on how to get involved with more specific research projects even if all you have to offer at this point is enthusiasm for the topic. Working in a lab or with a professor on a research project is an opportunity designed to help you learn above all else, so it’s ok if you don’t know what you’re doing! It goes without saying that having little experience will make the final result of your research experience all the more worthwhile because of the potential to gain knowledge in ways you haven’t even imagined.

— Kate Weseley-Jones, Humanities Correspondent

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Building On The Past: How To Write Previous Studies In Research

Crafting an effective previous study is a foundation for your research. Learn how to write previous studies in research through this guide.

Have you ever wondered how research builds upon itself, creating a foundation for discoveries and insights? Is it wrong if you indulge in working on previous studies in research and get a new idea out of it?

The significance of previous studies in research cannot be underestimated. Every piece of scholarly work, from groundbreaking research to humble literature reviews , contributes to the ever-expanding area of knowledge. 

In this article, we explore the importance of delving into the archives of research, identifying opportunities for further investigation, and ultimately advancing our understanding of the world around us. Let’s get started and understand how to write previous studies in research . 

Purpose And Scope Of Previous Study In Research

The purpose of previous studies in research is to provide a foundation for new investigations. It helps researchers understand what has already been studied, what knowledge gaps exist, and what questions need further exploration. By looking at what others have done, researchers can build on existing knowledge, avoid repeating the same work, and ensure their study contributes something valuable to the field. It also helps validate their research design and methods, making their findings more credible.

The scope of previous studies in research refers to the range of literature and sources that researchers consider relevant to their own study. It involves selecting and reviewing studies that directly relate to their research topic and objectives. Researchers should focus on recent and up-to-date works, including both influential studies and the latest advancements in the field. By being selective and inclusive, they can gain a well-rounded understanding of what has been done before, guiding them to ask meaningful research questions and making their study more impactful.

How To Write Previous Studies In Research

To write the previous studies, you first need to understand the steps in crafting a literature review and the limitations involved. So firstly, let’s understand what is a literature review:

What Is Literature Review?

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive evaluation of existing published research, scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular topic or research question. It serves as a crucial component of academic research and helps to establish the context, identify gaps in knowledge, and provide the theoretical framework for the new study. A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature and provides the basis for formulating research objectives and hypotheses.

Also read: What Is A Literature Review? Get The Concept And Start Using It

Literature Review Process

The literature review process typically involves the following steps:

Defining The Research Question

The process starts by clearly defining the research question or topic that the literature review aims to address. A well-defined question helps in narrowing down the search for relevant literature.

Conducting A Comprehensive Search

Researchers then conduct a systematic search for existing literature using academic databases, libraries, online journals, and other reputable sources. Keywords and search terms related to the research question are used to identify relevant studies.

Evaluating The Quality Of Sources

The selected sources are critically evaluated for their quality, credibility, and relevance to the research topic. Researchers consider factors such as the reputation of the authors, the rigor of the research methodology, and the publication venue.

Summarizing And Synthesizing

Researchers summarize the key findings and main points from each selected source. They also identify common themes, trends, and conflicting viewpoints across the literature.

Organizing The Literature

The information gathered from the literature review is organized in a structured manner. Researchers may use themes, categories, or chronological order to present the findings effectively.

Writing The Literature Review

The literature review is then written, incorporating the synthesized information into a coherent narrative. The review should highlight the significance of previous studies, their limitations, and their implications for the new research.

Citing And Referencing

Proper citations and references are provided for all the sources included in the literature review. This ensures academic integrity and acknowledges the work of other researchers.

Also read: Literature Mapping in Scientific Research: A Comprehensive Review

How To Organize And Evaluate Your Literature Review?

Organizing and evaluating sources for your literature review is a crucial process that involves systematically gathering relevant academic materials and assessing their credibility and relevance to your research topic. 

Begin by clearly defining your research question or focus, which will guide your search for appropriate sources. Utilize academic databases, journals, books, and reputable online platforms to gather a diverse range of scholarly materials. 

As you collect sources, categorize them based on their themes, methodologies, or key arguments to facilitate a coherent and logical structure for your literature review. Additionally, critically evaluate each source’s authority, currency, objectivity, and reliability to ensure you include high-quality and trustworthy information in your review. 

By employing a rigorous approach to organizing and evaluating your sources, you will enhance the academic rigor and impact of your literature review.

Limitations Of Previous Studies In Research

The limitations of previous studies are common aspects that researchers should consider while conducting a literature review or developing their own research. These limitations may include:

Sample Size And Representativeness

Some studies may have small sample sizes, which can limit the generalizability of their findings to larger populations or diverse groups. Non-representative samples may also introduce bias into the results .

Research Design And Methodology

Previous studies may have used different research designs or methodologies that could impact the reliability and validity of their results. Flaws in the study design or data collection methods may affect the accuracy of the findings.

Data Quality And Availability

Studies may rely on secondary data sources or data with inherent limitations, potentially affecting the accuracy and completeness of the information used for analysis.

Scope And Generalizability

The scope of a study might be narrow, focusing on a specific population, region, or time period, making it challenging to apply the findings to broader contexts.

Publication Bias

Studies that show statistically significant or positive results may be more likely to get published, while studies with null or non-significant results might go unpublished, leading to a biased representation of the literature.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical issues in data collection or research conduct, such as inadequate informed consent or potential harm to participants, could limit the usefulness or ethical soundness of previous studies.

Related article: What Are The Limitations In Research And How To Write Them?

Identifying Opportunities For Future Research Based On Previous Studies

Identifying opportunities for future research based on previous studies is an essential aspect of conducting a literature review and advancing knowledge in a particular field. Here are some strategies to identify such opportunities:

Unanswered Questions

Look for gaps in the existing literature where important questions remain unanswered or areas where conflicting or inconclusive results have been reported. These gaps represent opportunities for future research to delve deeper into the topic and provide more comprehensive insights.

Emerging Trends

Identify emerging trends or new developments within the field. These can indicate areas that are gaining significance but may not yet have been extensively studied. Exploring these emerging trends can contribute to the cutting edge of research.

Limitations Of Previous Studies

As mentioned earlier, assess the limitations of previous studies. These limitations can point to areas that need further investigation, using improved methodologies or data sources to overcome the shortcomings of earlier research.

Replication Studies

Consider replicating studies that have produced significant findings but have not been replicated by other researchers. Replication studies help validate and strengthen the robustness of existing findings.

Cross-Disciplinary Research

Look for opportunities to integrate knowledge and methodologies from different disciplines. Combining insights from diverse fields can lead to innovative research and fresh perspectives on existing problems.

