University Students In Research Research Articles

More than convenience: The engagement of university students in research on global and social issues.

Young adults have long been leaders of social change, yet university student samples are often criticized for limits to generalizability. However, students may be a critical population to gather insight from to understand how they engage in activism and how their wellbeing is impacted by global conflict. We conducted two studies examining college students' perceptions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and their activism at an urban Northeastern US university. In study one which included two waves of data collection (n = 44 at T1; n = 30 at T2), students reported increased anxiety related to the invasion which decreased over time, but not significantly. In study two, participants (n = 123) reported high levels of direct and indirect activism across a variety of social issues. Findings indicate that students were impacted by global conflict and engaged in social activism. University students provide valuable insight into global and social issues and should be considered as more than a convenience sample.

Ensino e OER para formação em investigação. Rumo à definição de novos itinerários de aprendizagem

The impact of the open science movement has had on a global scale can be linked to technological and educational development. Thus, it is necessary to have digital resources in favor of mediating work carried out by a teacher whose purpose is to train university students in research. The objective of this article is to analyze the contribution Open Educational Resources has had on the development of knowledge and investigative skills, and how this approach has helped facilitate scientific knowledge as well as scientific work. Studies that allow to recognize in the results, the importance of making the university academic communities aware of the use of Open Educational Resources, especially those who have the responsibility of training in research.

Journalism Education as Scientific Education: Research University Students’ Engagement with Knowledge

ABSTRACT This study analyses the scientific character of journalism education at two Finnish research universities by investigating students’ engagement with knowledge. The journalism degrees of these universities involve scientific modules but clearly have a more practical profile than most research university degrees in Finland. This study draws on two influential concepts of university education: powerful knowledge emphasising a coherent theoretical knowledge structure, and expertise emphasising reflective integration of theoretical knowledge with other modes of knowledge. Fourteen students at the end of their bachelor’s and master’s studies were interviewed. The students’ social commitments, theoretical knowledge, integrative knowledge, and reflective knowledge were analysed using situational analysis. The results show that the journalism students’ engagement with disciplinary content knowledge was sporadic. The students’ interviews did not indicate a coherent knowledge structure. At the same time, the students demonstrated a robust capability to apply the scientific research process as an ethical method in journalistic work. Furthermore, the students demonstrated the ability to integrate diverse modes of knowledge. This study brings journalism education into ongoing international scholarly discussions on university education and offers conceptual tools that can be used to critically analyse and develop the scientific character of journalism degree programmes.

Outsiderness and socialisation bump: first year perspectives of international university research students

ABSTRACT Australia has among the highest percentages of international English as an additional language background (EAL) university students worldwide and this is steadily increasing. These students contribute immensely to Australia’s and the Asia-Pacific regional economy, research and cultural creativity. Despite this, EAL students face serious academic and social challenges and have increasingly negative views on their research degree in Australian universities. This paper is concerned with understanding the first year experiences of EAL research students in a major Australian university, particularly their concerns and proposed solutions. Fifty seven student datasets were collected from students and analysed using a hybrid methodology of interpretative phenomenological analysis and case study. The findings were analysed across two themes: degree of outsiderness, and socialization bump. The degree of outsiderness emerged through perceived research students’ practices that fostered work in isolation. The socialization bump was regarded as a paradox: the most beneficial research degree experiences appeared to be profoundly social, however participants found a shortage of opportunities to socialize. The article sets forth recommendations for universities internationally to provide a clear, well-communicated and inclusive framework to allow meaningful social interactions for EAL research students to succeed in their academic and social integration.

Addressing Bias in Email Surveys on College Students’ Alcohol Use: A Comparison of Strategies and Implications for Health Promotion

ABSTRACTBackground: Email surveys of health behaviors are convenient and low cost, but concerns remain regarding data accuracy and implications for health promotion. Purpose: Compare the accuracy of email-collected survey data with classroom-collected data on college students’ alcohol use, and compare strategies for addressing inaccuracies, including demographic weighting and continuum of resistance model. Methods: Data were gathered via email survey of 2,991 community college and research university students in October 2016 and via an in-person survey of 737 students at these same institutions in February 2017. Results: Classroom respondents were significantly more likely to report alcohol use and high-risk alcohol use, and reported more average weekly drinks than email respondents. Demographic weighting and the continuum of resistance model improved estimates but did not fix all inaccuracies. Discussion: Use caution in interpreting results from email surveys on alcohol use if those results do not include information on estimated nonresponse bias. Translation to Health Education practice: Results from email alcohol surveys should be weighted for demographic differences – particularly age and sex – and should use the continuum of resistance modification if indicated. Recommend collecting additional data through anon-email method to improve accuracy of estimates and inform decision-making about interventions and programs.A AJHE Self-Study quiz is online for this article via the SHAPE America Online Institute (SAOI) http://portal.shapeamerica.org/trn-Webinars

Engaging First-year University Students in Research: Promise, Potentials, and Pitfalls

