Undergraduate Research Assistant Leadership for Rigorous, High Quality Research

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Suzanne Wood¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Toronto

关键词: undergraduate research experience (URE);    undergraduate publication;    teaching-research;    study drugs;    qualitative research and education;    teaching faculty;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00474

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Undergraduate research is an important experiential learning opportunity. Abundant previouswork has outlined the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates (e.g., Landrum andNelsen, 2002; Lopatto, 2004, 2007; although also see Linn et al., 2015). These include refinementof critical thinking skills and clarification of career goals (Seymour et al., 2004; Russell et al.,2007) as well as enhanced motivation to complete academic programs (Graham et al., 2013).Such benefits are found throughout science, engineering, and mathematics (Rodenbusch et al.,2016), particularly in underrepresented groups (Nagda et al., 1988; but see also Lopatto, 2004).The benefits to students seem clear, but what about the benefits to science? Can undergraduateresearch projects lead to data that is rigorous and worthy of publication? As a teaching streamfaculty member at a research-intensive university, my lab consists solely of undergraduate researchassistants. Allowing my students to take a leadership role over their projects, particularly projectsinvolving controversial or sensitive topics, has proven to be an effective method, albeit a timeintensive one, for generating high quality data.

【 授权许可】

CC BY