What biologists do: Gaining insights into biologists’ work locations and scientific activities

Many students possess a stereotypical conception of scientists (only) doing experiments in a laboratory. There is consensus in science education literature that this conception is incomplete and inadequate. Adequate conceptions of scientists and their work are important in students’ learning and career choices. However, what can be defined as an adequate conception in this regard remains unclear. This study aims to provide insight into biologists’ self-reported activities and their work locations to generate a basis for further research. 94 biologists with various positions and from a range of biological research areas answered an online questionnaire. The biologists were asked to describe three of their main scientific activities and the corresponding work locations in detail. A category system was established, which includes eight activities (‘Investigative and Artistic’, ‘Teaching’, ‘Realistic’, ‘Publishing and Reviewing’, ‘Enterprising’, ‘Conventional’, ‘Networking’, ‘Learning’) and 14 locations, which were subsumed under three main locations (‘In the Research Institute’, ‘In the Field’, ‘Remote Workspaces’). The variety of activities and locations reported by the biologists is much broader than the stereotypical image of scientific work that students typically have.