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Research Article
Revised

Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study

[version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]
PUBLISHED 25 Oct 2018
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This article is included in the Research on Research, Policy & Culture gateway.

Abstract

The individual development plan (IDP) is a career planning tool that aims to assist PhD trainees in self-assessing skills, exploring career paths, developing short- and long-term career goals, and creating action plans to achieve those goals. The National Institutes of Health and many academic institutions have created policies that mandate completion of the IDP by both graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Despite these policies, little information exists regarding how widely the tool is used and whether it is useful to the career development of PhD trainees. Herein, we present data from a multi-institutional, online survey on the use and effectiveness of the IDP among a group of 183 postdoctoral researchers. The overall IDP completion rate was 54% and 38% of IDP users reported that the tool was helpful to their career development. Positive relationships with one’s advisor, confidence regarding completing training, trainees’ confidence about their post-training career, and a positive experience with institutional career development resources are associated with respondents’ perception that the IDP is useful for their career development. We suggest that there is a need to further understand the nuanced use and effectiveness of the IDP in order to determine how to execute the use of the tool to maximize trainees’ career development.

Keywords

biomedical research, career development, careers in research, career planning, individual development plan, PhD training, postdoctoral researchers, science and technology workforce

Revised Amendments from Version 1

In response to the reviewers’ critiques, we have made a number of significant changes to the article, the most substantial of which are: 1) the analysis of the Likert scale data has been revised to now include three categories with the neutral responses being separated from the agree and disagree responses; 2) additional text and references have been included to better contextualize our work; 3) the IDP effectiveness analysis of associations (Figure 2 and Supplementary File 3) has been further clarified to indicate that the analysis was conducted only on those respondents that completed an IDP; 4) the discussion section has been expanded to include additional content on the study’s limitations and future research questions that should be addressed; and 5) we have revised the dataset, Figure 2, and Supplementary files 2 and 3 to reflect the changes in the data analysis regarding the separation of the neutral Likert scale responses. We have also responded to each reviewers’ report below.

See the authors' detailed response to the review by Richard McGee
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Jonathan S. Wiest and Chanelle Case Borden
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Adriana Bankston
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Tammy R. L. Collins
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Kristen L. W. Walton

Introduction

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) was first introduced by the U.S. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in 2002, and in 2014 the National Institutes of Health implemented a policy requiring the reporting of the tool’s use by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in grant progress reports13. Also in 2014, a survey of over 200 postdoctoral researchers found that 19% of respondents used the IDP with 71% of those users finding it valuable4. The IDP has been suggested to be capable of, for example, enhancing the structure of a training environment, facilitating better communication between mentees and mentors, aiding in identifying and pursuing career paths, guiding the identification of skills and knowledge gaps and creating action plans for addressing such gaps4,810. IDPs are suggested to be a staple career development activity for PhD trainees, especially related to supporting trainees’ preparation for and decisions in navigating a diverse job market11. We suggest, however, that more research is needed to further characterize the use and effectiveness of IDPs in maximizing trainees’ career development. As such, within this report, we present data on the use and effectiveness of the IDP among a group of 183 postdoctoral researchers.

Methods

These data were collected as part of a broader health and wellbeing online, survey-based study of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the spring and early summer of 2016 (March to June). The study was approved by the University of Kentucky (protocol 15-1080-P2H) and University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (protocol HSC20160025X) institutional review boards. Respondents read a cover page and anonymously consented to the study by engaging the online survey. The survey was distributed via social media and direct email. To be eligible for this study, respondents had to be current postdoctoral researchers in the life/biological/medical or physical/applied sciences at a U.S. institution. Subjects responded to the IDP questions within the survey using the five-point Likert scale of strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. For data analysis, these items were recoded into three categories: strongly agree and agree became an agree category, disagree and strongly disagree became a disagree category, and neural remained its own category. One-way frequencies were calculated (Supplementary File 2) and the Pearson chi-square test was used to assess the univariate associations between the survey variables and the outcome “I Find the IDP Process Helpful to my Career Development” only among the respondents who completed an IDP as defined by those unique respondents who agreed with questions 2 or 3 within the survey (Supplementary File 4). All summaries and statistical analysis were performed in SAS 9.4.