The Bottom Line

The role of previous studies in research and literature review is crucial in shaping knowledge within any field. Through a comprehensive and critical examination of existing literature, researchers can identify gaps, trends, limitations, and unanswered questions that provide valuable opportunities for future investigation. 

Previous studies serve as a foundation upon which new research can build, validate, and extend existing findings, or challenge established paradigms. By acknowledging and understanding the contributions and limitations of past research, scholars can design more robust studies, explore emerging trends, and engage in cross-disciplinary collaborations to further enrich our understanding of complex phenomena.

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Sowjanya is a passionate writer and an avid reader. She holds MBA in Agribusiness Management and now is working as a content writer. She loves to play with words and hopes to make a difference in the world through her writings. Apart from writing, she is interested in reading fiction novels and doing craftwork. She also loves to travel and explore different cuisines and spend time with her family and friends.

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Research Interest Statement Samples That Worked

A good research interest statement sample can be hard to find. Still, it can also be a beneficial tool for writing one and preparing for a grad school application or post-graduate position. Your research interest statement is one of the key components of your application to get into grad school . In a few cases, admissions committees have used it instead of an interview, so it is important to write a strong essay. We’ve provided research interest statement samples for you in this blog post. We have also included several tips that will help you write a strong statement to help improve your chances of getting accepted into your dream program. 

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 13 min read

What is a research interest statement.

A research interest statement is essential for most graduate school, post-graduate, and academic job applications. Sometimes, it may be referred to it as a " statement of intent " or "description of research interests." While they are similar, research interest statement may require some additional information. Generally, your statement will pride a brief overview of your research background, including your past research experience, the current state of your research, and the future research you'd like to complete, including any required equipment and collaborations. It is usually written in the form of a short essay. Still, of course, different graduate programs can have specific requirements, so make sure to check the program you are applying to and read the particular instructions that they give to ensure your research interest statement meets their requirements. 

Your research statement plays a big role in the committee's decision. Ultimately, they are trying to figure out if you, as a person, and your research, would be a good fit for their program. A strong statement can help you convince them of this by showing your passion for research, your research interests and experience, the connection between your interests and the program, and the extent of your writing skills which is really important for paper and grant writing, and thus for earning money for your research!

Undergraduate programs are centered around classes, but graduate and post-graduate programs are all about your research and what your research contributes to your discipline of choice. That is why a research interest statement is so important, because it is essentially a way for you to share this information with the program that you have chosen.

Writing a strong statement can be helpful to you, as well. Having to explain your research and talk about your goals coherently will give you a chance to define your future research and career plans, as well as academic interests.

What Should Your Research Interest Statement Include?

The exact requirements of the research interest statement can vary depending on where you are applying and for what position. Most faculty positions will need you to produce a separate file for your statement, and most of the time, for an academic program, you can simply include your statement within your CV for graduate school .  

Need to prepare your grad school CV? This video has helpful advice for you:

Unless otherwise stated by the program or faculty that you are applying to, your statement should be one to two pages long or between 600 and 1000 words. If you are including your description of interest statements on your resume, then it would be ideal to keep it between 400 and 600 words. Most programs will give you guidelines for the research interest statement so make sure you follow those. They rarely include a specific question or prompt but they might ask for a particular detail to be included in your interest statement. For example, a university’s requirements may look something like this: “In your statement of interest, you should detail your study and/or research interests and reasons for seeking admission. You must identify a faculty member from the Anthropology of Department with whom you are interested in being your advisor. The length of a statement of intent should be 2 pages in length (single-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12 point)”

Your statement should include a brief history of your past research. It should tell the committee what you have previously set out to answer with your research projects, what you found, and if it led to any academic publications or collaborations. It should also address your current research. What questions are you actively trying to solve? You will need to tell the committee if you’ve made any progress, what you have found, if you are connecting your research to the larger academic conversation and what the larger implications of your work actually are. Finally, you want to talk about the future of your research. What further questions do you want to solve? How do you intend to find answers to these questions? What are the broader implications of your potential results, and how can the institution you are applying to help you?

Before we show you some examples, let's go over a few essential things that you need to keep in mind while writing your research interest statement to make sure it is strong. 

Preparation

Give Yourself Ample Time: Much like with other components of your application, like your CV or a graduate school interview question , preparation is the key to success. You should give yourself enough time to thoroughly research the program or faculty you are applying to, gather all the information or documents that can aid you in writing, and then write and rewrite as many times as you need to. Give yourself at least 6 weeks to draft, redraft, and finalize your statement. You may also want to consider investing in a graduate school admissions consultant as they have more experience writing these types of essays and may see things that you can’t.

Research the Program/Faculty: The purpose of your research interest statement is to tell the committee all about your research plans, how it will contribute to the field and convince them that not only is their institution is the best place for it, but that you will be an asset to them as a candidate. To do this, you need to know what kind of candidate they are looking for, what kind of research they have been interested in in the past, and if there is anything particular that they require in the research interest statement. Remember, expectations for research statements can vary among disciplines and universities, so it is essential that you write for the right audience.

The Format / Writing Style

Your research statement should be in an academic essay format. It needs to be concise, well-organized, and easy to read. For graduate school, PhD or post-doc positions, your research interest statement will usually be a part of your resume. We recommend that you stick to the following things when it comes to the format:

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The Content

Introduction: This is a functional academic document, unlike college essays or personal statements, so you want to go straight to the point and focus on the key information that needs to be conveyed. You want to use this paragraph to tell the committee why you are writing this statement. In other words, you should clearly state what kind of research you are interested in pursuing at the institution in question and explain why you are drawn to the subject. 

Body: This is your “why and how” paragraphs. In 2 or 3 paragraphs, you should expand on your interest, background, accomplishments, and plans in the field of research. Depending on your level of experience, you may use this time to talk about your previous or current research. If you do not have much experience, then you may use this paragraph to talk about any skills or academic achievements that could be relevant. 

Conclusion: To conclude, you should restate your interest and tie it back to the research you intend to continue at the university. Be specific about the direction you’d like to take the research in, who you’d like to work with, and what the institution has that would help you. We also suggest including a concise statement that reiterates your unique suitability for the program, and what you can contribute to it and your chosen field.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Being Too Personal: Often, students will confuse the statement of purpose and the research interest statement or letter of intent. It is essential to understand the difference between these two documents because some programs will ask for both of these documents. There is quite a bit of overlap between the two essays, so they are very easy to mix up. Both documents ask applicants to focus on their research interests, relevant past academic & professional experiences, and their long-term goals in the field. However, a statement of purpose is more of a personal statement that describes your journey and overall suitability for a program. In contrast, a research interest statement is a more formal academic document specific to the research you intend to pursue in a program. It will include many details such as the faculty members you want to work with, the program facilities and resources you wish to use, etc.

