Longitudinal study of changes in science identity, research self-efficacy, and academic self-concept for undergraduate students conducting biomedical research at a large Hispanic-serving institution

Understanding the experiences and development of undergraduate students undergoing biomedical research training is foundational for promoting equity and inclusion for underrepresented students. Many underrepresented students do not report the same levels of major indicators (i.e., science identity, research self-efficacy, and academic self-concept) for research and academic success in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) fields, and this affects their retention in the major and advancement to higher-level graduate degrees in STEMM. However, the development and changes underlying the key indicators for undergraduates involved in biomedical research training are complex and poorly understood. In this presentation, we will discuss the structural characteristics of students undergoing research training in biomedical studies at the onset and at the conclusion of the program. Making use of exploratory graph theory models, we will summarize the changes over time in the three key indicators, science identity, research self-efficacy, and academic self-concept. The results will be reported out for the overall population and for subpopulations defined by gender and ethnicity. Results show that there are structural differences in the development and growth of these key indicators by gender and by ethnicity. The results of this study provide insight into how these three key indicators co-regulate and develop over the course of a biomedical research-training program focused on the inclusion of Hispanic students.