We want to hear from you. Please learn about our study and consider participating.

Graduate Students, Faculty, and Postdocs Who Want to Participate Should Complete These Steps:

Step 1: Survey. The survey asks you to consider 16 short scenarios about researchers who encounter problems. Then you pick the responses you think are best from multiple options. Researchers who are from East Asia and the U.S. are invited to participate. This survey has now closed.

Step 2: Raffle (optional). After completing the survey, enter the raffle to win one of thirty $50 Amazon gift cards if you wish

Step 3: Follow-up Email. Be ready for a follow-up email. You may win a gift card or be invited for a paid follow-up interview to explore your views on the scenarios. 


We are conducting original research on how researchers at Washington University (WashU) from diverse cultural backgrounds approach professional challenges in the research workplace. This project explores and contrasts approaches among researchers from East Asia and those from the United States. The findings will inform efforts at WashU to create more culturally aware and inclusive research environments. We will also use the results to promote a more culturally aware responsible conduct of research (RCR) curriculum for graduate students at WashU.

We invite graduate students, faculty, and postdocs who are originally from East Asia or the U.S. who conduct research in the biological and biomedical sciences at WashU to participate.

The research team includes faculty, fellows, and graduate students at the WashU School of Medicine who received a grant from the National Science Foundation to fund this research. The team is working in partnership with the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS).


How is East Asia defined in this study?

We define East Asian researchers as those who are originally from China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, or Mongolia.

Why does the study focus on East Asian and U.S. researchers?

This is one of the first studies to explicitly compare and contrast approaches to addressing challenges in the research workplace among researchers from different cultural backgrounds. The research team’s past research has suggested that cultural background may inform the way researchers approach such situations. The present study allows us to explore the potential role of cultural background with greater depth. Importantly, this study obtains input directly from researchers through follow-up interviews.

There are two key reasons for the focus on researchers who are from East Asia and the U.S. First, a significant proportion of the international researchers contributing to research in the U.S. are East Asian. For example, among postdocs in the U.S., typically at least 50% are East Asian.

Second, exploring and comparing approaches of researchers from Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds creates a comparison likely to reveal important similarities and differences.

We recognize that there are many other international researchers working in the U.S. We expect that the findings will be of value broadly for increasing awareness about culturally inclusive research workplaces. The curriculum portion of the project will explore perceptions and educational outcomes among all graduate students from any background. We hope to explore research questions in future projects that include the experiences of other international researchers.

Is the study only being conducted at Washington University?

Yes. Focusing on Washington University allows the methodological approach to account for the influence of university research culture because all researchers who participate will be at the same university. Additionally, focusing on WashU allows the findings to be applied to efforts at WashU to raise cultural awareness and develop programs and research curricula that are more culturally inclusive.

What types of professional challenges are explored in the study?

Numerous professional challenges can arise in the research workplace, like determining who should earn authorship credit, handling power dynamics, sharing research materials when projects are ongoing, or addressing when personnel make mistakes.

How will the research team keep participant data confidential?

Survey responses and interview responses are strictly confidential. Our research team has extensive experience conducting research with researchers and maintaining data confidentiality. We will store the survey data securely using IRB-approved protocols (IRB ID# 202007083). Files will be encrypted and password-protected, and only accessible to the research team. No data that includes participant identifiers will be shared with anyone outside the research team. Any report or manuscript we write will not include information that can directly identify you.