Not Following Guidelines: As mentioned earlier, these statements can vary depending on the discipline and the faculty. It is crucial that you review all the institution's guidelines and follow them. Some schools will have a specific word count, others may simply give you a maximum and minimum word count. Others may even have a specific prompt or question that you will need to answer with your essay. You want to make sure that you are following the instructions provided by the program. 

Using Too Much Jargon: Your statement will be read by people who are most likely knowledgeable, but they might not be from your specific field or specialty. We understand that it may not be possible to be clear about your research without using a few niche words, but try to keep them at a minimum and avoid using acronyms that are not well known outside of your specialty.

Having One Generic Statement: The requirements of your research statement are different from one school to another, and you should tailor your letter to the program you are writing to. We know that the research and experience you are talking about are still the same, but the qualities and aspects of that experience you play up should help you appeal to the school you are applying to. For example, if you are applying to a very collaborative program, you should highlight your collaborations and your experience working as part of a team.

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Research of Interest Statement Samples

Below are sample research interest statements for reference: 

Research Statement of Interest 1

Jennifer Doe

As the child of an immigrant, I have always been fascinated by the relationship between identity, geographic territory, and economic development. With the rise of globalization, there is a broader effort in the social sciences to study the link between cultural identity, human mobility, and economic development in the contemporary world. I hope that my research will contribute to this as well. I am applying to the X University Global Anthropology program, as it is the best place for me to explore my research interests and channel them towards my long-term goals. I believe that my undergraduate education and the research experience it gave me have prepared me to undertake advanced research projects, thus making me an excellent candidate for this program.

I spent the first two years of undergraduate studies taking psychology courses. I went to university knowing that I wanted to learn about human behavior and culture. I was thirsty for information, but I did not know what kind of information just yet. It wasn’t until I took an elective anthropology class in my second year and started discussing identity in anthropology that something clicked. Unlike many other social sciences, anthropology explores the different ways that cultures affect human behavior and that connected right away with my experience as an immigrant. I have been passionate about the subject ever since, and I intend on spending my career exploring this topic further.

In the long run, I am interested in understanding how geography affects the construction of one’s cultural identity, especially when it comes to immigrants. Literature already exists on the topic, but most of it examines the upper levels of this process of social reproduction, concentrating on the roles of governments and associations in promoting ties between migrants and their homelands. Prof. Jane Doe Smith is one of the anthropologists researching the transnational migration experience, and I hope to have the opportunity to work with her at X University.

I was fortunate to be part of a summer research experience as an undergraduate, which took place in several west African countries, including Mali, Senegal, and Nigeria. Dr. Sam Smith was leading the research, and my time on his team allowed me to gain hands-on experience in research while living abroad. One of the things that I did almost daily was interview the subjects in a controlled environment, and sometimes I got to be a part of traditional ceremonies. I learnt how to observe without being intrusive and how to interact with clinical subjects. The experience only strengthened my curiosity and conviction that today more than ever, we need to understand what identity is and the different factors that can affect it.

I enrolled in several challenging research-oriented courses such as Applied Statistical Inference for the Behavioral Sciences, Principles of Measurement, and more throughout my degree. I was also able to work as a research lab assistant for one of my mentors, Mr. Jonathan Smith. I worked with him while he studied the relationship between identity, culture and “self.” My main duties were to assist in the creating of surveys and other assessment materials, administer written and verbal tests to participants, create literature reviews for potential resources, create summaries of findings for analysis and other office duties such as reserving testing rooms. This particular experience allowed me to get some hands-on experience with data collection, data analysis, report preparation and the creation of data summaries.

I know that there is a lot more that I can learn from the X University. I have seen the exemplary work in anthropology and other social studies done by the staff and alumni of this school. It has inspired and convinced me beyond the shadow of a doubt that pursuing my graduate studies in your program meets my personal, academic, and professional goals objectives.

My advanced research skills, passion for anthropology and clinical research, as well as my academic proficiency make me the ideal candidate for X University's Clinical Global Anthropology Master’s program. I believe that X University’s rigorous curriculum and facilities make it the perfect place for me, my long-term career goals and my research commitments. 

Jamie Medicine

I am applying to the brain and development master's program of X university because it is one of the few universities that not only has a program that combines the two disciplines that I majored in my undergraduate studies: Psychology and Linguistics; but also because it is a program that I know would allow me to grow as a researcher, contribute to my chosen fields and achieve my long-term career goals. My research is motivated by two of my favorite things: language and music. To be more specific, hip-hop music. In 20xx, Rollingstone magazine published an article stating that hip hop was now more popular than rock and roll. The rise in popularity of this initially very niche genre has sparked a conversation in specific academic fields such as psychology, sociology, linguistics, and English about the use of language within it but also the effects that it can have on those who listen to it. I hope to one day contribute to that conversation by studying the relationship between hip-hop music and vocabulary development, and I believe that pursuing this particular research interest at X university is the best way for me to do that.

There are many potential places this research may lead me and many potential topics I may explore. Furthermore, there are many things that it would allow us to learn about the effect that music has on our brains and society at large.

I was fortunate enough to work under Dr. Jane D. Smith at the University of X for two years while conducting her recently published study on vocabulary instruction for children with a developmental language disorder. During my time in her lab, I interviewed participants and put together evaluation materials for them. I was also responsible for data entry, analysis, and summarizing. This experience gave me the skills and the knowledge that allowed me to exceed expectations for my final research project in undergraduate school.

One of my undergraduate degree requirements was to complete a small independent study under the supervision of a professor. I chose to study music's effect on children's vocabulary development. Several studies look for ways to decrease the million-word gap, and I wanted to see if this thing that I am so passionate about, music, had any effect at all. I compiled multiple literature reviews and analyzed their results, and I found that there is indeed a correlation between the number of words that a child spoke and the amount of music that they were exposed to. 

This research is currently being explored on a larger scale by Prof. John Doe at X university and learning from him is one of the many reasons I have applied to this program. I took several research methodology courses throughout my degree, and I would love to enroll in the Applied Statistics for Psychology course he is currently teaching to build upon the foundational knowledge I already have. There are several other faculty members in the brain and language department with whom learning from would be a dream come true. In addition to that, working with them is a real possibility because the research they are currently doing and the research I hope to pursue are greatly matched.

