Undergraduate Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions: Current State and Dilemmas

TL;DR

This paper discusses the role of undergraduate research at primarily undergraduate institutions and how a student-centered approach can benefit both students and the scientific community.

Contribution

The paper highlights the importance of information literacy in fostering a sustainable research culture at primarily undergraduate institutions.

Findings

Student-centered research at PUIs combats the shift in academia toward productivity over progress.

Information literacy teaches iterative research and respects the creation of knowledge.

PUIs support a culture that benefits students and institutions through undergraduate research.

Abstract

The growth of undergraduate research (UGR) in popularity
and depth
in the past 25 years is greatly owed to primarily undergraduate institutions
(PUIs). Studies have shown that laboratories at academic institutions
are broadly either student- or research-focused: the former is more
common in PUIs, and the latter in research-intensive institutions.
However, the student-oriented approach is more beneficial to the studentand,
in the long run, the scientific community. The student-centered approach
combats the unsustainable shift in scientific academia toward productivity
over progress, an intensifying issue in research. The shift encourages
researchers to resort to tools like artificial intelligence instead
of working thoroughly and incrementally toward new knowledge. With
young researchers inheriting this mindset, we worsen our understanding
of the knowledge we have and that which we could learn. As an undergraduate
student majoring in both STEM and the humanities as well as participating
in biochemistry UGR at a PUI, I believe part of these problems arises
from a lack of information literacy (IL). The foundational concepts
of IL teach the iterative process of research and instill a respect
for the creation of information. These ideas reflect the supportive
culture of PUIs that initially allowed students (and, in turn, their
institutions) to flourish within research.

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