A Guide for Understanding
the Scientific Laboratory Research and Training Model
Prepared by Amanda Veile, PhD. for the
Anthropology Graduate Committee at Purdue University
5/8/2025
Note: this is a “living” document, subject to changes
Table of Contents
Where does lab research take place?
How is laboratory training organized?
When does laboratory training happen?
What are the benefits of training graduate students using the lab model?
How can students positively contribute to laboratory environments?
What is a “lab?”
Laboratory research is a team-based model widely used in the sciences (Conti & Liu, 2015). “Lab” is often used to refer to a group of researchers who work and/or train together, sharing common resources, while pursuing specific research questions and goals. Labs vary widely in size and scope, but generally consist of one or more principal investigators (herein PI for simplicity), one or more students and/or staff, and optimally (but not always) one or more physical research spaces. Generally, a “lab” pursues interrelated questions and projects within the PI’s area of expertise. Lab activities generally consist of funding acquisition, data collection/generation, laboratory and data analysis, and production of results and manuscripts. Multiple projects and research activities often happen simultaneously, and different projects will often overlap. While each project will tackle specific research questions, all projects and questions will fall within the area of theoretical and methodological expertise of the PI.
Where does lab research take place?
Data collection/generation and analysis often take place in specific research spaces such as field sites and various wet and dry laboratories. Laboratory research and productivity are optimized when team members spend most of their work hours in these designated spaces. For example, archaeological excavation requires physical presence at a field site; immune protein analyses require physical presence in a certified biohazard wet lab. Many analytical activities (e.g., computation) are best achieved in designated laboratory spaces with access to appropriate computers, software, and connectedness to university computational resources. Furthermore, team-based research and learning activities are optimized in physical shared spaces, which provide maximal opportunities for observational and experiential learning, social interaction, and knowledge transfer (Rosen & Kelly, 2022).
How can students join labs?
In Purdue’s Anthropology department, undergraduate students usually gain laboratory opportunities by participating in formal internship activities through the university or the College of Liberal Arts and/or taking independent study credits (392) with a professor. Undergraduate lab projects may last from one semester to one academic year. Most internship/independent coursework requirements come with an expectation of ~10-12 hours a week in the lab. Some faculty may permit students to do fewer hours or to do some work at home, but this is at the PI’s discretion. Undergraduate students who are not willing or able to commit to regular, in person lab hours, should not generally join research labs because this is a crucial component of training/participation for most laboratory research.
In Purdue’s Anthropology department, graduate students usually gain laboratory opportunities by committing to work on a degree program (Masters or PhD) with a specific professor. Graduate students join a lab in an apprentice role and receive intensive training, research experience, and mentorship within the professor’s (PI) theoretical and methodological area of expertise (Conti & Liu, 2015). This expertise is often highly specialized and difficult to obtain elsewhere. PIs train graduate students in many different ways, such as through traditional classroom teaching, independent studies, in-field and in-lab hands-on training opportunities on the PI’s research projects, and supporting and supervising the development and execution of the student’s own projects. PIs also provide graduate students with: 1) relevant resources (e.g., laboratory space and equipment, access to field sites, a team to work with) and 2) experiences (e.g., mentoring undergraduate students, working on publications) that prepare students for a scientific research career.
Graduate students may be supported for their lab research efforts through research fellowships and/or hourly pay and/or research credits and/or technical training and publication opportunities. In Purdue’s Anthropology department, most graduate students are funded through TAships. Funding for student projects (e.g., theses and dissertations) is not guaranteed. Most student research efforts are compensated via course credits that contribute toward their degree (e.g., theses and dissertations). However, by working in labs, graduate students gain crucial hands-on training and research experiences that cannot be gained outside of the lab setting. Furthermore, most scientific theses and dissertation projects cannot be executed outside of a specific lab and/or field setting. Graduate students who are not willing or able to commit to this intensive training regime should not generally join research labs.
