Panel on Promoting Undergraduate Student Research

It was a privilege to participate in an AEJMC panel on Undergraduate Research at the ICA Conference yesterday. Here is my abstract:

At Butler University, research is one of the key institutional initiatives for an excellent undergraduate college experience, together with community service and study abroad. I will address here two opportunities for undergraduate research: for all students in advanced classes, and through independent studies. In my upper division journalism classes (Gender and News, and Global Media), students read peer-reviewed journal articles during the semester to expose them to outstanding research in these fields. I then require a research paper from each student by the end of the semester. To facilitate this, I have developed a staged approach for introducing students to research that culminates in an 8-10 page paper. Students share their research by presenting their work to the class in our last week of meetings. Another opportunity to engage students in research is through independent studies or honors theses. I have worked with students individually through the semester to write research papers. Students are encouraged to present these papers at Butler University’s Undergraduate Research Conference. To encourage undergraduate students to understand the research process better, we decided this year to invite them to Works in Progress presentations by faculty members in our College of Communication. Finally, I will address some barriers to overcome in this area.