Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-dvmhs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-20T23:30:35.691Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

19 - Undergraduate Research in Chemistry

from Part III.1 - STEM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

Harald A. Mieg
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Elizabeth Ambos
Affiliation:
Council on Undergraduate Research, Washington DC
Angela Brew
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
Dominique Galli
Affiliation:
Indiana University–Purdue University, Indianapolis
Judith Lehmann
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Get access

Summary

Undergraduate research in the chemical sciences is considered essential for understanding the scientific process and building transferable skillsets for a global workforce. Engagement in undergraduate research has been shown to help students gain critical skills while building confidence and fostering a sense of belonging and community that has been shown to be critical for attracting and retaining a diverse student and professional body of scientists. Several different models of undergraduate research in the chemical sciences exist, including the traditional assistantship to collaborator, consultant and course-based undergraduate research models. In recent years, the latter model has provided increased opportunities for undergraduates to participate in high-impact chemistry research as early as their first year of college. The chapter provides a short introduction to these models and includes selected examples highlighting their implementation, concluding with an outline of the importance of inclusive practices in undergraduate research.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Chemical Society (ACS). (n.d.). Undergraduate Research in Chemistry. www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/college/research.htmlGoogle Scholar
Auchincloss, L. C., Laursen, S. L., Branchaw, J. L., Eagan, K., Graham, M., Hanauer, D. I., Lawrie, G., McLinn, C. M., et al. (2014). Assessment of course-based undergraduate research experiences: A meeting report. CBE–Life Sciences Education, 13(1), 2940.Google Scholar
Barnett, K. L., Shea, K. M., McGeough, C., Trotta, K., Williams, S., Ly, M., & Aloisio, K. (2020). Semester-long course-based research project in second-semester organic chemistry: Synthesizing potential lead compounds for the treatment of a neglected tropical disease. Journal of Chemical Education, 97, 10081016.Google Scholar
Boyd-Kimball, D., & Miller, K. R. (2018). From cookbook to research: Redesigning an advanced biochemistry laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(1), 6267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaudhary, V. B., & Berhe, A. A. (2020). Ten simple rules for building an antiracist lab. PLOS Computational Biology, 16(10), e1008210.Google Scholar
Clark, T. M., Ricciardo, R., & Weaver, T. (2016). Transitioning from expository laboratory experiments to course-based undergraduate research in general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(1), 5663.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cruz, C. L., Holmberg-Douglas, N., Onuska, N. P. R., McManus, J. B., MacKenzie, A. A., Hutson, B. L., Eskew, N. A., & Nicewicz, D. A. (2020). Development of a large-enrollment course-based research experience in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory: Structure–function relationships in pyrylium photoredox catalysts. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(6), 15721578.Google Scholar
Davis, S. N., & Jones, R. M. (2017). Understanding the role of the mentor in developing research competency among undergraduate researchers. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 25, 455465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eagan, M. K. Jr., Hurtado, S., Chang, M. J., Garcia, G. A., Herrera, F. A., & Garibay, J. C. (2013). Making a difference in science education: The impact of undergraduate research programs. American Educational Research Journal, 50(4), 683713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gourley, B. L., & Jones, R. M. (Eds.). (2018). Best practices for supporting and expanding undergraduate research in chemistry. ACS Symposium Series (Vol. 1275). American Chemical Society.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, M. J., Frederick, J., Byars-Winston, A., Hunter, A. B., & Handelsman, J. (2013). Increasing persistence of college students in STEM. Science, 341, 14551456.Google Scholar
