Engaging Undergraduates in Science Research: Not Just About Faculty Willingness

Abstract

Despite the many benefits of involving undergraduates in research and the growing number of undergraduate research programs, few scholars have investigated the factors that affect faculty members’ decisions to involve undergraduates in their research projects. We investigated the individual factors and institutional contexts that predict faculty members’ likelihood of engaging undergraduates in their research project(s). Using data from the Higher Education Research Institute’s 2007–2008 Faculty Survey, we employ hierarchical generalized linear modeling to analyze data from 4,832 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty across 194 institutions to examine how organizational citizenship behavior theory and social exchange theory relate to mentoring students in research. Key findings show that faculty who work in the life sciences and those who receive government funding for their research are more likely to involve undergraduates in their research project(s). In addition, faculty at liberal arts or historically Black colleges are significantly more likely to involve undergraduate students in research. Implications for advancing undergraduate research opportunities are discussed.

Scientific Research Activity of Students Pre-Service Teachers of Sciences at University: The Aspects of Understanding, Situation and Improvement

“…In this respect, tutor encouragement, causing interest and involvement in scientific research activity is very important. It is important to encourage faculty members to mentor students through research experiences (Eagan, Sharkness, Hurtado, Mosqueda, Chang, 2011). On the other hand, it is important to encourage students to take advantage of different research opportunities.…”

Mentoring Undergraduate Students

“…Faculty members also may have little motivation to engage, considering that tenure and advancement systems rarely provide incentives for engagement in mentorship (Tierney & Bensimon, 1996). Studies applying social exchange frameworks (e.g., Eagan, Sharkness, Hurtado, Mosqueda, & Chang, 2011;Griffin, 2012Griffin, , 2013 have found that engaging with well-trained or high-achieving students, particularly within the context of research, can increase faculty productivity, making these interactions attractive and motivating engagement. However, social exchange frameworks have rarely been applied to address student motivation to engage in mentorship.…”

Determinants of Bachelor Students’ Intention to Enter a Research-Oriented Career

“…Moreover environmental influences should also be taken into account. For instance, research has shown that encouragement from professors might stimulate students to enter graduate school (Eagan Jr et al, 2011;Dasan, 2013;Guerin et al, 2015), the traditional way to a career as a researcher, and that the socialization by family and peers might have an important impact on students' progress (Lamport, 1993;Zafira, 2012;Guerin et al, 2015). Labini and Zinovyeva (2011) also stated that the quality of the research of the university was an important stimulus for students to enroll in a PhD program, and this was more so in sciences, medicine, and engineering.…”

“…Significantly more money is invested in the sciences than in the humanities, which is also visible in the development of research in both domains (Eurostat, 2009). Each of these domains has its own culture and stresses differently the position of research and the interaction between students and faculty in research (Lin & Ha, 2009;Eagan Jr, Sharkness, Hurtado, Mosqueda, & Chang, 2011). Following from these observations, we hypothesize that science students are more directed to and more open for scientific research than humanities students, when we compare students by their domain of study.…”