I genuinely believe that X university has the curriculum and facilities that I need to meet my long-term goals and research commitments. I also believe that my academic achievements, eagerness to learn, and passion make me the perfect candidate for your program. 

Interested in some tips to help you manage grad school once you're there? Check out this video :

It is essentially an essay that provides a brief overview of your research experience and goals. This includes your past research experience, the current state of your research, and the future research you'd like to complete. It is also sometimes referred to as a "statement of intent" or "description of research interests."

This statement tells the admissions committee more about you as an applicant. It gives you the opportunity to tell them more about your research (past, present, and future) and show them that you are a good fit for their institution.

No. Some graduate school programs might ask for a statement of purpose and a writing sample instead, or they could ask for none of the above. You should always check the requirements of the specific program that you’re applying to.

Generally, your statement should be 400 to 1000 words or about two pages long. That said, most programs will give you guidelines so make sure you check those and follow them.

You certainly can but we do not recommend it. You should always tailor your statement to the program you are applying to. Remember that the aim is to convince the admissions committee that you are a good fit for their school so make sure you highlight the qualities and values that they care about.

We recommend that you doublecheck the information provided by your chosen program as they often have specific instructions for the format of the letter. If none exist, make sure that the format of your document is pleasing to the eye. Stick to easily legible fonts, a decent font size, spacing, margins, etc.  Also, it is best to keep the content of the letter concise and professional.

We recommend giving yourself at least 6 weeks to write your statement. This will give you ample time to brainstorm, write a strong letter, read it again and edit it as many times as necessary. It also gives you enough time to get expert eyes on your letter and work with them to improve it if you wish.

No. Research interest statements are often required for post-graduate school applications and for other positions in academic faculties.

Absolutely! You can always reach out to admissions professionals, such as graduate school admissions consultants or grad school essays tutors .

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Sadia Sultana

hello, thanks for providing guide line for Research Interest statement, the important aspect of scholarship application. Kindly guide me, What should be the title of the Research Statement. Thanks

Hi Sadia! Check the requirements of your school first. They might provide some info on whether a title is even needed. 

Sadia Tasnim Epa

I'm very pleased that you have mentioned every detail of research interest which helped me to clear all of my doubts.... Thank you very much.

Hi Sadia! Glad you found this helpful!

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Understanding Interventions That Encourage Minorities to Pursue Research Careers: Summary of a Workshop (2007)

Chapter: 2 examples of previous research.

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

2 Examples of Previous Research R esearchers have examined the processes involved in deci- sions to study science in college, enter graduate school in the sciences, and become a scientist. These research programs originate in a variety of disciplines and can have quite different perspectives, but they also complement each other in explaining the complex processes involved in making educational and career choices. Because many of those interested in these questions are biomedical researchers who may not be steeped in social science viewpoints on these issues, the planning committee constructed an early session in the workshop to provide a varied set of lenses for participants to think more broadly about this kind of work—and to help consider themes for future study. The perspectives offered at the workshop—and in this summary—do not provide an exhaus- tive set, but they help to provide a broader set of questions and approaches for thinking about these issues. Social Cognitive Career Theory Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) is an integrative theoreti- cal framework that explores the psychological and social factors that produce personal interests and lead to choices related to education and careers. The theory is also concerned with the network of factors that affect performance and persistence in a person’s educational and career paths and those that are responsible for an individual’s satisfaction in a particular job.  

 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS Personal interests are not the only factors that drive educa- tional and career choices and can be trumped by family expectations or other external influences. But interests are “strong motivational drivers of the choices that students make in their educational and career lives,” said Robert W. Lent, professor of counseling and per- sonnel services at the University of Maryland, College Park. Lent described his work on applying SCCT to the issue of expanding the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline, noting that it serves as a template with which to view and develop interventions designed to encourage minorities to enter research careers. SCCT draws heavily from the more gen- eral social cognitive theory of the Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandura. The key construct in Bandura’s work is the concept of self-efficacy—people’s beliefs about their ability to perform specific behaviors or actions. In particular, it refers to domain-specific con- fidence in particular situations, not to self-confidence as a general trait. In the context of science and mathematics, said Lent, self-effi- cacy addresses “the fundamental question: Can I do this thing? Can I, for example, do well in math and science courses in middle or high school? Can I do well in a science or engineering-related major in college?” Self-efficacy beliefs, in turn, derive largely from four sources, according to Bandura’s theory. The first and most important is prior performance—the levels of mastery or failure that people have expe- rienced. “If I have done well in the past at a particular academic subject, for example, I am likely to expect in the future that I can do well in it as well,” said Lent. “Conversely, if I’ve not done so well, my self-efficacy beliefs are going to drop.” The three other sources of self-efficacy beliefs are also important. One is observations of others’ learning or the experience of models, especially models that one perceives as being similar to oneself. “For example, in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and so forth, viewing our models as being efficacious at things we want to do is a good way of raising self-efficacy—or lowering it, depending on the nature of the model,” Lent said. Another source of self-efficacy beliefs is the social messages that encourage or discourage participation in an activity. Students receive many messages from others and from the mass media that can influence their confidence about a particular activity. “But talk is cheap,” Lent reminded the workshop participants. “Sometimes, if we try to convince people that they are good at things that we are not so sure they are—or that their own performance experiences 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH  disconfirm—then the source of that support may not be credible for very long, and people may not persist.” A final source of self-efficacy beliefs is physiological and affec- tive reactions. For example, if a person is so anxious in taking every math test that he or she does poorly, that person is likely to infer that math is a personal weakness. “So test anxiety can be, in that example, a negative influence on self-efficacy,” said Lent. This is one way in which gender can influence self-efficacy beliefs in science and mathematics, Lent noted. In a general popula- tion of college students, women at the college level and below tend to report significantly lower self-efficacy beliefs at math compared with men. However, the same tendency is not exhibited in more spe- cialized populations, such as engineering students. Also, if women have had similar experiences to men in terms of the four sources of self-efficacy beliefs, they tend to have the same self-efficacy beliefs as men. Interest in Bandura’s theory follows from a number of other factors, including the expectations surrounding particular outcomes. As Lent said, these beliefs “address the question: ‘If I do this, then what will happen? If I major, for example, in science or engineering, or if I choose to pursue a research career, what will be the outcomes? What will be the payoffs for me, and what will be the negative con- sequences? What will the salary be like? What will my co-workers be like? Prestige? Autonomy?’ These refer basically to career values that people want to fulfill.” Another factor is the goals that motivate people to engage in a particular activity or produce a particular outcome, such as trying to get an A grade in a particular math or science course. According to Lent, “Goals address the fundamental question of ‘how much do I want to do this course of action?’” Finally, within the theory, there are various kinds of social, financial, emotional, and other contextual supports and barriers that people encounter while pursuing their goals. These supports and barriers address the question of “‘how will the environment treat me if I try this particular course of action,’” Lent said. For example, “the phrase ‘chilly climate,’ which oftentimes refers to the experience of women and certain minority groups in science and engineering fields, refers to the perception of environmental barriers.” The importance of self-efficacy beliefs is often obvious among students studying science and engineering, Lent noted. For example, he has seen many students who did extremely well in high school lose confidence when they got poor grades on their first college mid- term examination. “All of a sudden their confidence levels plum- 

