Experiences of Female Scientists in Research Networks in STEM fields in Public Universities in Uganda
Abstract
Research networks are inevitable for female scientists in STEM fields, where research is carried out in teams in higher education. They promote privileged access to relevant knowledge and support from peers due to social connections. This qualitative study set out to explore the experiences of female scientists in research networks in STEM fields in public universities in Uganda. The study's population encompassed female scientists in research networks in STEM fields in public universities in Uganda that included Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Gulu University and Busitema University. In respect to this study, my participants were selected in the STEM fields in public universities in Uganda. Female scientists in research networks were selected in the hard pure and hard applied disciplines as classified by Becher and Biglan's typology of academic disciplines of 1973. From their classification of academic disciplines, the STEM fields belong to the hard pure and hard applied disciplines. This study was anchored on the existential phenomenology by Martin Heidegger in the interpretive worldview. Both semi-structured interviews and document check data collection methods were used in this study. A sample size comprising of eight female scientists in research networks in STEM fields in public universities in Uganda were interviewed. Data were thematically analysed where clustering into catergories and emerging sub-themes were developed to form themes. This study concludes that those female scientists in research networks had positive experiences such as funding, networking, research skills, career growth, conferences, mentoring, and negative experiences like hectic schedules and delayed funding. The findings that emerged from the study indicated positive experiences with the research networks, which enabled them to win research grants, projects, and postdoctoral fellowships successfully. Those female scientists believed that their inter-institutional, national, regional, and international interactions and engagements spurred excellent opportunities for them in their universities. This was because they were exposed to top-notch scientists in their disciplines. This study, therefore, recommends to the management of public universities in Uganda to establish formal research networks and strengthen the existing informal research networks
Downloads
References
Abramo, G., D’Angelo, C, A., & Di Costa, F. (2019 a). The collaboration behavior of top scientists Scientometrics, 118 (3), 215–232 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2970-9.
Abramo, G., D’Angelo, C. A., & Di Costa, F. (2019b). "A Gender Analysis of Top Scientists' Collaboration Behavior: Evidence from Italy." Scientometrics, 120 (2):405–18 doi:10.1007/s11192-019-03136-6.
Adams, Amanda, S., Steiner, A., L., & Wiedinmyer, C. (2016). "The Earth Science Women’s Network Community-Driven Mentoring for Women in the Atmospheric Sciences." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 97(3), 345-354
Aksnes, D, W., Piro, F. N., & Rorstad, K. (2019). Gender gaps in international research collaboration: a bibliometric approach. Scientometrics, 120(2), 747–774 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03155-3.
Angervall, P., Gustafsson, J., & Silfver, E. (2018). Academic career: on institutions, social capital and gender, Higher Education Research and Development, 37(6), 1095-1108. https:doi: 10.1080/07294360.2018.1477743.
Ávila, A., Meza-Montes, L., & Ponce-Dawson, S. (2015). The first Latin American workshop on professional skills for young female scientists AIP, Conference Proceedings, 1697, 120001 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4937706
Barabino, G., Frize, M., Ibrahim, F., Kaldoudi, E., Lhotska, L., Marcu, L., Stoeva, M., Tsapaki, V, V., & Bezak, E. (2020). Solutions to gender balance in STEM Fields through support, training, education, and mentoring: Report of the international women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Task Group Science and Engineering Ethics, 26, 275–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-019-00097-0.
Beck, R., & Halloin, V. (2017). Gender and research funding success: Case of the Belgian F.R.S.-FNRS. Research Evaluation, 26, 115–123 https://doi.org/10.1093/008.
Bhatia, S. K., Cumberland, C. R., Gallagher, P., Athanasopoulos -Zekkos, A., & Soundarajan, S. (2021). Seed Grants of Change: Building Thriving Networks among Female Geotechnical Faculty Members. Journal of Civil Engineering Education, 147(3), 04021003.
Busitema University (2020). Strategic plan 2020/2021 – 2024/2025
Collins, R., & Fluhr, N. S. (2019). Hidden patterns using social network analysis to track career trajectories of women STEM faculty. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(2), 265-282, doi 10.1108/-09-2017-0183.
Dı´az-Faes, A, A., Otero-Hermida, P., Ozman M., & D’Este, P. (2020). Do women in science form more diverse research networks than men? An analysis of Spanish biomedical scientists. PLoS ONE, 15(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/ 0238229.
Gallagher, P., Bhatia, S., Alestalo, S., Soundarajan, S., & Zekkos, A. A. (2019). Increasing collaboration among Geotechnical Engineering Faculty: A Case Study from the "Geotechnical Engineering Women Faculty: Networked and Thriving" Project, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Government of Uganda. (2013). Uganda vision 2040. Kampala, Uganda: National Planning Authority (NPA).
Government of Uganda. (2020). National Development Plan (NDPIII) 2020/21-2024/25. Kampala, Uganda: National Planning Authority (NPA)
Gulu University (2020). Gulu University Annual report 2020/2021
Kwiek, M., & Roszka, W. (2022). Are female scientists less inclined to publish alone? The gender solo research gap. Scientometrics, 127, 1697–1735. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-022-04308-7.
Kyvik, S., & Reymert, I. (2017). Research collaboration in groups and networks: Differences across academic fields, Scientometrics, 113, 951–967. doi 10.1007/s11192-017-2497-5.
Lin, N. (2001). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Liou, T. Y., & Chang, N. Y. (2008). The applications of social capital theory in education. Journal of humanities and social sciences, 11, 99-122
Maddi, A., & Gingras, Y. (2021). Gender diversity in research teams and citation impact in Economics and Management. Journal of Economic Surveys, 35(5), 1381-1404.
Makerere University. (2021). Makerere University College of Health Sciences Annual Report, Kampala, Uganda.
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (2020). Strategic plan 2020/2021 – 2024/2025
Misra, J., Doerr, S, L., Dasgupta, N., Weaver, G., & Normanly, J. (2017). Collaboration and gender equity among academic scientists. Social Sciences, 6(1), 25. doi: 10.3390/socsci6010025
Ovseiko, P, V., Chapple, A., Edmunds, L, D., & Ziebland, S. (2017). Advancing gender equality through the Athena SWAN Charter for Women in Science: An exploratory study of women's and men's perceptions. Health Research Policy and Systems, 15:12. doi: 10.1186/s12961-017-0177-9
Predoi-Cross, A., Dasgupta, A., Steinitz, M., Aucoin, E., Khattak, A., Hennessey, E., Ghose, S., Xu, L., & McKenna, J. (2019). Update on the status of women in physics in Canada, AIP Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5110084
Sato, S., Gygax, P., M., Randall, J., & Mast, M. S. (2021). The leaky pipeline in research grant peer review and funding decisions: Challenges and future directions. Higher Education, 82, 145–162.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development (A/RES/70/1). New York, NY: UN General Assembly. Retrieved from https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
Witteman, H. O., Hendricks, M., Straus, S., & Tannenbaum, C. (2019). Are gender gaps due to evaluations of the applicant or science? A natural experiment at a national funding agency. Lancet, 393, 531–540. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32611-4
World Health Organization, (2021). Women in science: A storytelling showcase. Geneva.
Yemini, M. (2019). International research collaborations as perceived by top-performing scholars. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1–16. doi: 10.1177/102831531988739
Copyright (c) 2024 Safina Galenda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
