Does It Matter If I Call It a CURE? Identity Development in Online Entrepreneurship Coursework

Abstract

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have historically been associated with STEM, but are expanding into other fields. CUREs may benefit undergraduate business majors, but some students do not perceive “doing research” as part of business. The authors ask whether a business CURE can lead students to begin self-identifying as researchers. Particular attention is paid to explicitness: Do students report different self-identification outcomes if they are explicitly told they are doing research? Survey data are collected from a required entrepreneurship course in which an instructor explicitly talks about her research career and authentically characterizes normal course activities as “scientific research” in some course sections but not in others. Pre- and post-course surveys show statistically significant growth in student self-identification as researchers only in the “explicit CURE” sections.