10 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS meted, and they were convinced they were in the wrong field,” Lent said. “They had never gotten Bs, or worse, before, and all of a sudden it was time to change majors and career paths.” The ongoing experience of success or failure subsequently modi- fies or stabilizes self-efficacy and outcome beliefs “in a never-ending loop,” said Lent. Changes to these beliefs also can occur through outside influences like “technological advances, parenting, and other life experiences that may formulate changes in interest patterns because of their impact on self-efficacy and outcome expectations.” Each person has what SCCT theorists call “person inputs”— factors like personality, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and health status. These factors interact with background factors such as social class and the quality of early educational experiences. “Depending on who one is, and what one looks like, the environ- ment may selectively provide or withhold certain opportunities,” said Lent. Lent and others have applied this framework in several major research projects. In a study of students at a predominantly white university, Lent and his colleagues found “that SCCT variables were well predictive of goals and actual persistence in engineering over a three-semester sequence.” This model was equally good at predicting choice and persistence goals in engineering majors when extended to two historically black universities. Lent and his coworkers are now conducting a large-scale longitudinal study of computer science and computer engineering students at multiple predominantly white and historically black colleges and universities around the country. This theoretical work has suggested particular intervention points and approaches, according to Lent. One possibility is to work at expanding vocational interests, especially in high-aptitude areas, and “getting people to rethink areas they might be able to do well at but have prematurely foreclosed upon because they don’t believe they have the ability to do well or don’t know enough about the field to want to pursue it.” Other options are clarifying career goals, sup- porting career goals, strengthening self-efficacy, instilling realistic   R.W. Lent, S.D. Brown, J. Schmidt, B. Brenner, H. Lyons, and D. Treistman. 2003. Relation of contextual supports and barriers to choice behavior in engineering ma- jors: Test of alternative social cognitive models. Journal of Counseling Psychology 50: 458-465.   R.W. Lent, S.D. Brown, H. Sheu, J. Schmidt, B.R. Brenner, C.S. Gloster, G. Wilkins, L. Schmidt, H. Lyons, and D. Treistman. 2005. Social cognitive predictors of academic interests and goals in engineering: Utility for women and students at historically Black universities. Journal of Counseling Psychology 52: 84-92. 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 11 outcome expectations, and helping people to manage environmental barriers and build effective support systems. Past work has also emphasized how much more could be learned through further research that applies this model. A particular need, said Lent, is for more longitudinal, multiyear, and multisite research. Also, according to Lent, the basic theory needs to be studied in rela- tion to women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, and more theory-based interventions and experimental studies are needed. “There has been some of this and I think it holds much promise for the future, but we need much more of it,” said Lent. Lent noted, by the way, that many individuals and groups out- side of academia are interested in applying this approach to the issues they face. In addition to his university position, Lent is a visiting scholar at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and he said that the department views this issue as important to national security as well as economic prosperity. “There are some things that we probably don’t want to outsource to other countries,” Lent said. Human Capital Theory Another theoretical perspective, this one rooted in economics, is known as human capital theory. As described by Anne Preston, asso- ciate professor of economics at Haverford College, each individual has a stock of skills, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics that determine his or her wage-earning potential. Individuals can invest in increases in their own human capital through education, on-the-job training, and other activities. “Human capital theory basi- cally allows us to understand under what circumstances an indi- vidual will decide to invest in further acquisition of human capital and [in] what types,” said Preston. “So you can think of it as a pure cost-benefit calculation made by what we in economics always talk about—the rational and perfectly informed actor.” Of course, as Preston noted, “we do understand that not every individual is totally rational or perfectly informed.” Costs, which Preston said are relatively easy to estimate, are for tangible expenses— such as tuition, room, board, books, and foregone earnings—and they occur at the time of the investment. Benefits, which can include future wages and future income streams, in contrast, can be much harder to predict. In addition, these cost-benefit calculations often require dis- counting future income versus current costs. “Some people value future income differently than others,” said Preston. “It depends on 

12 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS your current family income, maybe your family structure, the sorts of needs that your family has in terms of income now versus in the future, and the expected duration of the work life.” Some of these factors can differ for different populations. Finally, economists know that people do not always act in per- fectly rational and perfectly informed ways. Methods exist to take a lack of information or irrational decision-making into account, but these methods may introduce additional levels of uncertainty. Human capital theory can be used to provide insights into how interventions might lead to different decisions, Preston said. For example, mentoring programs can increase knowledge and change expectations. Better job placement programs might lead to better returns on an investment in human capital. Fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and other forms of financial support can reduce the costs of the investment. Better information about the opportunities that investments give an individual can make a difference. Methodologically, human capital theory is a strategy in which economists quantify variables and seek to determine the relation- ships among those variables. Some of these variables have discrete values, such as whether a person stays in a field or leaves it, or a per- son’s race, sex, or type of school; others are continuous, like wages. Some variables are measured by proxies, as when the number of publications or number of citations are used as measures of research productivity. Preston explained that economists add variables to an analysis with the goal of explaining away the effect. If all vari- ables that can be identified—except for the one under study—fail to explain away the effect, researchers have an indication that the variable under investigation plays an important role. Economists also try to measure the quantitative effects of inter- ventions. If mentoring programs are thought to make a difference, for example, economists will try to analyze whether being men- tored influences the probability of investment in human capital. This could be done for majority and for minority students to see if there are differences in the effects of mentoring. Studies such as this introduce what economists call “selectiv- ity.” If the individuals being mentored differ from those who are not mentored in some important way, the effect ascribed to mentoring may actually arise from personal characteristics, not the mentoring program. Economists can try to reduce these effects using various complex mathematical techniques, but Preston said that “person- ally, I find them not very reliable or satisfying.” An alternative, she said, is “to move from these big national data sets [to create] indi- 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 13 vidualized data sets.” Approaches such as randomized trials, where individuals are selected to receive or not receive an intervention and the effects of the intervention measured, diminish issues of selectiv- ity; however, they are seldom feasible and may even be unethical in such a setting, where some individuals are prevented from engaging in what is believed to be a positive intervention. Another possibility is to collect data from natural experiments, using existing variation in the population of study. For example, student outcomes could be measured from different schools, some of which have an institutionalized mentoring system and others that do not. Such experiments require thought, time, creativity, and fund- ing, said Preston, but “economists can really make some interesting inroads if they take up this challenge.” Social Identity and Stereotype Threat Claude Steele, director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, professor of psychology and Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences at Stanford University, and his col- leagues have focused their research on two main themes. The first is underperformance in school by groups whose abilities are nega- tively stereotyped in the broader society—an issue closely related to the persistence of members of these groups in pursuing research careers. The second is the set of broader issues posed by diversity. “It is one thing to integrate a school setting or work place,” Steele said. “It is another thing to make that setting a place where everybody seems to flourish—where they feel like they belong.” Unlike many psychologists, Steele stresses the importance of context. “When we talk about schools and other environments of that sort, we tend to think of them as homogeneous environments— environments that are essentially the same for everybody. If there is one thing I hope you get from my remarks today, it is that they are different for people with different identities. The very same rooms with the same pictures on the wall, the same test items, the same teachers, can be very different as a function of social identities that a person has.” Each individual has many different social identities. These iden- tities can be based on age, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, and so on. Different identities generate what Steele calls “contingencies”— reactions by others to a particular identity. “You have to deal with certain things because you have certain identities,” he said. An individual’s social identities can change. During the great migration of African Americans from the southern to the north- 

