BEST Data Files

The Strengthening Biomedical Research Workforce program issued five year awards in 2013 and 2014. These “Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training” awards (aka BEST awards) were designed to develop sustainable approaches to broaden graduate and postdoctoral training, aimed at creating training programs that reflect the range of career options that trainees may ultimately pursue. The awardee sites were part of a comprehensive cross-site evaluation designed to understand trainee agency, time to desired careers, and sustainability of BEST activities and resources at academic institutions to support BEST activities. The data available here are from this evaluation.

BEST Data

Registration

BEST Data

Prior to downloading any Cross-site data, users will be prompted below to register a name and valid e-mail address in order to download data and to accept their responsibility for using data in accordance with the Data Use Agreement.

Protection of Human Subjects

The primary concern in sharing data is the protection of human subjects. The rights and privacy of people who participate in NIH-sponsored research must be protected at all times. Thus, data on this site have been de-identified to prevent linkages to individual research participants. This includes removal of all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and indirect identifiers that are not listed as PII but could lead to “deductive disclosure” such as comment fields and educational institution. 
 

Cross-Site Evaluation Data Collection Instruments

For information on data collected by the cross-site evaluation, please see the Data Definitions and Data Collection tools, which include:

• Entrance Survey for Graduate Students

• Entrance Survey for Postdoctoral Scientists

• Exit Survey for Graduate Students

• Exit Survey for Postdoctoral Scientists

• Data Form

• Phone Interview Questions

Please review additional information related to the BEST program and data:

• Lenzi RN, Korn SJ, Wallace M, Desmond NL, Labosky PA. The NIH "BEST" programs: Institutional programs, the program evaluation, and early data. FASEB J. 2020;34(3):3570-3582. doi:10.1096/fj.201902064

• FINAL INTEGRATED REPORT: Evaluation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Program

The recommended citation for the data is:

• National Institutes of Health Office of Strategic Coordination. (2020) Public Use Data from the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award Trainee Surveys and Awardee Data Forms. 

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