Pilot Study to Establish the Nature and Impact of Effective Undergraduate Research Experiences on Learning, Attitude, and Career Choice

提出了一个为期三年的研究项目，其总体目标是：从参与和未参与的本科生(包括大四学生和毕业一年)、教师和他们所在的机构的观点，澄清在科学学科样本中真实的本科生研究经历及其变化的性质；确定和分类“好的”本科生研究经历的基本要素，它们随着时间的推移而产生的学习收获(认知、行为、情感、社会和专业)；这些发生的条件和过程；以及它们在实现学生和教职员工重视的结果方面的相对意义；确定男女学生、白人学生和有色人种学生在本科生研究参与度、经历和结果方面的差异，以及影响这些差异的因素。本科生研究经验的各个方面与预期的短期和长期结果之间的假设和测试联系。研究设计控制了本科研究模式、机构背景和学术学科的差异，将调查限制在一种常见的项目类型(针对需要高级论文的入学高年级学生的指导性夏季研究，和/或学术工作的展示和发表)，在具有有限范围的科学学科的类似类型的机构样本中。调查将从夏季进入大四年级开始，2000个项目在四所有很强的本科研究参与历史的文科学院。抽样和调查的方法可以发现女性和男性参与者报告的经验和结果的差异，有色人种学生与白人学生的比较，以及女性参与者在单一性别和混合性别研究背景下的差异。样本还将包括两组非参与者，他们要么选择不作为本科生参加研究项目，要么申请但没有被选中。对教师目标和教学方法的比较民族志探索，以及学生对他们随着时间的推移的经验和好处的描述，将为评估本科生研究机会对本科生教育和研究生生活的影响的工具的开发和测试奠定基础。来自学生群体的访谈和调查数据将与来自教师的数据进行比较，以确定、比较和排名每个群体认为的研究经验的好处，以及哪些因素影响他们的成就。对参与和不参与本科生研究的学生、教师研究导师以及参与其中的高级教职员工和管理人员的访谈将实时进行。参与和不参与本科生研究的校友将在毕业一年后接受采访，以了解更长期的影响。试点研究的结果还将为设计可比的、跨项目的本科研究常见模式的评估策略提供研究基础。将通过讲习班、针对相关受众的演讲、选定的网站和出版的作品，传播研究结果和工具，供对制定本科生研究项目评估战略感兴趣的同事使用。

AbstractA three-year research project is proposed whose overall goals are to:Clarify the nature of authentic undergraduate research experiences-and their variations-in a sample of science disciplines from the viewpoints of participating and non-participating undergraduates (both as seniors and one year from graduation), from faculty, and from their institutions;Identify and categorize the essential elements of "good" undergraduate research experiences, the learning gains (cognitive, behavioral, affective, social, and professional) that they produce over time; the conditions and processes by which, these occur; and their relative significance in the achievement of outcomes valued by students and faculty;Identify variations in undergraduate research participation, experiences, and outcomes, and the factors that shape them, for women and men; and for white students and students of color. Hypothesize and test linkages between aspects of undergraduate research experiences and desired outcomes in the shorter and longer term. The research design controls for variations in undergraduate research models, institutional contexts, and academic disciplines by limiting the inquiry to one common type of program (mentored summer research for entering seniors requiring a senior thesis, and/or presentation and publication of scholarly work) in a sample of institutions of similar type, with a limited range of science disciplines. Investigation will begin with entering seniors in summer, 2000 programs in four liberal arts colleges with a strong history of engagement in undergraduate research. Methods of sampling and inquiry allow for discovery of variations in the experiences and outcomes reported by female and male participants, by students of color compared with white students, and by female participants in single-sex versus mixed-sex research contexts. Samples will also include two comparison groups of non-participants who either chose not to participate in research programs as undergraduates, or who applied, and were not selected. A comparative ethnographic exploration of faculty goals and pedagogical methods, and student accounts of their experiences and benefits over time, will ground the development and testing of instruments to assess the impact of undergraduate research opportunities on the education and post-graduate lives of undergraduates. Interview and survey data from the student cohorts will be compared with those from faculty in order to establish, compare, and rank what each group perceives as the benefits of the research experience, and what factors influence their achievement. Interviews with students who do, and do not, participate in undergraduate research, with faculty research mentors, and with engaged senior faculty and administrators will be conducted in real time. Alumni who do, and do not, participate in undergraduate research will be interviewed one year after graduation to discern longer-term effects. Pilot study findings will also provide a research base for the design of comparable, cross-program evaluation strategies for common models of undergraduate research. Findings and instruments will be disseminated for use by colleagues interested in the development of evaluation strategies for undergraduate research projects through a workshop, presentations targeted to relevant audiences, selected web-sites, and published work.