How to interact with your research mentor

A message from Dr. Snow:

Student researchers and their mentors often have different expectations about what their collaboration should be like. We encourage you to discuss the following points with your mentor. Some of these expectations are easily met, while others are not. It’s good to have a clear idea of which of outcomes are most appropriate for your situation.

What is a research mentor?

Broadly defined, a mentor is “someone who takes a special interest in helping another person develop into a successful professional.” (http://www.nap.edu/html/mentor/)

What both the mentor and the student should expect from each other:

1. Respect and collegiality.
2. Commitment and enthusiasm for the research project.
   

What students often expect from their mentor:

1. Guidance on how to plan and carry out the research. Some students also expect to be given a detailed, pre-planned project.
2. Timely feedback and frequent meetings.
3. Constructive criticism.
4. Assistance with presenting a poster at a research forum and writing a thesis or report.
5. Co-authorship with the mentor on a peer-reviewed publication.
6. Career advice and strong letters of recommendation for scholarships, grants, awards, jobs, graduate school, and other programs (submitted prior to deadlines).
   

What mentors often expect from students:

1. Participation in planning and revising the research plan (original ideas welcome).
2. Regular updates on progress; good time management skills.
3. Understanding of the general research topic (be curious, read background materials).
4. Ability to recognize and solve problems.
5. Ability to ask for help when needed.
6. Ability to accept criticism and learn from it.
7. Presentation of the project’s goals, progress, and conclusions at a poster forum and/or in a written report or thesis (worth doing even if the research did not go as planned).
8. Co-authorship on a peer-reviewed publication typically requires that you make a major intellectual contribution to the project, with original findings that are of interest to others in the discipline.
9. For letters of recommendation, the mentor needs advance notice and information about your academic record, your general career goals, and the specific program requesting letters, provided well in advance of the program’s deadline.

Adapted from the 2008 National Conference of the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.nap.edu/html/mentor/).