Examining the relationship between the research training environment, course experiences, and graduate students' research self-efficacy beliefs

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between graduate students' research training environment, course experience, and research self-efficacy beliefs. The findings of the descriptive and regression analyses suggest that graduate students' (n = 161) general research, quantitative, and qualitative research self-efficacy beliefs varied and that these beliefs were related to different aspects of the research training environment and course experiences, including their own personal research experiences. While course experience variables were significant predictors of quantitative and qualitative research self-efficacy, they were not predictive of general research methods self-efficacy. Also, while mentorship was a significant predictor of general research methods self-efficacy, it was not a significant predictor of quantitative and qualitative research self-efficacy. The implications of this study for research and graduate education are discussed.