Graduate school (in the research sciences) is a full time commitment. Students should expect to spend at least 40 hours a week engaged in all collective “graduate school activities” (teaching, taking classes, doing research, doing service). This is the norm for graduate-level scientific training; in fact, 70% of 3,253 respondents to a Nature graduate-student survey say they spend more than 40 hours a week working on their graduate program https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03419-8). For example, there may be periods of intense collaboration (e.g., a deadline for a manuscript or a grant proposal) in which extra hours, sometimes outside of normal business hours, are required. If the student desires, these extra hours can be offset by taking a lighter workload after the deadline passes. Graduate students are not required to work over 40 hours nor outside of normal business hours, but those who do not, may miss out on opportunities to be part of research activities that require extra time and effort (e.g., grants and publications). Academic rewards are proportional to the effort that students put in.
How is laboratory training organized?
All students’ assignments and activities fall under the PI’s discretion. A student may be assigned to work on one project, or they may be given tasks across multiple projects. All graduate students and some undergraduate students will also be tasked with developing their own projects under supervision of the PI. PIs will generally assign projects and activities based on the student’s prior experience, research interests, and training goals. PIs also must logistically consider the number of hours a student has committed to work in the lab, and their scheduled hours in the lab, when developing student training activities and projects. Lab research is predominantly conducted in person because it is a team effort and usually requires the use of university/PI resources. It is therefore crucial that students commit to spending enough hours in the lab to fulfill their commitments and achieve their goals (e.g., completing internship or independent coursework requirements, completing a degree, acquiring the training to achieve longer-term research goals).
In addition to direct PI-student interactions, many labs utilize a “cascading mentorship” model. Under this model, “members of laboratories or research groups receiving mentorship from more senior laboratory members and providing it to more junior members (i.e., PIs mentor postdocs, postdocs mentor senior graduate students, senior students mentor junior students, etc.) (Feldon et al., 2019).” Under this model, frequent and collaborative interactions are favored; these are best facilitated in collaborative in-person settings (Rosen & Kelly 2022).
When does laboratory training happen?
Much training happens within the normal workweek (e.g., 8:00 or 9:00 am to 5:00 pm in the U.S.). PIs try to organize activities, to the best of their ability, during these hours when more team members are available. PIs understand that students have other responsibilities (classes, family, teaching, self-care, etc.), so student’s lab hours are developed in collaboration with the PI to ensure that the student’s other responsibilities are met. However, it is crucial that students stick, to the best of their ability, to the agreed upon hours. Many activities are interdependent and collaborative, especially for time-sensitive procedures (see below). Therefore, one person’s unexpected absence can negatively affect other lab members' activities and overall lab productivity. This does not preclude scheduled time off (e.g., vacations, conferences), which is acceptable and should be scheduled with the PI as far in advance as possible. It also does not preclude illness and emergencies when students have to call out short notice.
While much lab work occurs during normal work hours, experimental, wet lab, and fieldwork activities do not always adhere to a predictable schedule. In fact, this work is inherently unpredictable. Even in the most productive and established labs, things don’t always go as planned (e.g., equipment malfunction,, failed assay, a field vehicle breaks down or gets stuck). There are also some standard lab protocols that require researchers to be available outside of “normal” work hours. These activities tend to be time-sensitive (e.g., you cannot leave for the weekend in the middle of many experiments, you cannot stop running an assay just because it is 5:00pm). Students joining labs must understand that this time sensitive procedures and unpredictability are part of the work and prepare to be as flexible as possible.
Students must communicate with PIs and other lab members frequently and early, when possible, should time conflicts arise. Almost all lab activities can be scheduled to minimize conflicts by planning in advance; it is often possible to rearrange the protocols or schedule with advance warning of a time conflict. However, it is extremely frustrating to PIs and other researchers when a team member is habitually uncommunicative and unreliable. Because lab work is collaborative and often time sensitive, it is important that students generally (barring emergencies and exceptional circumstances) commit to regular work hours and to occasionally working outside of 9-5. Graduate students are not required to work outside of normal business hours, but those who do not, may miss out on opportunities to be a part of research activities that require extra time and effort (e.g., grants and publications). Academic rewards are proportional to the effort that students put in.
What are the benefits of training graduate students using the lab model?
