Early career researchers' identity: A qualitative review

Abstract

In recent decades, higher education has witnessed the development of a series of policies aimed at improving its quality. To this end, accountability measures have been promoted, which are having a major impact on academics. In addition, the precariousness of work in this professional sector is contributing to emphasise its consequences. In this context, early career researchers have become a highly vulnerable group, as the pretence of wanting to be part of the academic world is becoming an increasingly challenging purpose. This systematic review of the literature aims to collect and systematise the most relevant contributions on the impact that this situation has on the professional identity of young academics. To this end, a bibliographic search was carried out in four different databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Education Resources Information Center, Google Scholar), which yielded a total of 24 articles published in international journals. The results show how the political‐economic measures that currently surround higher education are contributing to the development of a new neoliberal academic subject characterised by a professional identity unconsciously subjected to the system's requirements. This identity is characterised by a prioritisation of research over teaching, by the development of unethical research practices and by their impact on health and social and family relations. Finally, the need for more studies in this line with other approaches (longitudinal) and with more general and varied samples is emphasised.

Breaching boundaries: reflections on the journey towards a transdisciplinary arts and sciences undergraduate degree programme to address global challenges

“…Additionally, academics may struggle to shed their 'pre-transdisciplinary personas', identities shaped by years of training, education, and tradition within given disciplines. These identities may act as an intellectual straitjacket, simultaneously rigid in terms of boundaries yet comfortable about expectations in thinking and methods (Mula et al, 2022). This understanding and proficiency of the disciplinary culture (i.e.…”

Who Am I? The Influence of Knowledge Networks on PhD Students’ Formation of a Researcher Role Identity

“…Scholars in higher education have done substantial work in investigating various perspectives of researcher identity formation by PhD students (Castelló et al 2020;Mula et al 2021). In the management literature, identity theory is used as a theoretical basis to study career development and career choices (Hall 1968;Ibarra 1999;Jain et al 2009;Pratt et al 2006).…”

“…Most authors claim that the formation of a researcher role identity starts at a senior level and is accompanied by various challenges (Jain et al 2009;O'Kane et al 2020;Pratt et al 2006). However, research in higher education confirms that the formation of a researcher role identity begins during the PhD trajectory (Castelló et al 2020;Dison 2004;Holley 2015;McAlpine et al 2014;Mula et al 2021;Smith and Hatmaker 2014). It has been shown that independent researchers in STEM fields are required increasingly to take on a researcher role identity which combines traditional research activities such as publication and research collaboration with entrepreneurial and commercialization activities (Casati and Genet 2014;Jain et al 2009;Mars et al 2014;Meek and Wood 2016).…”

Mentorship Practices and Research Productivity Among Early-Career Educational Psychologists in Universities

“…Whilst the literature includes several related studies, scholars in the social sciences have considered ECRs according a number of different variables, including training and support (Callagher et al, 2021;Gibson et al, 2020;Goldman et al, 2021;Husby & Modinos, 2020;Poppelaars et al, 2022;Shelton et al, 2021;Weissgerber, 2021), understanding their research culture (Bankston et al, 2020;Calitz, 2020;Christian et al, 2021;Munafò et al, 2020), attitudes and behaviors (Jamali et al, 2020;, as well as identity threats (Callagher et al, 2021;Mula et al, 2021). Others have aimed at understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on ECRs (Herman et al, 2021;Jackman et al, 2021;Johnson & Weivoda, 2021;López-Vergès et al, 2021;Termini & Traver, 2020), their open access publishing activities (Gownaris et al, 2022;Sundramoorthy, 2021), self-management (Alisic & Wiese, 2020;Bielczyk et al, 2020;Da Silva et al, 2021;Sanders et al, 2022), contribution to knowledge (Djerasimovic & Villani, 2020;Merga & Mason, 2020), challenges (Gill, 2021;Johnson & Weivoda, 2021;Richards et al, 2021;Silveyra & Grandison, 2020), and employment insecurity (McKenzie, 2021).…”