Panelist: Amy Bug

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Session III Undergraduate Research
Session questions ... What are the advantages
and disadvantages of a research requirement? Are
there problems defining what constitutes research
at an undergraduate level? What kind of
preparation is needed for students and how do you
provide it? Are there models other than
individual students working with individual
faculty members that are worth considering?
Panelist Amy Bug Dept. of Physics and
Astronomy Swarthmore College
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What are the advantages of a research experience?
Research experiences provide students with an ...

• Introduction to the practices and induction into
  the culture of science
• What do working scientists do?
• Is this the right major/career for me?
• Do I feel a part of this culture?

Research experiences provide the nation with a ...
Diversified pool of talented students -NSF
REU guidelines, 2004
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What are the advantages of a research experience?

• Introduction to the practices and induction into
  the culture of science
• What do working scientists do?
• Read literature, ask questions, master
  techniques, fabricate equipment,
• gather data, analyze results, communicate
  findings orally and in writing
• What else do working scientists do?
• Work on real problems, get paid, are confident,
  are independent,
• depend on other scientists ... adhere to the
  Mertonian norms or
• deviate from them as the case may be!
• -P. Ziman, Real Science, 2000

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What are the advantages of a research experience?
Some hard data, but the jury is still out
- Stewart, 2003 Seymour and SRI studies ongoing
Significant experiences of students
Faculty also mention...

• Data analysis skills
• Read literature
• Oral communication
• Written communication
• Work is based on prior studies
• Interest/retention
• Challenge
• Job preparation
• Advisor can write stronger
• recommendation

-D. Lopatto, CUR quarterly, 2003
-Lopatto, Stewart, Gallian
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What are the advantages of a research experience?

• Induction into the culture of science
• Do I feel a part of this culture?

Each Friday, there is a jam session where all
groups get together to present their research.
It mainly consisted of my research advisor
telling the people in the other group that they
werent making sense. -Harvard math student
of a summer REU
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What are the advantages of a research experience?

• Induction into the culture of science
• Do I feel a part of this culture?
• Women
• Minorities

Significant experiences of minority students

• Interactions with program director
• Being with other minority students
• Interaction with other students in program

-Alexander, 1998 LEAD center report
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What are the advantages of a research experience?

• Induction into the culture of science
• Do I feel a part of this culture?

It is psychologically most important to get
results even if they are not original. Getting
results, even by repeating anothers work, brings
with it a great accession of self-confidence
the young scientist feels himself one of the club
at last, can chip in at seminars and at
scientific meetings with My own experience was
or I got exactly the same results or and
then can sit down again tremulous but secretly
exultant . -Sir Peter Medawar, Advice to a
Young Scientist, 1979 p. 17
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of a
research requirement?
Students were extremely positive about the
experience. Faculty were positive about what it
did for students, but mixed for themselves.
They value the mentoring relationships, but
recognize that there is some tradeoff in their
own scholarship and creative work. -L. Glidden
of St. Marys College quoted by J. Mervis,
Science, 2001
72 of faculty surveyed said overall research
productivity was enhanced by participation.
Over 90 said they would mentor again and
encourage others. -Excerpt from U. of Mich.
RAIRE application
Is there a paradoxical university vs.
small-college effect?
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Swarthmores situation
Approximate numbers for students doing summer
research each year ...
50 college stipends for summer external grants
approx. double this Physics 17 out of 35 majors
(three year estimate F, S, J) each year 40
of majors are Honors and must write research
thesis Biology 30-40 out of 100 majors 3-4 per
faculty member Math 0-3 out of 75
majors Chemistry 9 out of 36 majors mostly J
all write thesis Engineering 10-20 out of 75
majors a few F and evenly split btwn. S and J
of seniors having done research with faculty
nationwide liberal arts 39 Ph.D.(ext)
29 -NSSE report 2003
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Are there problems defining what constitutes
undergraduate research?
When I look at my research, I think first of how
students can connect to it. -M. Wilson of
Wooster College quoted by J. Mervis, Science, 2001
Your experience will depend to a large extent on
the advisor you end up with Your first few days
will be spent knocking on doors trying to find an
advisor who 1) is a good personality match and 2)
has work for an undergraduate to do. -Swarthmore
Physics student of a NIST summer REU
Is there an effect of research field?
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Are there problems defining what constitutes
undergraduate research?
Sacrifice elegance for accessibility and
possibility of progress?
a high proportion of the work was very
computational and generally messy and some
students were unhappy with that
-Harvard math student of a summer REU
Sacrifice possibility of progress for elegance
and accessibility?
the participants arent pressured to produce
something publishable this may be good or
bad, depending on what you want -Harvard
math student of a summer REU
Sacrifice nothing ... not universally applicable
...
Smart, motivated students working in graph
theory (accessible, fruitful) with a dedicated
advisor -gt everyone submits publications after a
single summer. No prior preparation required.
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Are there other models ...?

• Successful minority and/or womens programs often
  contain distinct elements
• occur early in academic career
• bring together critical mass of students by
  ethnicity/gender
• foster productive group interactions around both
  science and leisure time
• involve a course on research methods/culture
  along with the research
• are explicitly oriented toward future goals
• challenge without overwhelming

Research day award winners at Wayne State U. 2001
Lopattos consideration items seem particularly
vital for minority/women students, but are
important to all students.
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Are there other models ...?
Understanding between academic and research
advisors ...
She (Iona Black, Yale U.) spends time carefully
matching students with potential mentors. She is
always on the lookout for cultural differences
that have the potential to sabotage a students
progress. -C. Rey, Science, 2001
Well-designed research experiences can be
antidotes to weeder-course effects
I was absolutely prepared. I worked for two years
in a real research laboratory of a woman, one of
four on faculty ... she would say This is the
kind of class you want to take if you want to go
to graduate school. They tried to get me ready
for the big world ...There was always the
reality, but there was always the
support. -H. Etkowitz et al., Athena Unbound,
2000
I picked that grade up. the student recalled.
Ms. Green (academic advisor) was there to say I
wasnt worried. When you dont believe in you,
they believe in you. said Ms. McDonald, who went
on to study the binding properties of H.I.V.-1
cells in Dr. Summers lab. The research is
beautiful. she said. -D. Schemo, N.Y. Times,
2000 on the Meyerhoff program at U. MD Baltimore
Cty.
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Are there other models ...?
Feminist theories of knowledge acquisition and
science ...

• Rossers stage model of education reform
• Belenky et al. womens ways of knowing
• Longinos science as social knowledge
• Harraways situated knowledge
• Hardings strong objectivity

These overlap with mainstream ideas of what
undergraduate research achieves, and why.