Keywords
biomedical research, career development, careers in research, career planning, individual development plan, PhD training, postdoctoral researchers, science and technology workforce
This article is included in the Research on Research, Policy & Culture gateway.
biomedical research, career development, careers in research, career planning, individual development plan, PhD training, postdoctoral researchers, science and technology workforce
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
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 reports1–3. 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 gaps4,8–10. 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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
Dataset 1. Individual Development Plan survey data. Columns Q1–Q26 correspond to the questions listed in Supplementary File 4. 10.5256/f1000research.15610.d2226157
N.L.V. is supported by the University of Kentucky’s Cancer Center Support Grant [NCI P30CA177558], the Center for Cancer and Metabolism [NIGMS P20GM121327], and the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program [NCI R25CA221765]. T.M.E is supported by the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio’s Science Education Partnership Award [NIGMS R25GM129182].
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
We thank the Markey Cancer Center Research Communications Office for formatting and graphic design assistance; Dr. Paula Chambers, Versatile PhD, for her input on and aid in distributing the study survey; and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio for providing partial funding for the study.
Supplementary File 1. Self-reported institution of all respondents.
Click here to access the data.
Supplementary File 2. One-way frequencies of all respondents, separated by demographic characteristics.
Click here to access the data.
Supplementary File 3. Univariate analysis of the survey’s variables and the perception of Individual Development Plan helpfulness among respondents who completed an Individual Development Plan.
Click here to access the data.
Supplementary File 4. Example copy of the survey questions relevant to this study.
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References
1. Hobin JA, Clifford PS, Dunn BM, Rich S, et al.: Putting PhDs to work: career planning for today's scientist.CBE Life Sci Educ. 2014; 13 (1): 49-53 PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full TextCompeting Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Yes
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
Partly
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
Partly
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
Partly
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Partly
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
Partly
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
Yes
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Partly
References
1. National Academy of Sciences: The Postdoctoral Experience Revisited. The National Academies Press. 2014. Publisher Full TextCompeting Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Yes
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
Partly
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
Partly
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Yes
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Partly
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
Partly
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
Yes
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Partly
References
1. Vanderford NL, Evans TM, Weiss LT, Bira L, et al.: A cross-sectional study of the use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among doctoral students.F1000Res. 2018; 7: 722 PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full TextCompeting Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Partly
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
Yes
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
Yes
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Yes
Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Alongside their report, reviewers assign a status to the article:
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