Undergraduate Research Highlights – Fall 2018

Undergraduate research in higher education has become a movement linked to institutional efforts at integrating high-impact practices and infusing transformative learning. University of Central Oklahoma’s Diverse Student Scholars (DSS) is one such program of faculty mentorship that is hosted by a department of marketing within a college of business. This article overviews DSS and introduces a five-faceted model of student transformation from embedded research mentorship in marketing courses. Based on DSS student reflections, the data suggest that embedded research mentorship generates student transformation in five areas: a transformed research mindset, personal self-discovery, applied career development, team preparation and appreciation, and reflective and corrective growth.

For new-majority students (traditionally underrepresented minority, first-generation, and low-income students) who are less likely to have access to support systems, learning how to navigate the often hidden facets of academia can be a challenge. Providing programming that helps students learn how to navigate the academic landscape as they undertake undergraduate research (UR) increases understanding of the hidden curriculum and helps newmajority researchers chart a course through academia, develop higher educational aspirations, and prepare for graduate school. To demonstrate the effectiveness of these interventions, the authors use a mixed-methods approach, including testing common misconceptions, students’ written reflections on their learning, and survey data. Findings suggest that the inclusion of programming explicitly designed to shed light on the hidden curriculum increases the impact of UR and can better prepare students for graduate school and the workforce.

The authors reflect on the outcomes of the first World Congress on Undergraduate Research, held at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar, on November 13–15, 2016.

The authors surveyed faculty (n = 239) at three diverse institutions to probe perceived motivations for and barriers to involvement in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity (URSCA) across scholarly disciplines. URSCA mentors were significantly more likely than nonparticipants to express proficiency in involving students in their research/creative activities, to acknowledge student contributions to their scholarly work, and to state that URSCA mentoring should be considered in personnel decisions. More than half perceived that their institutions did not place sufficient value on mentoring URSCA. Results suggested that institutional URSCA cultures could be enhanced by building mentoring into faculty workload, tenure materials, and promotion documents; using early, course-based research to improve student readiness; providing faculty development on research mentoring aimed at underrepresented disciplines; and seeking novel funding sources targeted at faculty-mentored URSCA.

Underrepresented students have less knowledge of research experiences available on campus and are less likely to feel supported by faculty than represented students. To address these issues and increase the number of underrepresented undergraduate researchers, faculty at the College of William & Mary created the William & Mary Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience (WMSURE). Community-based and participatory research methods were used to work with students in developing research questions and in collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data about their academic and personal experiences. This led to the development of academic and research advising services, workshops, faculty education, and research funding to support underrepresented students. This article evaluates the program. Results suggest that the WMSURE program has increased research opportunities and feelings of support on campus.

For many college students, joining a research group is a critical step toward developing strong mentor-mentee relationships that help shape their science identities and research self-efficacy. ReBUILDetroit, a program that seeks to diversify the biomedical research workforce, uses a scaffolded process to help its scholars transition into research. The first-year curriculum includes a research methods course and a course-based undergraduate research experience that prepare ReBUILDetroit Scholars for entering a research group. Curricular and cocurricular elements prepare scholars for faculty interactions and diminish barriers that might otherwise prevent diverse students from obtaining these research experiences. The program facilitates research placements through student coaching and speed-pairing events. Quantitative and qualitative data on the scholars show strong perceived gains in science identity, enhanced research self-efficacy, and greater research preparedness.