Results

Among 183 total postdoctoral respondents, 45.4% reported being required to complete an IDP, 27.5% reported completing the tool with their PI/advisor, and 33.9% completed the IDP, at some point, without discussing it with their PI/advisor (Figure 1 and Supplementary File 2). In total, 54.1% of respondents actually completed the IDP with or without their advisor (based on the unique responses to questions 2 and 3 within the survey). Further, 24.3% of all respondents reported being able to have an honest conversation with their PI/advisor in the context of the IDP process (Figure 1 and Supplementary File 2).

726a5229-887f-418a-b58e-38ccc9bd6a07_figure1.gif

Figure 1. The rates of Individual Development Plan (IDP) use among postdoctoral researchers.

Shown here are rates for variables measuring whether respondents are required to complete an IDP, complete an IDP annually with their PI/advisor, complete an IDP but do not discuss it with their PI/advisor, can have an honest conversation with the PI/advisor in context of the IDP, and whether the IDP process is helpful to their career development. One-way frequencies for all other survey variables can be found in Supplementary File 2.

As a measure of IDP effectiveness, 22.4% of all respondents found the IDP helpful to their career development (Figure 1 and Supplementary File 2). Among the respondents that completed an IDP, 38.4% found the tool helpful (Supplementary File 3). As we have recently shown with PhD students5, the effectiveness of the IDP among its users is associated with positive mentorship relationships (Figure 2 and Supplementary File 3). For example, 62.2% of those respondents who indicated that they could have an honest conversation with their PI/advisor found that the IDP process was helpful to their career versus 26.3% of those who disagreed (p < 0.001). Likewise, 56.7% of those who indicated that their PI/advisor positively impacts their emotional/mental wellbeing versus 34.4% of those who disagreed with this statement found the IDP process to be helpful to their career (p = 0.05). IDP effectiveness was also associated with confidence regarding the completion of training, being prepared for one’s post-training career, and positive interactions with career development resources (Figure 2 and Supplementary File 3).

726a5229-887f-418a-b58e-38ccc9bd6a07_figure2.gif

Figure 2. The effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan (IDP).

IDP effectiveness was assessed only among the subset of respondents who completed an IDP by determining the univariate associations between the survey variables and the outcome “I Find the IDP Process Helpful to my Career Development.” The Pearson chi-square test was used to measure statistical significance. *** p < 0.001; ** p ≤ 0.01; * p ≤ 0.05.

Dataset 1.Individual Development Plan survey data.
Columns Q1–Q26 correspond to the questions listed in Supplementary File 4

Discussion

The IDP is widely touted as a gold standard career development tool even though we know relatively little about its use and effectiveness. Compared to a 2014 study in which 19% of surveyed postdoctoral researchers used the IDP and 71% of users found it valuable4, the current data suggests that there may be a general increase in IDP usage among postdoctoral researchers with 54.1% of respondents in this study indicating that they completed an IDP while its perceived value seems to have decreased to less than 40% of the tool’s users. Additional studies should further understand the overall usage rates and perceived value of the IDP.

In general, the trends presented here for postdoctoral researchers are similar to our recent findings on the use and effectiveness of the IDP in PhD students5, but there are some nuanced differences. For example, compared to the rates in PhD students, the rates of required completion of the IDP among this study’s postdoctoral researchers are lower; the rates of completing the IDP but not discussing it with a PI/advisor are higher; and the rates of reporting that the IDP process is helpful to one’s career development are lower. The correlation of IDP effectiveness and mentorship relationships and use of career development resources are similar between PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. It will be important to conduct additional studies to further delineate differences and similarities in the usage and effectiveness of the IDP between PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.

