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The Return of “The Research Mentor” Column

Jonathan D. Eldredge, PhD, AHIP, FMLA, Associate Editora

aProfessor and Evidence-Based Practice Librarian, Health Sciences Library and
Informatics Center, School of Medicine, College of Population Health, University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3132-9450 ,

jeldredge@salud.unm.edu

Mentoring generally consists of a complex, multifaceted relationship between a more
professionally experienced colleague and a less experienced colleague.1,2 While a mentor
might be more mature biologically, there are plenty of exceptions in the everyday work
life of information practitioners.

Between 2008 and 2014 the author edited “The Research Mentor” column as a regular
feature in Hypothesis. Web analytics and direct feedback suggested that it was a
popular column. The titles of individual columns reveal the subjects and tone of the 12
installments of this column:

Finding time for research. 2008
Interview with library researcher Jo Dorsch. 2008
Interview with library researcher Gary Byrd. 2009
The Institutional Review Board (IRB): a primer. 2009
Authorship part one: defining the article author. 2009
Authorship part two: order of authors. 2010
Creativity in research: an introduction. 2010
Creativity in research, part 2: classifying creativity. 2011
Creativity in research, Part 3: age and creative potential. 2012
Interview with Phillip Eaton, M.D., on creativity in research. 2012
Top-ranked research questions and systematic reviews. 2013
The long reach of a mentor’s influence. 2014

Most of these columns were either authored or co-authored by the editor (JE). The
column editor sought to provide useful guidance for less experienced researchers in
these columns. At the time he was one of only a few researchers in the ranks of the
health information practitioners experienced with a diversity of study designs and with
conducting numerous research projects. He stepped down from his column editorship
mostly due to adverse circumstances at his own workplace that required his full
attention. A succession of Hypothesis editors asked him to resuscitate “The Research
Mentor” column since 2014. The current Hypothesis Editor, Margaret Hoogland,
prevailed in persuading him to re-launch the column.

The new column will continue to offer advice to researchers. The column for this issue
explains some fundamental concepts in research statistics. Future columns might cover
formulating research questions, selecting an appropriate research study design, aligning
one’s own research with institutional priorities, assembling a research team, selecting a

1

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3132-9450
https://orcid.org/
mailto:jeldredge@salud.unm.edu


Hypothesis , Vol. 34, No. 1, 2022

research population, recruiting study participants, identifying grant sources, managing
multisite research studies, preparing a conference poster, presenting a conference paper,
selecting an appropriate journal to publish one’s research results, interacting with
journal editors, handling feedback from editorial peer reviewers, and reaching as many
potential readers as possible. If you would like to author a column on one of these
topics or another possible topic, please email the Column Editor at
jeldredge@salud.unm.edu

Jon Eldredge, PhD
Associate Editor,
University of New Mexico.

References

1. Johnson WB. On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. Mahwah
(NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2007.
2. Ragins BR, Kram KE. The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and
practice. Los Angeles (CA): Sage Publications; 2007.

2

mailto:jeldredge@salud.unm.edu

