Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a three‐year study

Abstract

Descriptions of student-identified benefits of undergraduate research experiences are drawn from analysis of 76 first-round student interviews gathered at the end of summer 2000 at four participating liberal arts colleges (Grinnell, Harvey Mudd, Hope, and Wellesley). As part of the interview protocol, students commented on a checklist of possible benefits derived from the literature. They also added gains that were not on this list. Students were overwhelmingly positive: 91% of all statements referenced gains from their experiences. Few negative, ambivalent, or qualified assessments of their research experiences were offered. The benefits described were of seven different kinds. Expressed as percentages of all reported gains, they were personal/professional gains (28%); "thinking and working like a scientist" (28%); gains in various skills (19%); clarification/confirmation of career plans (including graduate school) (12%); enhanced career/graduate school preparation (9%); shifts in attitudes to learning and working as a researcher (4%); and other benefits (1%).

Training Future Scientists: Predicting First-year Minority Student Participation in Health Science Research

“…Scholars consistently have found that undergraduate research experiences are one way to attract and retain students in science majors, enhance the educational endeavors of science undergraduates, and serve as a pathway toward careers in science (Kinkead 2003;Lopatto 2004). Several studies have identified a broad range of benefits stemming from undergraduate research, including improved knowledge and understanding of science (Sabatini 1997); development of technical, problem-solving, and presentation skills (Kardash 2000;Mabrouk and Peters 2000;Seymour et al 2004); clarification of graduate school or career plans (Kardash 2000;Sabatini 1997); and development of a professional self-confidence (Lopatto 2003;Mabrouk and Peters 2000).…”

“…Studies on the firstyear experience, such as those assessing the importance of first-year seminars, freshmaninterest groups, and learning-living-residence experiences, emphasize the need for actively engaging this population of students in the initial year of college, and facilitating their entry into a learning community (see for example, Kinkead 2003;Schroeder and Mable 1994;Upcraft et al 2003); however, structured opportunities that contribute to first-year student participation, particularly in research endeavors, largely have gone unexamined. Previous studies primarily have focused on the benefits of undergraduate research participation (for example, Nagda et al 1998;Seymour et al 2004) and have not explicitly investigated the individual and institutional influences on students to become involved in research.…”

The Impending Revolution in Undergraduate Science Education

“…Many of these efforts are described in a recent review of published articles and evaluation reports that address the benefits of undergraduate research (Seymour et al, 2004). To establish what is known about the qualities and effects of student research programs, the authors defined a typology that divided the literature into two main types: (1) papers and reports in which the hypothesized benefits of undergraduate research are tested and well supported, and (2) papers and reports in which benefits are simply stated or claimed but not adequately demonstrated.…”

“…In a further interview study of 76 undergraduates from four college campuses who had participated in a 10-week summer research program as rising seniors, Seymour et al (2004) found that the students were overwhelmingly positive about their experience: 91% of all statements referenced gains of various kinds. Among the most prevalent of these were: increased confidence in their ability to do research; improved ability to think and work like a scientist; gains in various skills such as problem solving, lab/field techniques, reading comprehension, working collaboratively; clarification/confirmation of career plans, and shifts to more positive attitudes toward learning or toward research.…”

The research–teaching nexus: a case study of students' awareness, experiences and perceptions of research

“…Whilst some research has begun to explore the student experience of undertaking research projects themselves (e.g. Kinkead, 2003;Ryder, 2004;Seymour et al, 2004), fewer have examined the variety of ways in which students may experience research in universities more generally throughout their studies (Table 1).…”