Equitable fieldwork workshop series

I developed this 5-part workshop series in Fall 2024 with feed back from members of the MVZ Fieldwork Safety working group and the IB Field Safety Committee. The series is meant to help participants reflect on and continue to invest in equitable fieldwork practices with forward-looking, active-learning, and goal-oriented approaches. The workshop is based on Ramírez-Castañeda et al. (2022).

Goals

1. Be able to describe your own view of equitable fieldwork. Identify challenges and opportunities in terms of equitable collaborations that are specific to one's own field program and common across multiple programs.

2. Be able to describe participatory-action / community-serving research. Identify challenges and opportunities in terms of relating with and working with people local to field sites that are specific to one's own field program and common across programs.

3. Gain an understanding of the complexity of the permitting landscape. Identify challenges and opportunities in terms of legal requirements that are specific to one's own field program and common across multiple programs.

4. Understand why field safety is an equity issue. Identify challenges and opportunities in terms of ensuring safety that are specific to one's own field program and common across multiple programs.

Equitable fieldwork tools

In Ramírez-Castañeda et al. (2022), we included an extensive set of supplementary documents and tools. See the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122667119

Field safety plan template - Use to assess and mitigate risks for a field trip or field research program. Centralize vital trip information including emergency contacts and check-in plan. Contains extensive first-aid guidelines for field research risks and links to other relevant information.

Scientific Permit Checklist and Flow Chart for USA-based Regulations - Use to identify possible permits and regulations that apply to your research. Contains links to other relevant information.

Poster of the four principles in English (Be collaborative, Be respectful, Be legal, and Be safe). - Print and hang in your office building.

Poster of the four principles in Spanish (Colabora, Sé respetuosx, Mantén la legalidad, y Manténte a salvo). - Print and hang in your office building.

Supplementary appendix

• Translations of the paper abstract into Bahasa Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Chinese

• Positionality statements of the authors

• Box S1. Questions for further discussion.

• Box S2. How can we give back to the communities where we work?

• Box S3. Example fieldwork scenarios for discussion

• Table S1. A list of 58 peer-reviewed manuscripts and testimonials on issues related to fieldwork in biological sciences and other fields.

Burnout discussion guide

I developed this while I was the Director of Berkeley Connect in Integrative Biology. I have since used it as a lab meeting activity. It takes approximately 1 hour. You can ask participants to read the readings out loud at the beginning of the discussion or assign them prior to the meeting.

Goals

1. Be able to describe several types of burnout and their symptoms

2. Be able to identify the causes of your own burnout

3. Generate some approaches to address the cause of burnout and start on the path of recovery

Imposter syndrome discussion guide

I developed this while I was the Director of Berkeley Connect in Integrative Biology. I have since used it as an activity in lab meeting and in a seminar. It takes approximately 1 hour but requires some reading in advance.

Goals

1. Review several perspectives on imposter syndrome

2. Share opinions and experiences on imposter syndrome with peers and mentors

3. Reformulate what imposter syndrome means to you

Mentorship assessment tool

This document was first developed by the MVZ Mentorship working group (Austin Patton, Erin Person, Bree Rosenblum, Erin Voss, Lawrence Wang) in 2020. I made some modifications with feedback from my students. I now use this for all incoming graduate students and postdocs. I ask them to fill out their section independently from me. I also fill it out without seeing their answers. Students and postdocs may need to be reminded that they should answer with their preferences, not their expectations. It takes about 15 minutes to fill out and then around 30 minutes to discuss.

Goals

1. Identify where communication and mentoring styles, preferences, and priorities align or conflict between mentee and mentor

2. Find places to compromise, clarify expectations, and identify needs for additional support

3. Create a training environment with clear expectations so as to reduce the risk of conflict and stress

Annual bi-directional assessment tool

For Mentees | For Mentors

This document was first developed by the MVZ Mentorship working group (Austin Patton, Erin Person, Bree Rosenblum, Erin Voss, Lawrence Wang) in 2020. I made some modifications with feedback from my students. I now use this annually for all graduate students starting in their second year. I ask them to fill out their section first, then I review it before writing my assessment. I have found this to be an extremely useful exercise that helps foster trust and diffuse conflict. It takes about 1 hour to fill out (for mentor and for mentee) and 1.5-2 hours to discuss its contents. I find that if I have multiple students I have to space out discussions because they can be emotionally taxing.

Goals

1. Normalize transparency, planning, clear communication, and accountability in the mentor-mentee relationship

2. Identify and diffuse possible issues before they become bigger problems

3. Help prioritize long-term planning for the mentee

4. Iteratively improve the mentor-mentee relationship over time