The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience as a Work-Integrated Learning Opportunity and Potential Pathway to Publication in Psychology

Abstract

Unlike disciplines which focus on skill development from year one of a bachelor’s degree, training in psychology in Australia follows the scientist-practitioner model. According to this model, an undergraduate psychology degree should focus on the scientific principles underpinning the discipline and provide a foundation for the development of professional skills in graduate school. However, most Australian psychology undergraduates do not continue into graduate school, and concerns have been raised about their lack of applied skills and work-readiness. Work-integrated learning (WIL) refers to strategies aimed at providing students with practical experiences (e.g., fieldwork, placements, and internships) directly related to their course of study. The objective of WIL is to increase work-readiness. Accreditation standards coupled with the norms of the discipline have historically prevented the inclusion of typical WIL experiences in Australian undergraduate psychology degrees. However, one particular type of WIL activity—the undergraduate research experience (URE)—is particularly suited to psychology. In a typical URE, students collaborate with faculty to conduct research designed to make an original contribution to their field. The current study is a qualitative investigation of stakeholder perceptions of a competitive summer URE program ran from 2012 to 2016. Six faculty members and seven undergraduate students were engaged in semi-structured interviews about their URE experiences. Constructed themes broadly reflected the benefits and challenges of the program and included work-readiness and additional research experience, networking and teamwork, publication, quality of experience and equity of opportunities. Faculty members and students spoke favorably of their UREs in most cases, although issues of administration and financial concerns were mentioned consistently, as were concerns about the length, timing, and nature of projects. Students reported skill development and networking as two of the key benefits of their participation in the program, and article publication was seen as particularly beneficial to career prospects. Our findings suggest that student co-authored publications resulting from UREs are possible, but careful thought is required to optimize their likelihood. Overall, this research adds to a growing literature suggesting that UREs can confer a range of benefits to Australian psychology schools related to increased research capacity and student satisfaction.

Co‐authoring with undergraduate students: An emerging process from the semi‐periphery of the world of science

“…My experiences support observations made by other scholars: Despite various forms of support, only a few collaborative projects with undergraduate students lead to publications (e.g., Banegas et al, 2020; Garside et al, 2015; Golding et al, 2019; Harrington et al, 2015). While I attempt to guide all students that I supervise through the steps and elements of phase one in the process, very few are successful.…”

“…Undergraduate students do not have experience to turn their papers into a journal article (Golding et al, 2019; McKelvie & Standing, 2019), so I take the lead in developing strategies for revisions and editing. However, students have to choose how much time and effort they plan to spend in this phase.…”

“…They report developing critical thinking and academic writing skills, gaining ownership of research and self‐efficacy, learning theoretical material, and becoming motivated to pursue an advanced degree (Banegas et al, 2020; Banks et al, 2009). Undergraduate students feel satisfied with improved networking, teamwork, and research competencies and better prepared to work in the field upon graduation (Golding et al, 2019). Caprio (2014) asserts that competencies of a scholar developed through writing for publication, for example, ‘epistemological sophistication; intellectual integrity and responsibility’ (p. 147), mirror those required by today's employers.…”

Competent and Employed: STEM alumni perspectives on undergraduate research and NACE career-readiness competencies

“…We propose that institutions can simultaneously situate skill development in STEM and provide meaningful, work-like experience through undergraduate research experiences (UREs). Though UREs are not generally recognized as work-integrated learning (WIL), UREs have been suggested as a form of WIL (Golding et al, 2019). UREs are high-impact practices (Kuh et al, 2017) with well-established impact on student self-perceptions and career decisions (Lopatto, 2004;Russell et al, 2007;Seymour, 2004).…”

What Factors of the Teaching and Learning Environment Support the Learning of Generic Skills? First-Year Students’ Perceptions in Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology

“…In addition, students perceive that they have learned collaboration and communication skills, the ability to apply clinical reasoning skills, and presentation skills in problem-based learning (Schwartz et al, 1997;Khan and Fareed, 2001). Research among psychology students have shown that generic skills have been learned in working life (Golding et al, 2019). However, generic skills have been examined less among psychology students.…”