14 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS ern United States, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 African Ameri- cans “passed” from being “black” to being “white,” asserted Steele. “[That’s] what I mean by contingencies,” he said. “They were avoiding the things that went with that identity.” Another example includes changing a foreign-sounding name to one that sounds more American. Some contingencies are threatening. An example might be an African American seeking to excel in an endeavor where members of that group are stereotyped as underperforming. When someone is threatened by the contingencies of a social identity, that person might seek to conceal or disguise that identity. But threats to an identity tend to make it central to your functioning, said Steele. Stereotype threat is a good example of a contingency. Stereo- type threat arises when a person is in a situation where a negative stereotype applies. A good example is women in mathematics. In a series of experiments done by Steele and his colleagues, women and men who were equally skilled in math were given a very difficult math test one at a time in a testing room. Women in this situation tended to underperform. When they experienced the frustration of a difficult test, the stereotype that women have weaker mathematical abilities suggested to women that they may lack ability. Men who are frustrated by the test may also believe that they don’t have the necessary ability, but it’s because of factors other than their male- ness. “So for a woman in that situation, there is extra pressure— especially if that woman cares about math, has high expectations for her performance, or is committed to it,” said Steele. In one recent study, simply mentioning the word “genetics” in the preamble to a math test worsened women’s performance in math. However, when the researchers told the women before they took the test that “for this particular test, women always do as well as men,” the women’s performance was higher than when they were experiencing stereotype threat. Interestingly, the performance of men tends to drop somewhat under these circumstances. “We can be advantaged by stereotypes,” said Steele, describing stereotype   C.M. Steele, S.J. Spencer, and J. Aronson. 2002. Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 24: 379-440. C.M. Steele and J. Aronson. 1995. Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69(5): 797-811.   S.J. Spencer, C.M. Steele, and D.M. Quinn. 1999. Stereotype threat and women’s math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 35(1): 4-28.   Dar-Nimrod and S.J. Heine. 2006. Exposure to scientific theories affects women’s I. math performance. Science 314(5798): 435. 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 15 lift, in which one group can be “on the upside of somebody else’s negative stereotype.” Men may do worse on the test because “it isn’t plausible to them that they lack the ability to do the work. It doesn’t make sense. So the experience of frustration is less. If you take that advantage away from them, . . . then you may see some decrements in performance.” The effects of stereotype threat also were observed among Afri- can Americans taking a test using Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a type of IQ test. When told that the test was to measure IQ, African American students dramatically underperformed compared with white students. But when African American students were told that the test was simply a puzzle, their performance rose dramatically. One remarkable finding from studies such as these is that the strongest students are often more susceptible to stereotype threat. “You have to care about [the domain] to experience stereotype threat,” Steele said. “One protection against stereotype threat is not to care about it. [If you] dis-identify with the domain, then you don’t care that much that your group is negatively stereotyped in that domain because you don’t care that much about the domain.” These studies also emphasize the importance of cues in the environment that accentuate or lessen threats, Steele pointed out. “Cues that signal threatening contingencies foster vigilance,” he said. “They hamper a sense of belonging in the setting, and this in turn impairs learning.” One such cue is the number of other people in a setting with whom you share a social identity. For example, when women are greatly outnumbered by men in taking a math test, they tend to perform worse than if men are absent. This kind of marginalization through small numbers can have a powerful effect on identity threat. The profound segregation that exists on many college campuses can heighten a sense of difference. The effects of cues on attitudes were tested in an experiment performed by Steele in collaboration with Mary Murphy, using stu- dents who were waiting to be interviewed for admission to a sum- mer workshop on science and engineering. While waiting for the interview, they watched a videotape about the summer workshop that showed students working together. In one videotape, men and women were balanced one to one. In the other, men outnumbered the women three to one. The women who watched the video with the unbalanced genders had a much better memory of the inciden-   R.P. Brown and E.A. Day. 2006. The difference isn’t black and white: Stereotype threat and the race gap on Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices. Journal of Applied Psychology 91(4): 979-985. 

