What is STEP?
Our NSF-funded* Science Teams and Effective Practices (STEP) project (2014-2019) explored the relationships between the composition, climate, and practices on environmental science teams. Previous research had shown that team composition (e.g., discipline, demographics of the team members) can influence science outcomes such as effectiveness and productivity. However, very little previous research had examined how team composition affects scientists' ethical practices related to activities such as authorship, mentoring, and data sharing.
Using qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, we found that individuals on teams with more demographic diversity reported a more positive climate than those on teams with less demographic diversity. Positive perceptions of team climate were also related to greater overall satisfaction with the team, authorship practices, and perceptions of greater team data sharing. However, we found that individuals from historically underrepresented groups tended to perceive team climate more negatively than more privileged group members, which highlighted the importance of addressing team climate in environmental science teams. Building on our findings from this project, we obtained funding from the NSF for our two CLIMBS UP projects, which seek to understand how the climate in teams, departments, and professional fields is related to career outcomes and how demographics mediate those relationships.
One of the most important concepts that emerged from this project and that we study in our CLIMBS UP projects is the notion of authorship climate. Our qualitative interviews revealed that some early-career scientists faced difficult power dynamics around authorship decisions. For example, in some cases team leaders wanted to include individuals as authors on papers as a result of a misguided effort to include as many authors as possible, even though the individuals did not meet criteria for authorship. Building on this finding, we developed the concept of authorship climate as a way of studying scientists’ perceptions of the fairness of procedures, the fairness of communication, and the fairness of credit related to authorship decisions.
Using qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, we found that individuals on teams with more demographic diversity reported a more positive climate than those on teams with less demographic diversity. Positive perceptions of team climate were also related to greater overall satisfaction with the team, authorship practices, and perceptions of greater team data sharing. However, we found that individuals from historically underrepresented groups tended to perceive team climate more negatively than more privileged group members, which highlighted the importance of addressing team climate in environmental science teams. Building on our findings from this project, we obtained funding from the NSF for our two CLIMBS UP projects, which seek to understand how the climate in teams, departments, and professional fields is related to career outcomes and how demographics mediate those relationships.
One of the most important concepts that emerged from this project and that we study in our CLIMBS UP projects is the notion of authorship climate. Our qualitative interviews revealed that some early-career scientists faced difficult power dynamics around authorship decisions. For example, in some cases team leaders wanted to include individuals as authors on papers as a result of a misguided effort to include as many authors as possible, even though the individuals did not meet criteria for authorship. Building on this finding, we developed the concept of authorship climate as a way of studying scientists’ perceptions of the fairness of procedures, the fairness of communication, and the fairness of credit related to authorship decisions.
PIsKendra Cheruvelil
Kevin Elliott Georgina Montgomery Isis Settles Pat Soranno |
CollaboratorsErin Cech
Sheila Brassel Kathy Robotham Jackie Beck Claire Boudreau Ellie Phillips Jordan A. Fournier Malcolm Davis |
Isis Settles (University of Michigan), Kendra Cheruvelil (Michigan State University), Pat Soranno (Michigan State University),
Georgina Montgomery (Michigan State University), and Kevin Elliott (Michigan State University) |
Acknowledgments
*Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Research supported by: NSF-CCE-STEM (SES-1449466) and NSF-Macrosystems Biology (DEB-1638679).
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Affiliated with Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.
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