home - login - register

Journal Article Detail Page

Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
written by Katherine P. Dabney and Robert H. Tai
The majority of existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research studies compare women to men, yet a paucity of research exists that examines what differentiates female career choice within the physical sciences. In light of these research trends and recommendations, this study examines the following question: On average, do females who select physics as compared to chemistry doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field? This question is analyzed using variables from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n=1137). A logistic regression analysis and prototypical odds ratio uncover what differentiates women in the physical sciences based on their academic achievement and experiences ranging from high school through undergraduate education. Results indicate that females who have negative undergraduate chemistry experiences as well as higher grades and positive experiences in undergraduate physics are more likely to pursue a career in physics as opposed to chemistry. Conclusions suggest that a greater emphasis should be placed on the classroom experiences that are provided to females in gateway physics courses. Analyses show that women are not a single entity that should only be examined as a whole group or in comparison to men. Instead women can be compared to one another to see what influences their differences in educational experiences and career choice in STEM-based fields as well as other academic areas of study.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Applied Research
- Careers
Education - Basic Research
- Achievement
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
Other Sciences
- Chemistry
- Graduate/Professional
- Reference Material
= Research study
PER-Central Type Intended Users Ratings
- PER Literature
- Researchers
  • Currently 0.0/5

Want to rate this material?
Login here!


Formats:
application/pdf
text/html
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:
American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104
NSF Numbers:
1010935
0440002
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created July 27, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
June 1, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
February 3, 2014
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
K. Dabney and R. Tai, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10 (1), 010104 (2014), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104).
AJP/PRST-PER
K. Dabney and R. Tai, Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10 (1), 010104 (2014), <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104>.
APA Format
Dabney, K., & Tai, R. (2014, February 3). Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 10(1), 010104. Retrieved December 3, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104
Chicago Format
Dabney, Katherine, and Robert Tai. "Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10, no. 1, (February 3, 2014): 010104, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104 (accessed 3 December 2024).
MLA Format
Dabney, Katherine, and Robert Tai. "Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10.1 (2014): 010104. 3 Dec. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Katherine Dabney and Robert Tai", Title = {Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {10}, Number = {1}, Pages = {010104}, Month = {February}, Year = {2014} }
Refer Export Format

%A Katherine Dabney %A Robert Tai %T Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 10 %N 1 %D February 3, 2014 %P 010104 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Dabney, Katherine %A Tai, Robert %D February 3, 2014 %T Comparative analysis of female physicists in the physical sciences: Motivation and background variables %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 10 %N 1 %P 010104 %8 February 3, 2014 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010104


Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

Save to my folders

Contribute

Similar Materials