16 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS tal details of that videotape. Steele hypothesized that the cues in the videotape were making female viewers aware of their gender identity, which made them more aware of the situation than they would be otherwise. “Think of any time any of you have ever been in a situation where you are one of a kind,” Steele said. “You pay attention.” This awareness has effects not only on memory, but also on physiology. In fact, when the students were hooked up to physi- ological recording equipment (under the pretense that they would need it for a different experiment they would soon undertake), the women who watched the unbalanced videotape had much higher cardiovascular activity than the men. Steele takes several messages away from this research. One is that these kinds of cues and reactions are virtually unavoidable in a diverse society such as ours. “Any diverse setting holds these iden- tity threats,” he said. “This is sort of an American challenge. I think at one level we should be proud of it because we are a society that publicly holds on to the idea that all of society should be integrated. . . . But one of the challenges behind that commitment . . . is making integration work. It is making these settings, these schools, these programs work for a truly diverse population.” Also, these cues do not arise solely from discrimination. On the contrary, he said, they can exist in the absence of discrimination. “These are contextual factors that make identities function in certain ways,” he said. The importance of cues also suggests ways to promote learning. If the cues change, performance can change. The most important change that has to happen, according to Steele, is for women and minorities to have a sense that they belong in a particular setting. “For instruction to work—and for the decisions we want them to make to be made—they have to have a sense of belonging. As a soci- ety, [we have to] understand that that has to come first.” In fact, said Steele, without changing this sense of belonging, other interventions can be counterproductive: “If you push other things, like try to motivate [students], expose them to strong skill-focused programs, without at the same time addressing the sense of belonging, you can really get a backfire effect. Things may not work at all.” One cue is what people say. “What do the university president, the department chair, [and other] people say about the ‘belong- ingness’ of groups? Do they avoid the issue and see it as a minor issue and not something of importance? Or do they really own it and make the proclamation that everybody belongs intellectually in these settings?” he asked. Making the presence of particular groups 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 17 the norm can relieve the tension in a setting and enable students to feel that they belong. Similarly, a critical mass of people with a particular social iden- tity is also pivotal, claimed Steele. Individuals are always looking around and counting how many other people share their social identities in a particular setting. “People do respond to numbers,” he said. Particular interventions can dramatically shape how students respond to cues. In a study done by Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen at Yale University, African American and white students watched and then discussed a videotape of an African American student talking about how alienated and out of place he had felt at Yale. But the student went on to recount how, during a trip home, his father reminded him what a superb opportunity it was to be attend- ing Yale and that he needed to take advantage of it. The student described becoming active in a singing group and in academics, and he concluded that he was now very happy at Yale and that he was enjoying and learning from Yale’s rich environment. Just watching the videotape and talking about it raised the grade point average of African American students by two-thirds of a letter grade in the subsequent semester. “Why does that work?” asked Steele. “Because it gives [the students] an interpretation of the cues in the environment that [is] hopeful. . . . Everybody has those feel- ings [of not belonging], but if you’re a group that the whole society negatively stereotypes in this way, those feelings are really a weight. So you need an interpretation that makes your sense of not belong- ing normal. This guy in the videotape makes it normal, and then he offers light at the end of the tunnel. Wow.” In another intervention, having African Americans talk with members of other minority and majority groups in informal settings greatly improved their grade point average. “They found out that things that were happening to them were not things that were just happening to black kids. They were happening to every kid. They got the data, the evidence that their experience was not racially based, and then when their experience was not racially based in this environment, the whole environment changed. It wasn’t nearly as threatening. All those cues that might otherwise suggest threat were seen as much less threat.” Steele recounted from his own personal experiences that having an advisor during graduate school who believed in him was enough for him to overcome the many negative   G.M. Walton and G.L. Cohen. 2007. A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92(1): 82-96. 

18 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS cues he encountered. “With this one big cue that said I did belong in that setting, the significance of the other cues tended to wane away,” he recalled. An especially powerful way to undercut stereotype threat is to attack and undermine people’s theories of intelligence, Steele said, citing the work of Carol Dweck and Joshua Aronson. Many Americans tend to think that each individual has a particular level of intelligence and that one cannot perform beyond that level. But others, such as those from Asian and Eastern European cultures, see intelligence much differently. Students in those countries are more often taught that abilities are incremental and can be expanded through learning. They do not see math ability, for example, as something that is fixed and genetically determined but as something that people can improve. “I think this has huge effects on people’s choices of majors and persistence in graduate school,” said Steele. He felt that intervention on this topic would be especially valuable in entry-level, technical, and quantitatively based courses where stu- dents may receive their first sub-par grades, especially with faculty members who discourage students by telling them that many will drop out of or fail their courses. Survey Research Carefully conducted surveys can explore the attitudes, expe- riences, and thought processes that underlie the theoretical per- spectives described above. With his colleague Catherine M. Millett, Michael T. Nettles, senior vice president and Edmund W. Gordon Chair of the Policy Evaluation and Research Center at Educational Testing Service, conducted a 28-page survey of about 9,000 doctoral students at 21 U.S. universities. (The research team used a variety of incentives to achieve a 72 percent response rate, Nettles noted, including a raffle for cash payments.) The survey asked students about their background, undergraduate and doctoral program expe- riences, finances, aspirations, and expectations for graduate study. Conclusions drawn from the survey were published in the book Three Magic Letters: Getting to Ph.D. One critical factor Nettles and Millett examined was how stu- dents are supported during their doctoral education. In particular, they contrasted fellowships (money, tuition, or fee waivers given to students with no expectation of repayment or of services to be rendered), research assistantships (tuition, fee waivers, or a stipend   M.T. Nettles and C.M. Millett. 2006. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 19 given to students with the expectation of research services to be ren- dered), and teaching assistantships (tuition, fee waivers, or a stipend given to students with the expectation of teaching services to be rendered). Nettles and Millett found that in the sciences, mathemat- ics, and engineering, African American students were less likely than white students to be research assistants during their doctoral programs, even when background characteristics and student expe- riences are taken into account. Yet being a research assistant can have a profound effect on a student’s experiences in graduate school. For students with a research assistantship, Nettles pointed out, “we observe an increase in students’ social interactions with peers, their academic interac- tions with faculty, their interactions with their faculty advisers, their presenting papers and publishing articles, and their overall research productivity.” Somewhat surprisingly, a research assistantship did not influence students’ time to degree, their overall satisfaction with their doctoral programs, or social interactions with faculty. Nettles noted that universities often use fellowships to attract students to their institutions. While fellowships can be attractive to prospective students, they can have other consequences once students arrive on campus. Because students on fellowship are not always engaged in research or teaching activities from the beginning of graduate work, Nettles said, fellowships “can lead to the social isolation or the neglect on the part of faculty of students who are not actually engaged in the production of [that teaching and research]. . . . This is not to suggest that fellowships are not a good idea, but I think that what universities are experiencing is trying to figure out the right balance.” Another critical factor identified in the surveys is whether stu- dents have a mentor. Nettles distinguished sharply between an advisor—who acts in an official capacity to give a student advice about academic programs or coursework—and a mentor—who is a faculty member to whom a student turns for advice about intellectual and academic processes as well as general support and encourage- ment. One of the good messages to emerge from the survey, Nettles said, was that race was not a major factor in whether a doctoral stu- dent had a mentor (possibly the same person as a faculty advisor). Furthermore, of the students who had mentors, three-quarters were able to find them within the first year of their doctoral experiences. Having a mentor influences social interactions between students and faculty, unlike having a research assistantship. Having a mentor also influences the rate of scholarly publishing, degree completion, 