While this work will add to our understanding of the IDP, there are some limitations to the study including the potential lack of generalizability across all institutions and/or fields of study and potential data/outcome bias. Additionally, this study may not capture all the issues related to the IDP, respondents may not be aware of their institution’s IDP policies, the IDP structure and processes may vary within and between institutions, and the measure of the effectiveness of the IDP herein is subjective and limited. Subjects’ responses may also reflect multiple experiences with the IDP during their training. Given potential differences in study populations and differences in study designs, care should also be taken in comparing this work to other IDP use/effectiveness data.

Overall, this study demonstrates that IDP use and effectiveness is quite nuanced. Additional research is needed to further understand the use and effectiveness of the IDP. For example, we need a better understanding of all the variations of the IDP used in the community and whether any one variation has advantages over others, whether completing an IDP with or without a mentor leads to varying outcomes, whether the IDP has any influence on career outcomes and much more.

Ultimately, the IDP is likely an effective career development tool in general, but we should better understand how to use it in the most effective way so that we can provide the most positive impact on trainees’ career development.

Data availability

Dataset 1. Individual Development Plan survey data. Columns Q1–Q26 correspond to the questions listed in Supplementary File 4. 10.5256/f1000research.15610.d2226157

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VERSION 2 PUBLISHED 25 Jul 2018
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Vanderford NL, Evans TM, Weiss LT et al. Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.15610.2)
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ApprovedThe paper is scientifically sound in its current form and only minor, if any, improvements are suggested
Approved with reservations A number of small changes, sometimes more significant revisions are required to address specific details and improve the papers academic merit.
Not approvedFundamental flaws in the paper seriously undermine the findings and conclusions
Version 2
VERSION 2
PUBLISHED 25 Oct 2018
Revised
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Reviewer Report 04 Dec 2018
Tammy R. L. Collins, Office of Fellows' Career Development, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 4
We thank the authors for their revisions, and feel that the manuscript has been improved and clarified.  The authors addressed most of my initial concerns, but some areas remain to be addressed:
 
  1. Reporting values of
... Continue reading
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Collins TRL. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.18327.r39882)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
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Reviewer Report 12 Nov 2018
Kristen L. W. Walton, Department of Biology , Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO, USA 
Approved
VIEWS 9
The authors have addressed my comments in the initial ... Continue reading
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Walton KLW. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.18327.r39878)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
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7
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Reviewer Report 08 Nov 2018
Adriana Bankston, The Future of Research, Inc., Abington, MA, USA 
Approved
VIEWS 7
The authors have addressed my concerns. I appreciated the additional references and explanations to some of the points previously raised, including better contextualizing of this work in prior literature, as well as the comparisons between the use and effectiveness of ... Continue reading
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HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Bankston A. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.18327.r39880)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
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Reviewer Report 07 Nov 2018
Richard McGee, Feinberg School of Medicine, Faculty Affairs, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA 
Approved
VIEWS 4
I feel the authors have done a ... Continue reading
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HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
McGee R. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.18327.r39879)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
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Reviewer Report 06 Nov 2018
Jonathan S. Wiest,  National Cancer Institute (NCI) , Rockville, MD, USA 
Chanelle Case Borden, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Rockville, MD, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 16
Thank the authors for their revisions, the clarity of the article has increased.  We have some additional thoughts regarding our initial review:
  1. Our first point was clarified. Thank you.
  2. However, the source of the 38.4%
... Continue reading
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Wiest JS and Case Borden C. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.18327.r39881)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 06 Nov 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    06 Nov 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Drs. Wiest and Case Borden,
     
    Thank you for this new review.
     
    To clarify your second point, the 38.4% was derived from only those respondents that completed an ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 06 Nov 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    06 Nov 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Drs. Wiest and Case Borden,
     
    Thank you for this new review.
     
    To clarify your second point, the 38.4% was derived from only those respondents that completed an ... Continue reading
Version 1
VERSION 1
PUBLISHED 25 Jul 2018
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Reviewer Report 18 Sep 2018
Richard McGee, Feinberg School of Medicine, Faculty Affairs, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 19
As noted by Review 1, the manuscript is well written and easy to follow. However, I would agree with both of the other reviews that problems arise from both the survey questions and decisions on method of analysis. The first ... Continue reading
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McGee R. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.17029.r37949)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. McGee,
     
    We thank you for your review, which has guided our revisions. We respond to your major comments below.
     
