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Research with Undergraduates

Research with Undergraduates. Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado Jon Lewis, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Early Career Workshop 2011. Type of Department? Undergraduate Only?. The Frustration Research progresses – slowly! Scope of projects is limited You’re on your own.

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Research with Undergraduates

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  1. Research with Undergraduates Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado Jon Lewis, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Early Career Workshop 2011

  2. Type of Department? Undergraduate Only? • The Frustration • Research progresses – slowly! • Scope of projects is limited • You’re on your own The Joy • Combines research & teaching • Research moves forward • “Grow your own” colleagues Early Career Workshop 2011

  3. Type of Department? Graduate Program? • The Challenges • Finding viable tasks requires careful consideration • Mentoring takes time • Can distract graduate students The Benefits • Your graduate student trainees grow as mentors • Provides “broader impacts” • Creates multi-level synergy Early Career Workshop 2011

  4. Reflection What do you want students to gain from the research experience? Early Career Workshop 2011

  5. Who is the student? Does she work better independently or in a small group? Would she work better with more direction or more freedom? What’s her motivation for doing a research project? Early Career Workshop 2011

  6. Who are you? Do you see yourself as a mentor, supervisor, employer, colleague…? Is there an institutional expectation that you advise students on research projects? Will the project complement your own research? Early Career Workshop 2011

  7. Key question for any undergraduate project Is the research project "do-able" in the allotted time given the student's ability and motivation level and his/her other responsibilities? Early Career Workshop 2011

  8. Project Design Tip One approach to group or multi-year projects is for students to work on different pieces of a larger project. Example: Characterizing a formation Measuring stratigraphic section Tracing marker horizons Analyzing textures Doing pebble counts Identifying fossils Describing core Early Career Workshop 2011

  9. Project Design Tip Consider adapting some of your research to questions that can be addressed in local field areas or using in-house instrumentation. Early Career Workshop 2011

  10. Project Design Tip Successful projects often investigate significant rather than trivial problems Many are worthy of presentation at conferences or contributions to papers Early Career Workshop 2011

  11. Your Tips What have you found to work well when working with undergraduate researchers? What questions do you have about designing projects with undergraduates? Early Career Workshop 2011

  12. Research Proposals Benefits Student gains ownership Student and advisor work together to focus project May be used to secure funds (internal or external) May be used to determine if a student should be allowed to do a project or be considered for honors • Suggestions for proposal • Clearly state thesis • Explain the significance • Outline the methods, timetable, and expected results • Indicate needed materials and funds • Cite relevant references Early Career Workshop 2011

  13. Research Contracts Makes explicit expectations for both student and advisor May include: Project title and overall goal Research and learning objectives Start and end date of project Dates to accomplish specific objectives Dates for training, material acquisition, field work, instrument time Safety considerations Responsibilities of student and advisor Deliverables (map, paper, presentation…) Evaluation plan Early Career Workshop 2011

  14. Guidelines for Co-authorship As a rule of thumb, to merit co-authorship on a peer-reviewed paper, participants (undergraduate or otherwise) should have contributed significantly to at least 2 of the following project components: • idea for &design of the project • data collection • data interpretation &writing Early Career Workshop 2011

  15. Acknowledgments This presentation draws on material put together for previous Early Career workshops by: Jim Ebert (SUNY Oneota) Rebecca Ambers (Sweet Briar College) Rachel Beane (Bowdoin College) Ann Bykerk-Kauffman (California State University, Chico) Julia Sankey (California State University, Stanislaus) Kristen St. John (James Madison University) Steven Wojtal (Oberlin College) Early Career Workshop 2011

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