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Postdoc Surveys

Up to Postdoctoral Life

Surveys of postdocs conducted by postdoc associations



Doctors Without Orders: Highlights of the Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey
Results of Sigma Xi's survey of 7600 postdocs at 46 US institutions. Very interesting discussion of salaries, training, and administrative oversight.
You've Got the Data! Now Advocate for Change!
"In this article, we learn how survey results can be used to advocate for change at the administrative level."
Report on the Status of the Postdoctoral Experience at UNC-CH
Results of a 2000 survey by the UNC PDA
Survey of Surveys II: Polling Postdocs Effectively
Science's Next Wave, July 5, 2002. "A periodically administered survey of the postdoc population can provide accurate information that would help policy-makers establish priorities and also set a baseline against which changes in science postdocs' conditions can be measured. In many cases, postdocs have taken this task upon themselves, designing and administering surveys at the departmental and institutional levels. For local change, this process can be effective."
UC Davis Postdoctoral Scholars Association Survey
Results of a Spring 2000 survey. (Requires Adobe Acrobat)
UW-Madison Postdoctoral Scholar Survey
Results of a 2001 survey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Surveying Postdocs: A Tale From the Trenches
"A survey is one method for achieving a broader understanding of the postdoc condition. Our nascent Postdoctoral Association (PDA) in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) at the University of Chicago formed around a core of regular seminars and workshops and e-mail communications. We embarked on a comprehensive survey as a first major initiative toward becoming an organization that could represent and address the needs of postdocs in our division. Anecdotes may get attention through emotion, but numbers make the case."
Mentoring of Postdoctoral Fellows at NIH
"The NIH Fellows' Committee, composed of basic science and clinical postdoctoral fellows, conducted a survey of NIH postdocs during the summer of 1998. The Fellows' Committee, created in 1994 to serve the needs of the ~2300 fellows at NIH, developed the questionnaire to assess the mentoring experiences of NIH fellows and to use this information to recommend improvements in their training and mentoring." (Requires Microsoft Word)
Suny-Stony Brook Postdoctoral Scholar Survey
A survey by the SUNY SB Biosciences Postdoctoral Association.
Reader Survey: The Postdoc Experience
By Kate Devine, The Scientist, January 22, 2001. "The Scientist conducted a survey on the postdoc experiences of selected subscribers via E-mail and the Web from December 20, 2000 through January 3, 2001."
Stanford University Postdoc Survey
A 2002 survey by the Stanford PDA
AAU Postdoctoral Education Survey, 2005
The AAU conducted a survey of its member institutions' postdoc policies. Here are the results.
U Mass Amherst Postdoctoral Scholars Survey
Results of a Fall 2001 survey. (Requires Microsoft Word)
Agitators on the Inside
"In this article, the first of a three-part series, I reflect upon my time as a postdoctoral 'agitator' and its impact on my professional development."
University of Chicago's Division of Biological Sciences PDA Survey
Results of a 2000-2001 survey.
Postdoc Survey Results from the Brown PDA
A 2000 survey by the Brown PDA
The Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey
Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, is working to coordinate a nation-wide set of postdoc office and association surveys during the 2003-4 academic year. The surveys will investigate salaries and benefits and seeks to shed light on which aspects of the postdoctoral experience that are most strongly associated with positive and productive outcomes. An important aim is to enable institutions to compare their postdoc policies and practices to those of their peers. The survey is being conducted in partnership with the National Postdoctoral Association, Science's Next Wave, and the National Bureau of Economic Research's Science and Engineering Workforce Project.
Exit Surveys from the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine
A summary of exit surveys for 1998 from the Task Force on Women's Academic Careers in Medicine and the Office of Postdoctoral Programs.
Survey of Surveys I: What Postdoc Association Surveys Tell Us About Postdoc Working Conditions
Science's Next Wave, June 21, 2002. "An important first step is for institutions to take a census of their postdoctoral populations. Many institutions, especially universities, have no accurate count or counting mechanism."
AAU Ad Hoc Committee on Postdoctoral Education Survey
A 1995 survey of the 25 member institutions of the Association of American Universities on their postdoctoral policies.
Results of a Survey of Postdoctoral Appointees at UC Berkeley
by L. McPheron, M. Nerad. Results of a January 1999 survey. (Requires Microsoft Word)
FHCRC Career Development / Child Care Survey Results
A 1999 Survey from the postdoc association at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Results of the Baylor College of Medicine Postdoctoral Survey
A 2002 survey by the BCM PDA