This research study is part of a First Year Research Experience [FYRE] class project to examine how research opportunities have been impacted by the pandemic, and how to best leverage the online environment. Our study focused on Communication, specifically on communicating research opportunities to novice undergraduates at Miami university. Our main objective was to identify the barriers present for undergraduate students in academic research, with an overarching goal to build a robust model for communicating research to novice undergraduates. If successful, it could help to better acclimate novice undergraduates into academic research, and make research more accessible for those “not in the know.” Participants were selected from Undergraduates interested in research & faculty running undergraduate research labs, and were then interviewed with a five question questionnaire used to guide the conversation and maintain it on the theme of undergraduate engagement in research.
Analysis of interviews highlighted a disconnect between faculty and students in regards to their perspectives on research engagement and presentation. Interviews with undergraduate students revealed two things: a desire for better communication of research opportunities and a detached view of research, whereas interviews with faculty members highlighted the struggle of presenting research to non-technical audiences. Students and faculty have proposed solutions such as emphasizing undergraduate work, increasing research involvement to clear research stigma, and increasing research forums and presentations to more directly present research. This work has given us opportunities to speak and connect with faculty members. It has given us practice in qualitative data collection and analysis, a good skill for many different careers, as well as increasing our experience in the research process. Our results will help the Office of Research at Miami University to develop programs aimed at improving communication of research opportunities to undergraduates to increase undergraduate participation in research.
Authors: Jonathan Waldmann, Eckhardt Karsten, Alex Chapman
Faculty Advisor: Joyce Fernandes, Biology
Graduate Student Advisors: Ally Tamez, Educational Leadership; Emily Deeds, Creative Writing Major
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