Criteria for granting research training awards to graduate students

Survey data from 458 former health science graduate students were examined for correlations between variables that might be used in selecting research training award recipients and successful training outcome defined as a highly productive research career. Scores on six research outcome variables were used to cluster respondents into two groups: active and less-active researchers. After exploring factors underlying thirteen predictor variables, discriminant analysis was employed to identify predictive strength. There were no significant direct or indirect correlations between posttraining research activity and either the overall undergraduate academic grade of respondents or the amount of encouragement they received from the sponsors of their graduate award applications. An additional seven variables also showed no significant correlation with research career outcome. They were science hobbies as a child; undergraduate prizes and awards; summers spent in research; undergraduate publications; prestige and research orientation of undergraduate environment; and prestige of graduate institution. Four variables that showed promise as useful indicators of posttraining research activity were investigative personality; research orientation of the graduate environment; focused energy personality; and, to a lesser extent, preuniversity interest in science.