Leveraging Your Summer Research Experience

Who Do You Want To Be?

Reprise: “What is Undergraduate Research?”

• “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original, intellectual, or creative contribution to the discipline...”(from the Council on Undergraduate Research) http://www.cur.org/

What Do You Think?

• Take five minutes to discuss the following questions with your neighbor: – By this definition did you make an original

contribution? What was it?– What generalizable lessons/skills did you take

away form your summer experience?

What Should Undergraduate Research Do for US?

• Educational benefits include:• Engages and empowers students in hands-on learning• Enhances the student learning experience through mentoring

relationships with faculty• Increases retention in the STEM disciplines & other fields• Provides effective career preparation & promotes interest in

graduate education• Develops critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, self

confidence, and intellectual independence• Promotes an innovation-oriented culture

http://oregonstate.edu/students/research/why-research

What Should Undergraduate Research Do for You?

• Academic benefits include:• Working closely with a faculty mentor• Learning about issues, methods, and leaders in

students' chosen fields• Applying concepts learned in coursework to "real

life" situations• Sharpening problem-solving skills • Learning to read primary literature

http://oregonstate.edu/students/research/why-research

What Should Undergraduate Research Do for You?

• Professional benefits include:• Exploring and preparing for future careers• Developing marketable skills• Enhancing professional communication skills• Collaborating with others and working effectively

as part of a team

http://oregonstate.edu/students/research/why-research

What Should Undergraduate Research Do for You?

• Personal benefits include:• Growing as a critical, analytical, and independent

thinker• Meeting challenges and demonstrating the ability

to complete a project• Discovering personal interests• Developing internal standards of excellence

http://oregonstate.edu/students/research/why-research

Department of Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology, Utah State University,

• Graduates report that they use their research skills, more than any other sociological skills, in their future jobs! http://sociology.usu.edu/urbenefits.aspx

• Analytical Skills • Teamwork • Time Management • Leadership • Writing Skills • Troubleshooting • Understanding of Ethics • Communication • Self-Confidence

The American Association of Colleges and Universities -Peer Review: Spring 2010, Vol. 12, No. 2 ndergraduate Research as a High-Impact Student Experience”By David Lopatto, professor of psychology, Grinnell College

“Undergraduate researchers learn tolerance for obstacles faced in the research process, how knowledge is constructed, independence, increased self-confidence, and a readiness for more demanding research. These benefits are an advantage in any career path.” http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/pr-sp10/pr-sp10_Lopatto.cfm

AAAS Recognizes the Growing Importance of Undergraduate Research

• http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2007_07_06/caredit.a0700095 Growing a new generation of scholars and researchers– "my notions of what I wanted to do were shaped

by that first summer doing research."

Visioning Experience

• Spend a few minutes addressing the following “thought experiment” and then share answers with your neighbor– Where (locale) will you be working in the year

2025 and what will you be doing– How will you know if you are happy?

How Do I Leverage This Experience?

• Explore your passion• Define your strengths and weaknesses• Make connections to mastering your discipline• Prepare for graduate school or professional

school• Stay in touch with your mentor

How Do I Leverage This Experience?

• Stay in Touch With Your Mentor• Look for Other UGR or Active Learning

Opportunities• Look to Present Your Research at Regional and/or

National Meetings• Push to Publish• Incorporate Your Experience on Your

Resume/Portfolio• Seek Research and RISE Notations on Your Transcript

Stay in Touch With Your MentorOsborne and Karukstis (2009) http://www.missouriwestern.edu/appliedlearning/documents/Chapter4-Final-BenefitsofUGROsborn.pdf

• interactions with faculty mentors significantly affect an individual student’s cognitive and behavioral development .

• directly impact student satisfaction and learning (Astin, 1993).

• participation in undergraduate research with a faculty mentor is a “high impact” learning experience. (Lipka, 2007)

• Additional studies verify that the collegial and collaborative partnership of undergraduate students and faculty members contributes significantly to the personal and professional gains reported by students (Seymour, 2004; Hunter, 2006).

• Mentors write the best letters of recommendation• Mentors are (often) for life

Look for Other UGR or Active Learning Opportunities

• http://www.cur.org/resources/for_students/

• http://crl.iupui.edu/resources/additional-opportunities.asp

• http://search.nsf.gov/search?access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ie=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&client=NSF&oe=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=NSF2&site=NSF&q=REU

Present at Regional and/or National Meetings

• Why should I present my findings? http://curca.buffalo.edu/students/presenting.php

– Presenting your research gives you an important opportunity to share your findings with other undergraduates and faculty members.

– Conference presentations are an important part of professional development, and they offer the chance to receive valuable feedback on your work.

– They provide you with public speaking experience and help you deepen your own understanding of your research as you explain your project and respond to questions.

– Conferences are also wonderful places to network with your peers and professionals in your field.

– Finally, you will gain valuable experience to highlight on a resume or graduate school application.

• Where can you present your research?– http://www.crl.iupui.edu/events/iuurc/– http://crl.iupui.edu/– http://www.cur.org/ncur_2014/– http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/

Incorporate Your Experience on Your Resume/Portfolio

• Note the specific and general skills learned• Link to products where possible• Modify for audience

Reasons to Publish

• It is how knowledge is shared, vetted, and accumulated

• It is how YOU get recognized as an authority• It is the “gold standard” for academic

promotion and tenure• It is the pre-requisite of successful grant funding• It is a way to connect with other potential

collaborators.

Journals to Consider

• http://commons.pacificu.edu/ijurca/• http://www.cur.org/resources/students/under

graduate_journals/

• Discipline specific Journals

Publishing Cultures

• Every discipline has it’s own expectations and standards – you will need to learn these before moving forward– Who are co-authors and how they are listed• Medicine vs History

– Format of publication, use of graphics etc.• The literature you read for your own research

is generally a good guide• Mentor is always a good resource

Seek Transcript Notation

• http://crl.iupui.edu/assets/documents/TranscriptNotation.pdf

• http://www.registrar.iupui.edu/transcript/tran-experiential.html

Keep Your Edge!"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it" (Bronowski, 1975).

Thank You!

• Thank the CRL staff – especially your program leaders and Katie Starks for organizing and managing an eventful summer

• Special thanks to the mentors who have provided our students with the many unique opportunities that we will highlight tomorrow

• Thanks to each of you for spending your summer engaged in “poking and prying with a purpose.”

• Remember to stay in touch with CRL and the CRL