Postdoctoral Appointments in Bioscience: Their Allocations, Payoffs and Returns to Science

摘要

The project investigates the feasibility of developing systematic sociological models for estimating the impact of federal policy on research institutions and individuals. The NIH studies are focused on three representative scientific fields--biochemistry, microbiology, and (animal) physiology--and on two specialty areas within these fields--viral cell transformation and reproductive physiology of non human primates. Two major studies have been done: a study of the career patterns of two cohorts of biochemists and a study of the development of bioscience specialty areas. The manpower study provides quantitative information about the effects of grant support, types of training, mentors and institutions on the development of research careers. It has implications for the organization of training activities and for the development of review criteria for training programs. The bioscience specialty study has developed a model of how science communication networks develop and operate, and has revealed that the science citation patterns of investigators in at least some large research centers differ from those of independent investigators. Study of relations between funding and research performance, and of differences between the U.S. and other countries in how specialty development is anchored in the literature have potential utility for NIH program development.