Heemstra, J. M., Waterman, R., Antos, J. M., Beuning, P. J., Bur, S. K., Columbus, L., Feig, A. L., Fuller, A. A., et al. (2017). Throwing away the cookbook: Implementing course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in chemistry. In Watermann, R. & Feig, A. L. (Eds.), Educational and outreach projects from the Cottrell Scholars collaborative undergraduate and graduate education, Volume 1 (pp. 3360). ACS Symposium Series (Vol. 1248). American Chemical Society.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heller, S. T., Duncan, A. P., Moy, C. L., & Kirk, S. R. (2020). The value of failure: A student-driven course-based research experience in an undergraduate organic chemistry lab inspired by an unexpected result. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(10), 36093616.Google Scholar
Iimoto, D. S., & Frederick, K. A. (2011). Incorporating student-design research projects in the chemistry curriculum. Journal of Chemical Education, 88, 10691073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karukstis, K. K. (2008). Broadening participation in undergraduate research. Journal of Chemical Education, 85, 14741477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kean, K. M., van Zee, K., & Mehl, R. A. (2019). Unnatural chemical biology: Research-based laboratory course utilizing genetic code expansion. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(1), 6674.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerr, M. A., & Yan, F. (2016). Incorporating course-based undergraduate research experiences into analytical chemistry laboratory curricula. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(4), 658662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinnel, R. B., Van Wynsberghe, A. W., Rosenstein, I. J., Brewer, K. S., Cotton, M., Shields, G. C., Borton, C. J., Senior, S. Z., et al. (2013). A departmental focus on high impact undergraduate research experiences. In Chapp, T. W. & Benvenuto, M. A. (Eds.), Developing and maintaining a successful undergraduate research program (pp. 522). ACS Symposium Series (Vol. 1156). American Chemical Society.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linn, M. C., Palmer, E., Baranger, A., Gerard, E., & Stone, E. (2015). Undergraduate research experiences: Impacts and opportunities. Science, 347(6222), 1261757.Google Scholar
Lopatto, D. (2007). Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. CBE–Life Sciences Education, 6(4), 297306.Google Scholar
Multhaup, K. S., Davoli, C. C., Wilson, S. F., Geghman, K. D., Giles, K. G., Martin, J. M. P., & Salter, P. S. (2010). Three models for undergraduate–faculty research: Reflections by a professor and her former students. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 31(1), 2126.Google Scholar
Mutambuki, J. M., Fynewever, H., Douglass, K., Cobern, W. W., & Obare, S. O. (2019). Integrating authentic research experiences into the quantitative analysis chemistry laboratory course: STEM majors’ self-reported perceptions and experiences. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(8), 15911599.Google Scholar
Nagda, B. A., Gregerman, S. R., Jonides, J., von Hippel, W., & Lerner, J. S. (1998). Undergraduate student–faculty research partnerships affect student retention. Review of Higher Education, 22(1), 5572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, T. A., Tracy, H. J., & Prudente, C. A. (2006). A research-based laboratory course in organic chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 83(12), 18441849.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagano, J. K., Jaworski, L., Lopatto, D., & Waterman, R. (2018). An inorganic chemistry laboratory course as research. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(9), 15201525.Google Scholar
Rodenbusch, S. E., Hernandez, P. R., Simmons, S. L., Dolan, E. L., & Knight, J. (2016). Early engagement in course-based research increases graduation rates and completion of science, engineering and mathematics degrees. CBE–Life Sciences Education, 15(2), 110.Google Scholar
Shortlidge, E. E., Bangera, G., & Brownell, S. E. (2016). Faculty perspectives on developing and teaching course-based undergraduate research experiences. BioScience, 66(1), 5462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, C. (2010). Stereotype threat: How it affects us and what we can do about it. W. W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Stewart, K. K., & Lagowski, J. J. (2003). Cognitive apprenticeship theory and graduate chemistry education. Journal of Chemical Education, 80(12), 13621366.Google Scholar
Ward, A. M., & Wyllie, G. R. A. (2019). Bioplastics in the general chemistry laboratory: Building a semester-long research experience. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(4), 668676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, L. C., & Reddish, M. J. (2018). Integrating primary research into the teaching lab: Benefits and impacts of a one-semester CURE for physical chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(6), 928938.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×