Responsible Conduct of Research: Mentoring

These guiding principles are intended to support the development of a positive mentoring relationship between the pre-doctoral student and their research advisor. A successful student-mentor relationship requires commitment from the student, mentor, graduate program, and institution. This document offers a set of broad guidelines which are meant to initiate discussions at the local and national levels about the student-mentor relationship.

Posted on a chemistry professor's blog at Oregon State this compact outlines commitments for students and advisers in a mentoring relationship.

The Compact Between Postdoctoral Appointees and Their Mentors is intended to initiate discussions at the local and national levels about the postdoctoral appointee-mentor relationship and the commitments necessary for a high quality postdoctoral training experience. It is intended to serve as a model and be modified to fit with local circumstances.

A sample mentoring compact from a research group that outlines expectations for advisers and students in their mentoring relationship.

A sample agreement written by Dr. Norman Ramsey of Tufts University that lays out a compact between himself and students in his resarch group, laying out expectations of how research will be peformed, how research data will be kept, authorship responsibilities, and responsibilities of both the students and the advisor.

A guide to help graduate students of diverse backgrounds find and keep a mentor. Discusses challenged faced in graduate school, expectations for advisors and students in mentoring relationships, and best practices for building a network of faculty, staff and colleagues who can help you through your graduate career.

A non-profit organization that provides e-mentoring to women and minorities in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering.

A section of the Science Magazine web site that provides career advice, job listings, and other guidance for students and practitioners in the sciences.

An online tutorial developed by Columbia University looking at mentoring in science.

An excellent guide developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison that seeks to help students and advisers develop good mentoring relationships, include a number of resources to help discuss issues that can arise and align goals and expectations