Turning undergraduate research assistants into scientific researchers: A wooden-block based method

This article focuses on the challenges and rewards of working with undergraduate research assistants. The anthropological research project involves interviews and participant observation with Sudanese refugees living in the United States. Five undergraduates share their reflections as neophyte anthropologists. The audience for this article is primarily anthropologists and others interested in involving students in field-based research. Undergraduate students embarking on research under faculty supervision may be interested as well.

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The Undergraduate Research Assistantship: An Analysis of the Benefits

Teaching of Psychology ◽

10.1207/s15328023top2901_04 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 15-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

R. Eric Landrum ◽

Lisa R. Nelsen

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

National Survey ◽

Undergraduate Education ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Research Assistant ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Research Assistantship ◽

Undergraduate Psychology ◽

Research Assistants

This study documents and quantifies the benefits of serving as an undergraduate research assistant based on the results of a national survey of undergraduate psychology educators (N = 211). The survey consisted of a list of 40 potential benefits, skills, and abilities. Respondents rated each of the items on (a) whether their research assistants attain the benefit, skill, or ability and (b) the importance of each item to an undergraduate education in psychology. Factor analysis revealed 2 major themes: The first factor contained items relating to technical skills, such as math, statistics, writing, and effective communication, whereas items in the second factor pertained to interpersonal benefits. This study provides important information for evaluating the value of the assistantship experience.

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Examining Group Setting Impacts on Neuropsychological Testing Using Deception and Undergraduate Research Assistants as Confederates

10.4135/9781526437266 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Michael M. Knepp

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Research ◽

Neuropsychological Testing ◽

Group Setting ◽

Research Assistants

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Integrating sustainability across the university curriculum

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/ijshe-10-2014-0154 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (5) ◽

pp. 652-670 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Jane Ellen Dmochowski ◽

Dan Garofalo ◽

Sarah Fisher ◽

Ann Greene ◽

Danielle Gambogi

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Research Network ◽

Social Implications ◽

University Of Pennsylvania ◽

Research Experiences ◽

Content Type ◽

The University ◽

Research Assistants

Purpose Colleges and universities increasingly have the mandate and motivation to integrate sustainability into their curricula. The purpose of this paper is to share the strategy used at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and provide an evaluation of its success and guidance to others creating similar programs. Design/methodology/approach This article summarizes Penn’s Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum (ISAC) program. ISAC pairs Penn undergraduate research assistants with instructors in a collaborative effort to incorporate sustainability into courses. Findings In concert with other Penn initiatives (a course inventory, faculty discussion groups and a research network), ISAC increases Penn’s sustainability-related courses and creates dialogue regarding how various disciplines contribute to sustainability. Practical implications The program described in this article is replicable at other institutions. The authors demonstrate that the logistics of recruiting students and establishing the program are straightforward. Undergraduate students are on campus; their pay requirements are modest; and they are desirous of such research experiences. Social implications The ISAC program inculcates a cultural and behavioral shift as students and faculty approach sustainability issues collaboratively, and it facilitates the development of a shared language of environmental sustainability. Such social implications are difficult to quantify, but are nonetheless valuable outcomes. Originality/value The faculty–student partnership used to facilitate the integration of sustainability into courses at Penn is original. The ISAC program provides a framework for engaging students and faculty in curriculum development around sustainability in a manner that benefits the student research assistants, the participating faculty and future students.

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Learning Through the (Digital) Archive: Notes on Undergraduate Research

Virginia Woolf and the World of Books ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9781942954569.003.0029 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 234-240

Author(s):

Elizabeth Willson Gordon ◽

Tyler Johansson ◽

Sara Grimm ◽

Rynelle Wiebe

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Research ◽

Digital Archive ◽

Book Production ◽

Academic Resource ◽

Research Assistants

This chapter details the inner workings of the Modernist Archives Publishing Project. The accounts of three research assistants reveal the complexities of book production and networks of modernism, and suggest the great impact of this academic resource.

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