This BRIGE engineering education research project will investigate research mentoring of underrepresented minority students. It will establish best practices and determine the students' perceptions of the effectiveness of these practices with a combination of qualitative and quantitative data and methods. Narrative analysis of critical incidents, structured interviews, and survey questions will be used. Currently there is very little definitive empirical information on mentoring best practices, and the results of this work could support or dispute currently accepted methods of mentoring and research supervision. The results will provide new data and knowledge that will significantly advance understanding of effective research mentoring practices for underrepresented minority populations. This information can be of great value in the design and implementation of mentoring programs focused on broadening participation and improving success and retention of underrepresented student in STEM fields.
