Project 2 Outline: The Impact of Role Models on STEM Career Aspirations

Supervisor(s)

Dr Irina Merkurieva (Department of Economics), Professor Malinda Carpenter (School of Psychology and Neuroscience),  Dr Margaret Leighton (Department of Economics),

Project description

This project aims to investigate whether reading about female role models can enhance girls’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. There are two parts to the project:

First, the student will conduct an intervention designed to boost 11-year-old girls’ sense of belonging in STEM. The study participants will read a specially designed book featuring engaging biographies and relatable photographs of women working in STEM, including images from their childhood. Participants will then write a short essay envisioning their lives at age 25. The effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed by comparing the essays from the study participants and a control group who did not read the book.

Second, the essays will be analysed using natural language processing and artificial intelligence tools to identify shifts in aspirations and career interests after reading the book. The model will be trained using data from the British Cohort Studies, particularly the National Child Development Survey, which includes a collection of over 10,000 similar essays written by 11-year-olds. This dataset will enable a comparison between the aspirations expressed in the essays and actual education and employment outcomes over time.

This project will contribute to understanding how role models can shape aspirations and career choices, providing insights into potential interventions for increasing diversity in STEM fields.

Skills & Requirements

We seek a highly motivated candidate with a good undergraduate degree in any social science discipline and some experience with data analysis software (e.g., SPSS or Stata). Candidates with a background in computer science or data science are also welcome to apply. Prior experience with coding is not required for this project; however, the successful candidate should be enthusiastic to undertake basic training in a language such as Python, in order to use natural language processing and artificial intelligence tools. Additional training in working with children will be provided by the supervisors. The successful candidate will need to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme to work with children, with associated costs covered by the project.

Further details and application process

This project has been awarded St Andrews Business School Research Bursary of £1000 for research expenses. If you are planning to apply for this project, first contact the supervisors, Dr Irina Merkurieva ([email protected]), Professor Malinda Carpenter ([email protected]), Dr Margaret Leighton ([email protected]), to discuss eligibility and obtain approval. Once an agreement is reached, you can proceed to submit your formal application.