What makes a physicist, and who gets to call themselves one?

Despite ongoing efforts, inequity in physics participation is observed at all levels of study and employment across the United Kingdom. Extensive research shows that physics identity is strongly correlated to persistence in physics, however the role of participating in physics communities - engaging in their practices and norms - in forming an identity as a physicist is largely underexplored. This talk will review some highlights of my PhD research, which seeks to understand the key practices that result in the formation of a strong identity as a physicist, and how access to these practices can be facilitated, or indeed inhibited, though pedagogy. Through a mixed methods analysis incorporating narrative inquiry, discourse and conversation analysis, and statistical techniques, we provide a nuanced, in-depth exploration of the question - what really makes a physicist?

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