In 2014, the Undergraduate Research Initiative at the University of Saskatchewan implemented a pilot project to organize, support, and promote curriculum-based research experience as an integral aspect of participating first-year courses. The framework for the course-based initiative was the research arc; usually in groups, students in these classes would develop a research question, investigate it using discipline-appropriate methodologies, and disseminate the results. Nine classes (Agriculture, Animal Bioscience, Environmental Science, Women’s and Gender Studies, Psychology, Kinesiology, and Interdisciplinary Studies) participated in this program pilot. There were four key agents in the program: faculty instructors, research coaches, students in participating first-year classes, and university administrative staff. This preliminary evaluation of the pilot suggests that first-year undergraduate research experiences have potential to benefit the undergraduate student participants as well as the faculty and research coaches involved. The primary benefits that faculty reported experiencing included an increased interest in ways to engage learners, reexamination of and reflection on their teaching strategies, the pragmatic support of a research coach helping with their work load, and an invigoration of their research. The primary benefits to research coaches included enhancement of their professional skills, experience in lesson planning and facilitation, CV building, and an ideology shift in how to best facilitate learning for undergraduate students. The most prominent benefits for undergraduate students appeared to be that they gained a better idea about how researchers think and work, that they increased their understanding of how research works, and that their own research and professional skills had improved. Early, bottom-up evaluation identified characteristics of implementation that appear to best facilitate achievement of the initiative’s outcomes and identified the potential pitfall of imposing outcomes, from related but distinct initiatives, that may not be achievable or optimal in in the setting of first-year classes. The results of this evaluation suggest that rather than gaining clarity or focus, first-year students in course-based research experiences might gain awareness of their personal potential, of the potential of research, and of their career/educational options. En 2014, l’Université de la Saskatchewan a mis en oeuvre un projet pilote, la Undergraduate Research Initiative (Initiative de recherche pour étudiants de premier cycle) dont l’objectif était d’organiser, de soutenir et de promouvoir l’expérience de recherche basée sur le programme de cours et faisant directement partie des cours de première année participants. Le cadre de cette initiative basée sur les cours était l’arc de recherche; habituellement divisés en groupes, les étudiants inscrits dans ces cours ont élaboré une question de recherche, l’ont examinée par le biais de méthodologies appropriées à la discipline et en ont diffusé les résultats. Neuf cours (agriculture, sciences biologiques animales, sciences de l’environnement, études sur les femmes et le genre, psychologie, kinésiologie et études interdisciplinaires) ont participé à ce programme pilote. Il y avait quatre agents clés dans le programme : les professeurs, les accompagnateurs de recherche, les étudiants inscrits dans les cours de première année participants et le personnel administratif de l’université. Cette évaluation préliminaire du projet pilote suggère que les expériences de recherche en première année d’un programme de premier cycle peuvent potentiellement offrir des avantages aux étudiants de premier cycle qui y participent ainsi qu’aux professeurs et aux accompagnateurs de recherche. Les avantages principaux, selon les professeurs qui ont fait un rapport sur leur expérience, comprennent un plus grand intérêt dans les manières d’engager les apprenants, le réexamen d’une réflexion sur leurs stratégies d’enseignement, le soutien pragmatique des accompagnateurs de recherche qui les aident avec leur charge de travail et une revitalisation de leur recherche. Les avantages principaux pour les accompagnateurs de recherche comprennent une amélioration de leurs compétences professionnelles, une expérience dans la planification et la facilitation des leçons, des expériences à ajouter à leur curriculum vitae et un changement idéologique concernant la meilleure manière de faciliter l’apprentissage des étudiants de premier cycle. Les avantages les plus importants pour les étudiants de premier cycle semblent être qu’ils ont acquis une meilleure compréhension de la manière dont les chercheurs pensent et travaillent et de la manière dont la recherche fonctionne, et que leurs propres recherches et leurs propres compétences professionnelles ont été améliorées. L’évaluation préliminaire participative a identifié des caractéristiques de mise en oeuvre qui semblent faciliter au mieux l’atteinte des résultats de l’initiative et a identifié l’écueil potentiel d’imposer des résultats, à partir d’initiatives différentes mais connexes, qui risquent de ne pas être réalisables ou optimales dans le cadre de cours de première année. Les résultats de cette évaluation suggèrent que, plutôt que de gagner en clarté ou en focus, les étudiants de première année qui participent à des expériences de recherche basées sur les cours pourraient prendre conscience de leur potentiel personnel, du potentiel de la recherche et de leurs options de carrière ou scolaires.

Exploring Information Seeking Anxiety among Research Students in Pakistan

AbstractThis study explored information seeking anxiety among 31 Pakistani university research students using the critical incident technique. Face to face interviews were conducted for data collection by visiting the participants in their departments. The results indicated that information seeking anxiety among Pakistani research students manifested in eight dimensions, namely: (a) procedural anxiety, (b) information overload, (c) resource anxiety, (d) library anxiety, (e) competence anxiety, (f) ICT anxiety, (g) language anxiety, and (h) thematic anxiety. These participants also exhibited certain avoidance behaviours, search avoidance, task avoidance, and even research avoidance, along with inferiority complex. The results provided useful insights that could be used as a guide by information professionals, especially those engaged in managing information literacy instruction. In addition, this research would make a worthwhile contribution to the existing research on information behaviour in general and information seeking anxiety in particular.

How Many Psychology Journals Are Enough?

Is there a core of psychology journals that will satisfy most needs of undergraduate psychology students? The authors examined journal citations of 105 senior psychology theses written durin a seven-year period at a major research university and a small liberal arts college. relatively few journal titles accounted for most of the citations at each institution. The research university students did not cite more journal titles and articles than did the liberal arts college students. Nevertheless, beyond the most heavily cited journals, the students from each institution cited in common relatively few journals. With improved faculty guidance, a small number of journals could satisfy most needs of undergraduate psychology students at both institutions.