Setting the tone: perspectives on the role of the team in promoting a healthy and inclusive research environment

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to answer the following research questions: The research questions were as follows: What factors contribute to faculty, postdocs, research staff and graduate students feeling part of a healthy and inclusive team environment? and How can faculty, postdocs, research staff and graduate students contribute to creating and maintaining a healthy and inclusive research team environment?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted student, postdoctoral fellow, staff and faculty focus groups to solicit perceptions on the characteristics of healthy and inclusive research teams, and how research team members can contribute to shaping this environment. Focus groups were semistructured and guided by an appreciative inquiry approach. Thematic analysis was used to summarize and categorize findings across focus groups and to understand how these themes contributed to the overall research questions.

Findings

The authors conducted 11 focus groups that were comprised of 48 different individuals: 30 graduate students (6 focus groups), 6 faculty members (2 focus groups), 6 staff members (2 focus groups) and 6 postdoctoral fellows (1 focus group). Themes that were discussed included collaboration and clarity on role definition; effective communication; cultivating safe relationships; promoting and modeling work–life balance; and supporting professional development in these areas.

Originality/value

This study reinforces the role that research teams can have on how graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff and faculty experience the research environment. The authors also identified a number of themes and factors that can be used to develop training initiatives to facilitate healthy research team environments.

Citation

Spanner, L., Cox, S.M., Smithdeal, M., Lee, M. and Hunt, M.A. (2024), "Setting the tone: perspectives on the role of the team in promoting a healthy and inclusive research environment", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-11-2023-0104