Survey for postdoctoral researchers in the UK

11 December 2009

By Fatima Felisberti

PS. If you are not a postdoctoral researcher, could you forward the message below to the postdocs in your dept?

Dear postdoctoral researchers

Although postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) play a vital role in academic institutions, there is very little information available about them in the UK.

I have been interested in the lives of postdocs for many years. I am currently gathering data for a large study and have set up an online questionnaire for postdocs from any research area (i.e. research assistants/fellow with a completed PhD).

The research has been approved by the Ethics Committee at Kingston University in 2007.

I would be grateful if you could forward the link to my survey to postdocs in your university/research institution. The survey will run until the end of Dec/09 and the link to the online survey is:

http://tinyurl.com/PostdocsUK

The survey contains demographic questions and questionnaires about work well-being, general health and scientific output. It will take about 15-20 min to fill it, but it will allow for a in-depth analysis of the current situation of postdocs working in the UK (nationals and foreigners).

I have data from over 200 participants, but a larger sample is needed to represent the several research areas employing postdocs.

Feedback will be provided to each participant at the end of the study, if they leave an email for contact. If you have any doubts about it or if I should contact some other person, please, feel free to contact me (f.felisberti@kingston.ac.uk).

Kind regards,

Dr. Fatima Maria Felisberti

Kingston University, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Psychology Unit