What We Know and What We Need to Know about Undergraduate Research

Abstract

To assess what questions are already answered and what still needs to be discovered about the high-impact practice of undergraduate research (UR), the authors conducted a mixed-methods study, including a systematic analysis of literature that assessed the impact of UR, and interviewed faculty and administrators actively engaged in UR. Findings demonstrated that most studies on UR have focused on STEM fields and student outcomes. Fewer studies have examined other disciplines or other outcomes such as the impact of UR on faculty or institution. Despite ample research that demonstrates outcomes associated with UR, more work is needed to establish a causal relationship between UR and these outcomes, to diversify the topics and scope of scholarship on UR, and to demonstrate the far-ranging impacts of UR.