"Establishing the Impact of Undergraduate Research Experiences on Learning, Attitude and Career Choice"

E. Seymour & D. Lopatto

The well-attended workshop (60 participants) featured a report on a mixed-methodology project for assessing the impact of student undergraduate research experiences. Elaine Seymour, Director of ethnographic and evaluation research with the Bureau of Sociological Research at the University of Colorado, focused on the contribution of undergraduate research experiences to education, career choice and professional development. She reviewed the findings of interviews with 79 undergraduates representing four institutions, including Grinnell College, Harvey Mudd College, Hope College and Wellesley College. After summarizing the interview and coding procedures employed, Elaine presented data to show that student positive observations were dominated by gains in confidence, thinking like a scientist and gains in skills. Among the gains in confidence were gains related to the ability to do research, to contributing to knowledge in science and "feeling like a scientist". Thinking and working like a scientist for a student included discovering the utility of critical thinking, understanding the process of research and understanding how to design research. Among the gains in skills were laboratory skills, presentation/communication skills and information retrieval skills. Elaine also presented information regarding the students' observations about career plans. Student comments were dominated by the observations that hands-on research supports interest in the field, clarifies the intent to go to graduate school, and increases the probability that the student will go to graduate school. Among the most frequently mentioned benefits for career preparation were conference presentation opportunities, networking with faculty and peers and having a "real world" experience. 

Some audience questions centered on the difference between measuring observations and measuring the number of students who made them. David Lopatto, Professor of Psychology at Grinnell College, presented information from a survey of 249 undergraduates in support of the argument that the interview data are representative. David presented a list of the 10 most important benefits of undergraduate research as rated by the student respondents, a list of the 10 most highly rated benefits. These benefits, and the result of an exploratory factor analysis of the data, show that the benefits articulated by coding of the interview data appear in aggregate survey data as well.