    In retrospect, we agree with your comments ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. McGee,
     
    We thank you for your review, which has guided our revisions. We respond to your major comments below.
     
    In retrospect, we agree with your comments ... Continue reading
Views
16
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Reviewer Report 18 Sep 2018
Kristen L. W. Walton, Department of Biology , Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 16
This article summarizes data from a subgroup of individuals surveyed about their use of an Individual Development Plan and other factors. Data on the effectiveness and usefulness of the IDP is important to justify policies that require postdoctoral scholars and ... Continue reading
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Walton KLW. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.17029.r37951)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Walton,
     
    Thank you for your review of our article. We have responded to your major concerns one-by-one below.
     
    As mentioned in several of the other responses ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Walton,
     
    Thank you for your review of our article. We have responded to your major concerns one-by-one below.
     
    As mentioned in several of the other responses ... Continue reading
Views
12
Cite
Reviewer Report 14 Sep 2018
Adriana Bankston, The Future of Research, Inc., Abington, MA, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 12
General comments:
This publication addresses the very important topic of use and effectiveness of the individual development plan (IDP) for trainees. This is not a trivial topic to address and I commend the authors for this analysis in the ... Continue reading
CITE
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Bankston A. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.17029.r37952)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Bankston,
     
    Thank you for your very extensive report. We have responded to your major critiques/comments below.
     
    We have added a bit more text and references to ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Bankston,
     
    Thank you for your very extensive report. We have responded to your major critiques/comments below.
     
    We have added a bit more text and references to ... Continue reading
Views
20
Cite
Reviewer Report 30 Aug 2018
Tammy R. L. Collins, Office of Fellows' Career Development, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 20
The authors report on the usage of IDPs by postdoctoral scholars, which is both a timely and fundamental topic within the broader graduate and postdoctoral professional development community. This work extends beyond the authors’ recently published article on IDP usage ... Continue reading
CITE
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Collins TRL. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.17029.r36897)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Collins,
     
    Thank you for your review. Your comments and critique have been very helpful in guiding our revisions. We respond to your major points below.  
     
    We ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Dr. Collins,
     
    Thank you for your review. Your comments and critique have been very helpful in guiding our revisions. We respond to your major points below.  
     
    We ... Continue reading
Views
24
Cite
Reviewer Report 09 Aug 2018
Jonathan S. Wiest,  National Cancer Institute (NCI) , Rockville, MD, USA 
Chanelle Case Borden, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Rockville, MD, USA 
Approved with Reservations
VIEWS 24
In this study, the authors seek to determine the effectiveness of utilizing an IDP during the training stage of a biomedical career. Using survey data from a larger online study of overall health and well-being, 183 trainees responded to questions ... Continue reading
CITE
CITE
HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT
Wiest JS and Case Borden C. Reviewer Report For: Use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among postdoctoral researchers: findings from a cross-sectional study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. F1000Research 2018, 7:1132 (https://doi.org/10.5256/f1000research.17029.r36439)
NOTE: it is important to ensure the information in square brackets after the title is included in all citations of this article.
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Drs. Wiest and Case Borden,
     
    Thank you for your review. Your critique has been very helpful as we have revised the article. Below we address the major issues ... Continue reading
COMMENTS ON THIS REPORT
  • Author Response 25 Oct 2018
    Nathan Vanderford, Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, USA
    25 Oct 2018
    Author Response
    Dear Drs. Wiest and Case Borden,
     
    Thank you for your review. Your critique has been very helpful as we have revised the article. Below we address the major issues ... Continue reading

Comments on this article Comments (0)

Version 2
VERSION 2 PUBLISHED 25 Jul 2018
Comment
Alongside their report, reviewers assign a status to the article:
Approved - the paper is scientifically sound in its current form and only minor, if any, improvements are suggested
Approved with reservations - A number of small changes, sometimes more significant revisions are required to address specific details and improve the papers academic merit.
Not approved - fundamental flaws in the paper seriously undermine the findings and conclusions
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