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Undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences of research

Explore undergraduate students' perceptions and experiences of research through focus groups, highlighting valuable discussion points and encouraging reflections on current practices. Discover the value of research in university education and its impact on learning and teaching experiences. Uncover how students understand, experience, and value research.

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Undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences of research

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  1. Undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences of research Demi Sheppey (Research Assistant) Dr. Vanessa Cui (Learning and Teaching Officer) Centre for Academic Development and Quality (CADQ)

  2. Session outline • Presenting some findings from students focus groups on research • Highlight some interesting discussion points • Encourage discussions and reflections on current practices

  3. Context – value of university education • Research plays a vital part in disciplinary learning and teaching (Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall, 2009) • Research informed learning and teaching offers a range of benefits (Short, Healey and Romer, 2010) • Undergraduate students should experience research (Jenkins, 2009) But… • How do our students understand research? • How do our students experience research? • How do our students value research?

  4. Research project outline A small scale project to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences across the university: • Nov – Dec 2014 • Final year students • Six focus groups arranged based on Biglan’s (1973) and Belcher’s (1994) discipline models • Semi-structured focus groups on their academicdisciplines and associatedlearning, teaching and research.

  5. “What is research in…?” research is in the labs…you have a certain amount of participants and have a certain procedure. …anything we can do to save the world. Helping prepare for the future increasing population, decreasing resources. research in xxx is based around the exposure and development of new and old theories that are able to explain a specific human behaviour. to further improve education…research can be carried out in numerous forms from education in prisons all the way to primary schools.

  6. What’s your experience with research? There is a good balance between the two (research and practice), first year is settling in, second year is about getting you to know how to research properly and this year is about going out on your own and researching. First and second year we didn’t do research, it’s about learning theories and application…when it came to final year they gave us the research project, it was like ‘woah what’s this’. We had some lectures on how to carry out research methods, what literature reviews actually are, because we didn’t know. We talked to each other a lot… because we’re all in it together. Talking to them about what they’ve done aligns everyone’s thoughts and then we’d go back to the tutor.

  7. We did research methods all the way through from 1st year it’s been a big part of our assessments and how we understand it. But I feel like some lecturers, weren’t encouraging you to make essays really good even though its say 1,500 words. It was kind of like oh well nobody else is going to see it. Now it’s our dissertation I feel it’s a massive jump because it could be seen by many people and outside organisations. In first year the first piece of work I was given I had to write an essay on dopamine receptors, I’d never heard of. I went to the library and looked for the Biochemistry section, it wasn’t even on that it was pharmacology. I asked my tutor for help it was such a specific thing there were whole books on just that. It’s a lot wider and broader than I thought.

  8. We get the choice to do a literature investigation where you research all previous literature or conducting your own project. I’m doing olfactory enrichment in bears… I’m hoping that when I get my data I will be able to say which scents worked better for them, then I can tell the zoo and the zoo can implement it. Its making and research. They go side by side. You put your research into portfolio pages, writing research and visuals, critiquing and analysing your work and references to other artists and the contemporary world outside, all of the work you create you have to narrow it down to 6 best pieces you have created all year and that is what you show...

  9. You always get better marks by having other research and bringing in something new, if you just put in exactly what the lecturers taught you, then you don’t really get the marks, you need to have done the reading so that they know you’ve actually done it and have a unique view on it. There is a lot of emphasis on doing your own reading, work that interests us, which is good for up here (mind). When we go back into the working world which we all have certain fears about, I know that from reading research I can apply it. This year we have started going to workshops and conferences when you find the area you‘re interested in, it’s really good for networking as well.

  10. Mine is looking into other artists in design and visual culture, just being inspired by things that have been made and created, books films everything. There is a possibility of getting your work published depending on how good the work is. Although it isn’t likely there is a possibility, I know some lecturers are intent on getting the research published. It is an incentive to do better. Yeah it has to be that way to develop our own sense of style.

  11. Concluding thoughts • Value of university education • Changing landscapes of HE • Changing roles of students and academics

  12. References • Biglan, A., (1973) The characteristics of subject matter in academic areas, Journal of Applied Psychology. 57(3), Jun 1973, 195-203. • Becher, T., (1994), The significance of disciplinary differences, Studies in Higher Eudcation 19 (2), pp. 151-161. • Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., and Marshall, S., (2009) A handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Routledge. London • Jenkins, A., (2009) Research Teaching Relationships: Enhancing Graduate Attributes, Scottish Quality Assurance Agency. http://www.alanjenkins.info/publications/research-teaching-linkages-enhancing-graduate-attributes-overview.pdf • Jenkins. A., Healey, M., and Zetter, R., (2007) Linking Research and Teaching in Disciplines and Departments. York: Higher Education Academy • Short, C., Healey, M., and Romer, W., (2010, The changing awareness, experience and perception of research by undergraduates: the case of final year students at a new university, 2002-2009, Learning Exchange.

  13. Appendix Research Informed Teaching Nexus Jenkins, Healey and Zetter, 2007, p. 29

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