scholarly journals Intellectual Growth For Undergraduate Students: Evaluation Results From An Undergraduate Research Conference

Author(s):  
Sharyn J. Potter ◽  
Eleanor Abrams ◽  
Lisa Townson ◽  
Cameron Wake ◽  
Julie E. Williams

We describe the development and evaluation of the university-wide, weeklong undergraduate research conference at the University of New Hampshire.  Despite increases nationally in the number of undergraduate research conferences (URC), there has been little research examining the social and educational impact of these events on student presenters. We describe the development and evaluation of the university-wide, weeklong URC at the University of New Hampshire. A survey administered to URC participants over a four year period revealed that research culminating in a presentation at the URC was one of the more influential events students experienced during their undergraduate years and students realized a high level of satisfaction from presenting at the URC.

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 566-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Kliewer ◽  
Amalia Monroe-Gulick ◽  
Stephanie Gamble ◽  
Erik Radio

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to observe how undergraduate students approach open-ended searching for a research assignment, specifically as it affected their use of the discovery interface Primo. Design/methodology/approach In total, 30 undergraduate students were provided with a sample research assignment and instructed to find resources for it using web tools of their choice, followed by the Primo discovery tool. Students were observed for 30 minutes. A survey was provided at the end to solicit additional feedback. Sources students found were evaluated for relevance and utility. Findings Students expressed a high level of satisfaction with Primo despite some difficulty navigating through more complicated tasks. Despite their interest in the tool and previous exposure to it, it was usually not the first discovery tool students used when given the research assignment. Students approached the open-ended search environment much like they would with a commercial search engine. Originality/value This paper focused on an open-ended search environment as opposed to a known-item scenario in order to assess students’ preferences for web search tools and how a library discovery layer such as Primo was a part of that situation. Evaluation of the resources students found relevant were also analyzed to determine to what degree the students understood the level of quality they exhibited and from which tool they were obtained.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Kneale ◽  
Andrew Edwards-Jones ◽  
Helen Walkington ◽  
Jennifer Hill

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the undergraduate research conference as its sphere of study and investigate the impact of significance of participation and socialisation in such activities on student attitudes and professional development. Using situated learning to theoretically position the undergraduate research conference as an authentic learning context, connection is also made with the concept of graduate attributes. Design/methodology/approach The Vitae (2014) Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is used to provide a template for charting the experiences and development of undergraduate students as researchers. This can be applied to short-term activities and programmes and to long-term career plans. The insights from 90 undergraduate students participating in three national undergraduate research conferences were obtained through interviews, and thematically analysed to map the students’ skills development against the RDF criteria. Findings Three main aspects of undergraduate research conference participation were considered particularly important by the students: the value of paper presentations, the value of poster presentations and the value of the overall conference experience. Within these themes, participants identified a wide range of skills and attributes they felt they had developed as a result of either preparing for or participating in the conferences. The majority of these skills and attributes could be mapped against the different domains of the RDF, using a public engagement lens for comparing actual with expected developmental areas. Research limitations/implications This research helps undergraduate research conference organisers construct programme content and form it in such a way that students’ skill development can be maximised prior to, and during, the course of an event. Learning developers can also use these findings to help understand the support needs of students preparing to deliver papers at such conferences. So far, little empirical research has examined students’ skills development within the undergraduate research conference arena. Originality/value The outcomes of this study show the diversity of the skills that students developed and the value of the conference format for offering networking practice and enhancing the communication skills which employers value.


Author(s):  
Abd AlKhaleq Muhammad Al-Zyoud

This study aimed at exploring the level of academic freedom at the Hashemite University in Jordan from the perspective of the undergraduate students, and whether there are impacts of the students’ gender, academic level, or specialization. The sample consisted of (376) undergraduate students (111 male, 265 female), who are registered at the university for the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020, from all faculties of the Hashemite University. The results showed that 25.5% of participants perceived a high level of academic freedom, 57.2% of participants perceived a moderate level, and 17.3% of them perceived a low level. Significant differences were found due to academic level; academic freedom perceived level among senior students was higher than all other years (freshmen, sophomores and juniors), but no significant differences were found due to students’ gender, or specialization. In light of the study results, the researcher recommends a number of recommendations such as: raising the awareness about the academic freedom among the students, faculty members, and the staff the Jordanian universities, conducting survey studies that measure the level of academic freedom among the students at various Jordanian universities, Supporting the academic freedom of the students at the institutions of higher education through deliberate and planned initiatives.


HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 993A-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim E. Hummer ◽  
Tom Davis ◽  
Hiroyuki Iketani ◽  
Hiroyuki Imanishi

Genetic resources of temperate berry crops were collected 7 to 27 July 2004 in Hokkaido, Japan, under a bilateral agreement between the United States and Japan. This expedition was a collaborative effort between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the University of New Hampshire, and Akita Prefectural College of Agriculture, Japan. Additional assistance was provided by the Hokkaido Governmental Plant Genetic Resources Center, several Forest Research Stations of the Hokkaido University, and private botanists. The expedition obtained 100 accessions encompassing eight genera and 29 species. In all, 84 seedlots, and 23 plants were obtained. The genera collected included: Actinidia, Fragaria, Lonicera, Morus, Ribes, Rubus, Sambucus, and Vaccinium. Plant and seed accessions from this trip are preserved and distributed from the USDA ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Ore., and from MAFF. The target genus for this expedition was Fragaria, so the trip was planned for July. Multiple samples of the two Japanese diploid strawberry species, Fragaria iinumae Makino and F. nipponica Makino (synonym = F. yezoensis H. Hara) were obtained during their prime ripening time. Ribes, Rubus, and Vaccinium fruits ripened later in the summer, but were collected when fruit were observed. Unfortunately, seeds of some of these accessions proved to be immature or nonviable upon extraction. We suggest that expeditions to collect these genera should be planned for late August. Morphological and molecular evaluation of collected germplasm is underway at the USDA ARS Corvallis Repository and at the University of New Hampshire.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Bushra Sabri ◽  
Mercedes Bern Klug

This study sought to identify the most commonly reported statistical methods in a section of the social work literature and demonstrate the need for including them in the statistical curricula for social work undergraduates. The authors reviewed 417 articles from Health & Social Work, Social Work, Social Work Research, and Children & Schools in 64 issues published from January 2005 to December 2008. The quantitative empirical research articles (47.9%; n=200) were then selected to ascertain the most frequently reported statistical methods, which were found to be correlation, regression, and chi procedures. This study's results may contribute to the knowledge of statistics usage in the social work literature and help to define vital emphases for undergraduate research courses in social work.


Author(s):  
Andrea Pozzali ◽  
Paolo Ferri

Developments in information and communication technologies have raised the issue of the intergenerational digital divide that can take place between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”. Despite emphatic claims concerning how educational systems must take into account the specific characteristics of “digital natives”, sound empirical research on these topics is lacking, especially for Europe. This paper presents the results of research performed during the course of 2008, studying how university students in Italy use digital technologies. The research is based on a survey of 1086 undergraduate students at the University of Milan-Bicocca, complemented by focus groups and in-depth interviews. The results of our research show that, even if university students are familiar with digital technologies, the general possession of high level skills in accessing and using the Internet should not be taken for granted.


1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Shor ◽  
Daniel C. Williams ◽  
R. Michael Latta ◽  
Lance K. Canon ◽  
Marilyn B. Shor

The purpose of this investigation was to study whether smokers and nonsmokers hold systematically different attitudes on tobacco smoking. Twenty-seven smoking-related Likert type attitude items were selected for analysis from a longer questionnaire that had been administered to sixty-one smoking and 246 nonsmoking college students at the University of New Hampshire. Both smokers and nonsmokers expressed highly similar unfavorable attitudes toward smoking but nonsmokers expressed those attitudes more strongly. With few exceptions the findings were found to hold over a considerable heterogeneity of item content. The hypothesis was generated that if investigators seek to find differences between smokers' and nonsmokers' attitudes that diverge from neutrality or uncertainty in different directions, they will for the most part fail. However, if they seek to find differences in the strength of such attitudes that are in the same direction of divergence, they will for the most part succeed.


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