Teaching Undergraduates to Conduct High Quality Qualitative Research
Location
1053
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Workshop
Start Date
January 2019
End Date
January 2019
Abstract
Undergraduates who participate in research (especially African-Americans) are more likely to continue their education (Gregerman, 2011; Hathaway, Nagda, & Gregerman, 2002). Yet, faculty mentors routinely relegate undergraduates to tasks such as data coding or transcription.
To contribute more meaningfully, novice researchers need guidance to understand the essential steps in a research project—what to do, why we do it, and when. This workshop illustrates practical, scaffolded strategies to promote student ownership of research without sacrificing quality.
We begin by deconstructing a research article to make its parts visible to the student. Once students master this step, they write focused literature reviews to pursue their own research questions. Next, they tackle research design, as a team. Each research question comes alive when students work together to consider data collection. Lastly, students learn how to introduce the study and engage young participants. Using typical academic outlets as benchmarks, students design and disseminate their research through posters, presentations, and co-authored publications.
Session participants will explore each research step through short activities similar to those used in our recent undergraduate study of a mass disaster, the Johnstown Flood. All participants will receive handouts to use in their own projects.
Keywords
teaching research methods, teaching qualitative research, undergraduate research
Teaching Undergraduates to Conduct High Quality Qualitative Research
1053
Undergraduates who participate in research (especially African-Americans) are more likely to continue their education (Gregerman, 2011; Hathaway, Nagda, & Gregerman, 2002). Yet, faculty mentors routinely relegate undergraduates to tasks such as data coding or transcription.
To contribute more meaningfully, novice researchers need guidance to understand the essential steps in a research project—what to do, why we do it, and when. This workshop illustrates practical, scaffolded strategies to promote student ownership of research without sacrificing quality.
We begin by deconstructing a research article to make its parts visible to the student. Once students master this step, they write focused literature reviews to pursue their own research questions. Next, they tackle research design, as a team. Each research question comes alive when students work together to consider data collection. Lastly, students learn how to introduce the study and engage young participants. Using typical academic outlets as benchmarks, students design and disseminate their research through posters, presentations, and co-authored publications.
Session participants will explore each research step through short activities similar to those used in our recent undergraduate study of a mass disaster, the Johnstown Flood. All participants will receive handouts to use in their own projects.
Comments
Breakout Session D