MENTORING IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY - STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF TRAINING IN PUBLICATION AND PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

A seven-item survey on training and ethics in publication and conference presentation was sent to 406 student members of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP). Students used a 5-point scale (1 = very poor to 5 = excellent) to rate the training and experience received from advisors and professors. Items included exposure to some formal ethical guidelines of publishing and authorship, explanation of the importance of publications and conference presentations, demonstration of enthusiasm toward student publishing or presenting at conferences, and receiving appropriate authorship (e.g., first, second, third) on publications or conference presentations. Return rate was 43%. Results show that although a majority of students feel they are receiving fair to excellent training in this area, a substantial number believe their training is inadequate. This suggests a need for more formal training and guidance in publication and conference presentation for graduate students in psychology and physical education/exercise science programs.