39. "Crimes Against A Researcher (And How Not To Commit Them)"
- Bianca Blanch
- Nov 27, 2020
- 5 min read
Research is a tough career. It is made harder by managers committing common research crimes against their junior researchers. Here is what I think the worst and most common crimes are, am I right?
My Experience of Crimes Against A Researcher And Advice On How Not To Commit Them
#1 Bullying
I have been bullied at two different workplaces, as bth a junior and senior researcher. Both times my direct manager was the culprit and there was no HR department to complain to. I felt lonely and the repeated subtle psychological warfare really impacted on my self esteem. I felt worthless. Like I couldn't even do my job properly. I was anxious as I was convinced I would get fired for incompetence.
Bullying messes with your head. There is no excuse for it. Managers need to learn how to manage. Management training should be mandatory. Just because you are a good researcher, does not mean you can manage staff.
And if you see something, say something. Managers of all levels need to speak up when they see bullying behaviour, and not reward managers who bully. The fastest way to allow bullying culture to replicate in the workplace is to let it happen and do nothing. Everyone is then taught this is acceptable behaviour.
At the second place I was bullied at, many senior managers knew that my manager was a bully. At least 7 staff had left because of them. No one warned me. I made a formal complaint against my manager, and only after I spoke up about the bullying did I realise how big the problem was. For months I let it undermine my confidence and send me into a depression.
Unforgiveable!! Yet common.
I only know a handful of researchers who have never been bullied.
#2 Not Giving You Credit For Your Work
As a junior researcher, I did the statistical analysis for a paper. Doing the analysis constitutes authorship. However, as a young academic I didn't know this. They said I would be an acknowledgement instead of authorship. I was so grateful I accepted without even asking if that was right. (My manager was also the type where you did not question them).
This is a fairly common crime against researchers.
I have a friend who wrote a paper for their PhD. While their supervisor was reviewing the paper, my friend found the paper published without their name on it. When they demanded a retraction and adding them as the author, the supervisor refused.
What can you do?
You need the supervisor to sign off on your work. They played the long game and let it go. Begrudgingly.
See 'Does Authorship Order Matter?' for the rules of authorship.
#3 Appalling Communication Skills
I think bad management stems from poor communication skills. Whether it is avoiding a tough conversation, or just not taking the time to know your staff and their communication style. Some researchers really need to work on these skills.
At one workplace, I asked for some additional work as I was bored and being underutilised (which I did not write in my email). The following week I had a performance review and I was chastised for asking for more work. From this conversation, what they communicated was that I had work to do, so why would I ask for more work?
I still don't understand this position.
Even if I was behind on my work, why would you chastise someone for wanting to be more productive? So I stopped asking for more work. As we worked remotely, I did my work, then caught up on Netflix. I became very detached from my work and felt dejected. I didn't know feeling so unused could make you feel so bad.
From this experience I take being overworked from being underworked every day! At least I feel useful if I have too much to do.
This crime is more unique. I describe this to my friends and they feel jealousy rather than empathy. Which shows they have not felt it before.
#4 Teaching Bad Research Habits To Junior Researchers
If you are a mentor to junior researchers, you need to teach them good habits. Not perpetuate your bad habits.
One of my early managers had the bad habit of doing analyses, finding a result then writing the paper. They wrote very vague ethics applications to allow them to publish whatever they found without a clear research question from the beginning.
I didn't know this was a bad habit until I started working wth very large datasets. When you have million of people (and even more data points) every result is statistically significant due to the large sample size. Instead, of searching for statistical significance, you need find something that is clinically meaningful. Meaning, it may impact on how a clinician treats a patient.
Now, I routinely write an analysis plan with a clear research aim, questions and methodology. Which is reviewed by another researcher. BEFORE I start answering my questions and conducting analyses.
If you manage researchers, teach them the right way to do something, not your way.
#5 Pressuring You To Do Something Wrong
The research world can be very competitive and unethical at times. We have all attended at least one lecture where researchers who have fabricated results, or just done unethical things.
I heard stories from local research facilities where students were inadequately trained. For example, at one place students did not always terminate rats in the right way. So when you open up the freezer on a Monday, a rat might leap out at you. (As rats can survive in low temperatures for a long period of time, and can eat other rats as food).
For me, a senior researcher once asked me to change the condition for a clinical trial to ensure the groups had equal numbers. It was their study, and I was just helping out.
I would hope this situation is uncommon, but I think it happens way too often!
I hope reading these anecdotes shows you how hard research is. And if one of these crimes is committed against you, it is not you, it is them. If you love research, try to hold on. And when you become a manager, don't commit the same crimes.
Are these the most common and/or worse research crimes? What other crimes have you experienced? Let me know your experience by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
BB
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
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