20 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS and even time to degree. However, it did not influence satisfaction with doctoral programs or whether students left the program. A third key finding that emerged from their study was the importance of research productivity. Publishing in a refereed journal is a strong measure of this productivity, but the study showed that many other measures of research productivity are also important, such as presenting a paper at a research conference, publishing a book chapter, or being a member of a roundtable discussion at a professional meeting. As Nettles said, “many students pursuing research careers get on the train in different places.” Over half of the students surveyed had presented a paper at a conference, published an article in a refereed journal, published a chapter in an edited vol- ume, or published a book. Publishing in a journal “has become an extremely important endeavor for students,” Nettles said. “In fact, many people feel that they can’t complete [their degrees] without doing this because their first entry into the academic profession is going to be enhanced by their performance in conducting this activity.” However, the percentage of African American students publish- ing refereed journal articles in science and mathematics was signifi- cantly lower than for other groups (although that was not the case in engineering). Again, this was true even after controlling for factors such as student backgrounds and experiences. Before doing the study, Nettles thought that research productiv- ity might compete with time to degree because students would be devoting time and attention to producing articles and publishing. However, “we found just the opposite,” he said. Publishing articles actually was associated with an increased rate of progress in their doctoral programs and reduced the time to degree. Research on Existing Interventions Existing intervention programs can have research components that produce broadly applicable information. An example is the Alli- ance for Graduate Education in the Professoriate (AGEP), funded by the National Science Foundation. Yolanda S. George, deputy director for education and human resources at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which has provided evalua- tion capacity-building activities and research resources for the AGEP program, explained that the goal of AGEP is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing advanced studies, obtaining doctorate degrees, and entering the professoriate in STEM fields, including the social sciences. 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 21 AGEP has identified several factors that facilitate progression of minorities into STEM post-secondary studies: • Taking high-intensity and high-quality advanced high school STEM courses • STEM pre-college programs • Post-secondary support programs in core STEM courses • Financial aid packages that reduce debt burden • STEM pre-graduate-school bridging programs. The institutions that participate in AGEP “are expected to engage in comprehensive institutional cultural changes that will lead to sustained increases in the conferral of STEM doctoral degrees, significantly exceeding historical levels of performance,” George explained. She discussed several of the important lessons AGEP has demonstrated in seeking to achieve this goal. One lesson, accord- ing to George, is that admission and selection committees need to be conscious of diversity issues. The AGEP program tries to have a diversity coordinator or diversity-conscious faculty member sit in on admissions and selection. “You will get a behavior change if you get an advocate there,” said George. AGEP programs have also found that following up with applicants and linking financial aid to admissions helps with recruitment. At the same time, AGEP has found that it is important to work closely with university administrators on what can and cannot be done with recruitment and retention programs. George said, “You have to start talking to counsel about diversity-conscious and legally defensible student admission selection criteria, financial aid, and programs before you get that letter from that group that is threaten- ing to shut you down.” Furthermore, these discussions need to be ongoing, said George, since challenges will continue to arise. AGEP has conducted meetings and workshops to explore par- ticular topics. For example, a 2003 meeting on mentoring found that relatively little was known about mentoring specifically for STEM students. “We know that STEM core mentoring appears to be more prevalent in the after-school programs at the middle and high school level, but the level of systematic STEM career and workforce mentoring is not high in undergraduate research programs,” George said. However, support networks for women, including students, in STEM areas in academia, industry, and government are useful in   AAAS created a Science Mentoring Research website that followed on the 2003 meeting: <http://ehrweb.aaas.org/sciMentoring/>. 

22 UNDERSTANDING INTERVENTIONS helping to balance family and career, negotiating organizational or departmental challenges, and advancing in a career. George also observed that, through its program evaluation capacity-building project, AAAS has helped AGEP awardees build comprehensive evaluation and assessment infrastructures to exam- ine their graduate education enterprises. The framework for mak- ing change includes collecting and using disaggregated data for decision-making and leadership development within the faculty and administration. The goal of AAAS’s AGEP program is “to help the leaders in these projects, [who] are the deans and provosts in some cases, faculty members, and people who run the program, to figure out how to evaluate and assess the infrastructure in order to get the types of effects that they want,” George said. A particularly important task is to help faculty and administrators understand the research that has been conducted so that they can engage faculty members in the process of institutional change. Other Research Initiatives Several other important lines of research were mentioned more briefly by presenters and attendees at the workshop. Two described here are conducted by current grantees of the Efficacy of Interven- tions program; additional interventions and research studies are discussed elsewhere in this summary.10 For example, Reba Page, professor of education at the University of California, Riverside, conducts ethnographic studies of mentor- ing, journal clubs, research in labs, and so forth to understand how those components of intervention programs play out in practice. She wants to know “not what do people tell us they are, not what does the brochure tell us they are, but what do they actually look like in real time, as people, students and teachers together, enact the com- ponents.” By studying these situations and the processes they entail, Page is able to examine “the assumptions that undergird those pro- cesses and what holds them in place, and what we might want to target if we wanted to change them.” A prominent question in her work is why outcomes seem so resistant to change. The conclusion she has drawn is that outcomes depend not only on the culture of science but on the culture of the broader society. To understand sci- ence, including science education, “we have to see that science is embedded in our society,” Page said. Another line of research focuses specifically on the attitudes 10  See, in particular, Chapter 4 for discussion of initiatives by educational stage. 

EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH 23 and preferences of students. Merna Villarejo, professor emerita at the University of California, Davis, has asked students in interviews about the motivating factors that caused them to make particular career decisions. Students who went to medical school tended to say that they want to give back to the community. But “that is not what researchers say,” Villarejo observed. “The most frequent answer for researchers for ‘why did you choose your profession’ is ‘because I really love science; it just turns me on; it is exciting; it is great.’” According to Rick McGee, associate dean for faculty affairs at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, another distinguishing characteristic was between students who wanted a fairly predictable future and those who were willing to live with more uncertainty. The students most likely to go into research were the ones who said, when asked about their future, “‘I don’t know, I might be doing this, I might be doing that, I might do this for awhile, I might do that for awhile.’ . . . They really are quite different people,” McGee said. As Daryl E. Chubin, planning committee member and director of the AAAS Center for Advancing Science and Engineering Capacity, said, many kinds of investigations can produce information needed to advance minorities in research careers. “Where does knowledge come from? We know it comes from data and we know it comes from research. But it also comes from evaluation and it comes from technical assistance and it comes from first-person reports. . . . The challenge here is to learn from all of these interventions and then try to apply that in our own context.” 

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