Description:
A 54-item measure of nine of the ingredients of the Research Training Environment (RTE) described by Gelso (1993).
Reference:
Gelso, C. J., Mallinckrodt, B., & Judge, A. B. (1996). Research training environment, attitudes toward research, and research self-efficacy: The revised Research Training Environment Scale. The Counseling Psychologist, 24(2), 304–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000096242010
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Below is a series of statements concerning research training.
Please note: We define research broadly. “Research” when used in this survey includes the following types of activities: designing and executing research projects, preparing manuscripts of a theoretical nature or a critical review of literature, conducting program evaluations or needs assessments, making presentations at professional conferences, participating as a member of a research team engaged in any of the above activities, and advising the research projects of others.
Please respond to the following statements in terms of the doctoral program in which you are currently receiving your training. (Note: If you are currently on internship, please rate the graduate program in which you were previously trained.) Consider each statement using the following scale:
1 = Disagree 2 = Somewhat disagree 3 = Neutral 4 = Somewhat agree 5 = Agree
1. In general, my relationship with my advisor is both intellectually stimulating and interpersonally rewarding. (If your advisor has been newly assigned or chosen, respond in terms of what you expect the relationship to be.)
2. My graduate program rarely acknowledges the scholarly achievements of students.
3. Many of our faculty do not seem to be very interested in doing research.
4. The faculty does what it can to make research requirements such as the thesis and dissertation as rewarding as possible.
5. The faculty here only seem to notice a few selected students in terms of reinforcing scholarly achievements.
6. My graduate program provides concrete support for graduate student research (e.g., access to computers, travel money for making presentations, research supplies, or free postage for mailing surveys).
7. I feel that my advisor expects too much from my research projects.
8. There is informal sharing of research ideas and feelings about research ideas in my program.
9. My advisor understands and accepts that any piece of research will have its methodological problems.
10. Faculty members often invite graduate students to be responsible collaborators in the faculty members’ own research.
11. I was encouraged to get involved in some aspects of research early in my graduate training.
12. Because of the diversity of research approaches among faculty members in my program, I would be able to find help learning about virtually any major research approach, e.g., field, laboratory, experiential, qualitative.
13. In my graduate training program there are opportunities to be part of research teams.
14. I have felt encouraged during my training to find and follow my own scholarly interests.
15. My training program faculty tends to produce research that is not clinically relevant.
16. The research climate here is one in which students can get in touch with their own curiosity and with the research questions they themselves want to ask.
17. Many different research styles (e.g., field vs. laboratory) are acceptable in my graduate program.
18. The faculty members of my graduate program enjoy discussing ideas.
19. Much of the research we become involved in prior to the thesis is organized in a way that is highly anxiety provoking to students.
20. Students in my program receive sound training in how to design and logically analyze research studies.
21. I have gotten the impression in my graduate training that my research work has to be of great value in the field to be worth anything.
22. The faculty in my graduate training program is involved in the conduct and publication of high quality research (or theory).
23. Statistics courses here are taught in a way that is insensitive to students’ level of development as researchers.
24. We do not receive sound training in my program on applied, practical, and less traditional approaches to research.
25. The statistics courses we take do a good job, in general, of showing students how statistics are actually used in psychological research.
26. There is a sense around here that being on a research team can be fun, as well as intellectually stimulating.
27. Students here are encouraged to at least begin thinking about one or more topics upon which they would like to conduct programmatic research (i.e., a series of studies in which one builds upon another).
28. My graduate training program has enabled me to see the relevance of research to clinical service.
29. The faculty members of my graduate program encourage me to pursue the research question in which I am interested.
30. My advisor offers much encouragement to me for my research activities and accomplishments.
31. Faculty members in my program use an extremely narrow range of research methodologies.
32. In my research training, the focus has been on understanding the logic of research design and not just statistics.
33. Some of the faculty teach students that during a phase of the research process, it is important for the researchers to “look inward” for interesting research ideas.
34. Generally, students in my training program do not seem to have intellectually stimulating and interpersonally rewarding relationships with their research advisors.
35. It is unusual for first-year students in this program to collaborate with advanced students or faculty on research projects.
36. There seems to be a general attitude here that there is one best way to do research.
37. I have the feeling, based on my training, that my thesis (or dissertation) needs to be completely original and revolutionary for it to be acceptable to the faculty.
38. The faculty does not seem to value clinical experience as a source of ideas for research.
39. We get high quality training here in the use of statistics in applied research, e.g., counseling research.
40. I get the impression from my training that, although a single study does not revolutionize thinking in the scientific community, such a study can contribute a useful piece to an unfolding body of knowledge.
41. This training environment promotes the idea that although parts of research must be done alone, other parts may involve working closely with other colleagues.
42. Our statistics instructors are generally sensitive to students’ anxieties and feelings about statistics.
43. Our faculty seems interested in understanding and teaching how research can be related to counseling practice.
44. Most faculty do not seem to really care if students are genuinely interested in research.
45. During our coursework, graduate students are taught a wide range of research methodologies, e.g., field, laboratory, survey approaches.
46. During their first year in the program, students take a research course aimed at developing research skills, interests, and confidence.
47. I feel that I need to choose a research topic of interest to my advisor at the expense of my own interests.
48. There is a prevalent viewpoint in my training program that research findings can be used to improve clinical practice.
49. Students in our program feel that their personal research ideas are squashed during the process of collaborating with faculty members, so that the finished project no longer resembles the student’s original idea.
50. Students here seem to get involved in thinking about research from the moment they enter the program.
51. Students in this program are rarely taught to use research findings to inform their work with clients.
52. The faculty members here are quite open in sharing their research with their students.
53. The faculty members of my graduate program show excitement about research and scholarly activities.
54. Much of the research we become involved in prior to the thesis is intellectually challenging and stimulating.
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Scoring:
Reverse score #2, 3, 5, 7, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 44, 47, 49, 51
Sum items within each subscale, or sum all 54 items to attain a total score.
Faculty Modeling = 3, 10, 18, 22, 52, 53
Positive Reinforcement = 2, 4, 5, 6, 30, 44
Early Involvement in Research = 11, 19, 35, 46, 50, 54
Teaching Relevant Statistics = 20, 23, 25, 32, 39, 42
Looking Inward for Ideas = 14, 16, 29, 33, 47, 49
Science as a Social Experience = 1, 8, 13, 26, 34, 41
All Experiments are Flawed = 7, 9, 21, 27, 37, 40
Focus on Varied Investigative Styles = 12, 17, 24, 31, 36, 45
Wedding Science and Practice = 15, 28, 38, 43, 48, 51