Gaining Confidence, Experience, and Knowledge as Researchers among Undergraduate Sociology Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 0092055X2110336
Author(s):  
Stephanie Medley-Rath ◽  
Rebekah Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
American Sociological Association ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Full Sample ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
High Impact Practice ◽  
Post Assessment

Advanced undergraduate students struggle with executing complete research projects that involve data collection and analysis. Research indicates that engaging in undergraduate research is a high-impact practice. The American Sociological Association recommends that sociology majors engage in research beyond their research methods and statistics courses. We used a pre-/post-assessment model across three semesters in all upper-level undergraduate sociology courses at our institution. The assessment measured confidence, knowledge, and experience with research methods. Fifty-eight students completed at least one pre-/post-assessment pair. Of those, 27 students completed two pre-/post-assessments. No students completed three pre-/post-assessments. We find that experience and confidence had statistically significant increases at each survey point. Knowledge increased but was statistically significant for only two groups: the full sample on the first post-assessment (N = 58) and the students with two assessment pairs on their second post-assessment (N = 27) who participated across two semesters.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research as a High Impact Practice in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Shari Lanning ◽  
Mark Brown
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Initiatives ◽  
High Impact Practice

Higher education research indicates that student engagement is the most critical factor in retention programs for undergraduate students (Upcraft, Gardner and Barefoot, 2005; Tinto, 2012; Pascarella, Seifert, and Whitt, 2008). These studies illustrate that if students do not feel engaged, they are at high risk for leaving their institution prematurely. Among high impact practices, undergraduate research has been shown to have the most positive effects with regard to promoting student engagement (Kuh, 2018; Kuh, 2008). Herein we highlight the use of mentored research as a high impact practice in undergraduate education, Further, we call upon the education community to share their models, approaches, observations, and research findings related to undergraduate research initiatives.

scholarly journals Learning by Doing: Mentoring Group-Based Undergraduate Research Projects in an Upper-Level Political Science Course

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (01) ◽  
pp. 128-131
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
High Impact Practice

ABSTRACTUndergraduate research (UGR) is a “high-impact practice” that has been consistently shown to effectively promote desirable student-learning outcomes (SLOs) including critical thinking, logic, written and oral communication, problem solving, and interpretation of evidence, especially among minority and disadvantaged students. Mentoring quality UGR experiences in regular upper-level political science courses, however, is a difficult and time-consuming activity. This article describes an attempt to provide an intensive, semester-long, and group-based UGR experience in an upper-level American politics course. It discusses how this experience was designed to deliberately foster specific institutional UGR SLOs and summarizes student perceptions of the overall effectiveness of the experience.

scholarly journals Mixing Research Methods in Health Professional Degrees: Thoughts for Undergraduate Students and Supervisors

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Anaf ◽  
Lorraine Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Clinical Research ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Professional Degrees ◽  
Practical Level

This commentary considers some of the challenges of applying mixed methods research in undergraduate research degrees, especially in professions with a clinical health focus. Our experience in physiotherapy academia is used as an example. Mixed methods research is increasingly appreciated in its own right as a “third paradigm,” however the success of educating novice researchers in mixing methods requires reflection on a range of theoretical and practical issues. We explore some of the under- reported features of mixed methods on a theoretical level, including the use of terminology, and the challenge of research “labels,” and on a practical level, the benefits of including mixing methods in clinical research and the issue of appropriate examination.

scholarly journals Adding an Integrated Library Component to an Undergraduate Research Methods Course

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (01) ◽  
pp. 112-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie K. Gilbert ◽  
Katherine Knutson ◽  
Christopher P. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Student Information ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAs undergraduate students increasingly rely on the Internet as their primary method for gathering sources, they often overlook the rich and varied resources available to them in library collections. Furthermore, students often lack the sophistication to effectively seek out and use information, an ability generally referred to as information literacy. Political scientists and librarians at one institution sought to address the gap in student information literacy skills by creating and implementing a semester-long library lab component integrated into the required research methods course within the political science department. This article presents the steps taken to implement the lab component, including the student learning outcomes we sought to address. We also focus on the measures we used to assess the impact of the lab component. Students who participated in the lab component demonstrate markedly improved information literacy skills compared to those who did not.

For the Undergraduate Research Methods Course

1987 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-170
Author(s):  
William J. Froming
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Methods Course

Making Undergraduate Research a Central Strategy in High-Impact Practice Reform: The PASSHE Journey

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (169) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Moran III ◽  
Marilyn J. Wells ◽  
Angela Smith-Aumen
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
High Impact Practice

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research Program to Recycle Composite Waste

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Waleed Ahmed ◽  
Essam Zaneldin ◽  
Amged Al Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Compressive Strength ◽  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Modulus Of Elasticity ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Undergraduate Research Program ◽  
Structural Applications ◽  
Cfrp Composite

With the rapid growth in the manufacturing industry and increased urbanization, higher amounts of composite material waste are being produced, causing severe threats to the environment. These environmental concerns, coupled with the fact that undergraduate students typically have minimal experience in research, have initiated the need at the UAE University to promote research among undergraduate students, leading to the development of a summer undergraduate research program. In this study, a recycling methodology is presented to test lab-fabricated Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) for potential applications in industrial composite waste. The work was conducted by two groups of undergraduate students at the UAE University. The methodology involved the chemical dissolution of the composite waste, followed by compression molding and adequate heat treatment for rapid curing of CFRP. Subsequently, the CFRP samples were divided into three groups based on their geometrical distinctions. The mechanical properties (i.e., modulus of elasticity and compressive strength) were determined through material testing, and the results were then compared with steel for prompt reference. The results revealed that the values of mechanical properties range from 2 to 4.3 GPa for the modulus of elasticity and from 203.7 to 301.5 MPa for the compressive strength. These values are considered competitive and optimal, and as such, carbon fiber waste can be used as an alternate material for various structural applications. The inconsistencies in the values are due to discrepancies in the procedure as a result of the lack of specialized equipment for handling CFRP waste material. The study concluded that the properties of CFRP composite prepreg scrap tend to be reusable instead of disposable. Despite the meager experimental discrepancies, test values and mechanical properties indicate that CFRP composite can be successfully used as a material for nonstructural applications.

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