Working on faculty projects
A quasi-experimental study of graduate students in research-focused graduate degree programs (science or engineering) recruited from three public universities in the USA. They concluded that “students who co-authored with faculty mentors were likely to develop significantly higher levels of research skills than students who did not. In addition, less than half of the participants reported having such experiences, suggesting that increased emphasis on this practice amongst faculty could enhance graduate student learning outcomes.” (Feldon et al., 2016). Another study of 119 PIs and 5694 laboratory members showed that the presence of graduate students significantly increased the likelihood of publications in these high-impact journals (Conti & Liu, 2015).
Co-authorship is a form of professional preparation that increases scholarly productivity and makes students more competitive on the job market. However, it requires substantial commitment on the part of the student. Considerable time, effort, and training are required to meet criteria for authorship, especially for high-impact journal articles.
“Cascading Mentorship”
One exploratory study from a molecular life science research group at a large public research university showed that “Graduate/postdoctoral mentors (of undergraduates) experienced a wide range of gains, including improved qualifications and career preparation, cognitive and socioemotional growth, improved teaching and communication skills, and greater enjoyment of their own apprenticeship experience (Dolan & Johnson, 2009). Another notable benefit is that in many labs, undergraduates assist graduate students, and help collect/generate data and/or otherwise execute the graduate student’s research project/s. This helps the graduate student collect/generate far more data than they could on their own. Furthermore, another study showed that “the cascading mentorship model accounts best for doctoral student skill development in a longitudinal study of 336 PhD students in the United States. Specifically, when postdocs and senior doctoral students actively participate in laboratory discussions, junior PhD students are over 4 times as likely to have positive skill development trajectories….” (Feldon et al., 2019). Cascading mentorship provides numerous professional benefits to postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. This training model is most effective and productive when team members commit to regular, in-person interactions in laboratory spaces.
Team-Based Learning
One study of a U.S. engineering research group measured student competency in: “presenting research, receiving and responding to feedback, solving problems and troubleshooting problems. Students’ learning was optimally facilitated by the practices and activities of the research group (e.g. weekly full group and subgroup meetings) and mediated through the interactions with others (i.e. peers, faculty supervisor and lab manager) (Burt, 2017). Another study of research teams at a National Science Laboratory showed that team cohesion was associated with greater productivity (peer-reviewed publications) (Stvilia et al., 2011). Furthermore, graduate students can use the opportunity to learn (from others and through direct experience), how to successfully navigate complex and collaborative working environments, which is critical for success in the academic sciences (Antes & Maggi, 2021). Team-based learning provides vital career preparation for graduate students pursuing careers in the sciences. It is most effective and productive when team members commit to regular, in-person interactions in laboratory spaces.
How can students positively contribute to laboratory environments?
Graduate students reap many benefits from training in a laboratory environment. There are a number of ways in which graduate students can be good “lab citizens” and contribute positively to lab cohesion and productivity (see table below).
Copied from Rillig 2022
References
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Burt, B. A. (2017). Learning competencies through engineering research group experiences. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 8(1), 48-64.
Conti, A., & Liu, C. C. (2015). Bringing the lab back in: Personnel composition and scientific output at the MIT Department of Biology. Research Policy, 44(9), 1633-1644.
Dolan, E., Johnson, D. Toward a Holistic View of Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Impact on Graduate/Postdoctoral Mentors. J Sci Educ Technol 18, 487–500 (2009).
Feldon, David F., Kathan D. Shukla, and Michelle Anne Maher. "Faculty–student coauthorship as a means to enhance STEM graduate students’ research skills." International Journal for Researcher Development 7.2 (2016): 178-191.
Feldon, D. F., Litson, K., Jeong, S., Blaney, J. M., Kang, J., Miller, C., ... & Roksa, J. (2019). Postdocs’ lab engagement predicts trajectories of PhD students’ skill development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(42), 20910-20916.
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Rosen, D. J., & Kelly, A. M. (2022). Working together or alone, near, or far: Social connections and communities of practice in in-person and remote physics laboratories. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 18(1), 010105.
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