What is research?
Research across disciplines is the systematic production of new knowledge. The process often includes the following:
- Developing a research question(s);
- Identifying where the research question(s) fits within existing knowledge, often accomplished through a literature review;
- Designing the method of investigating the question and securing the appropriate permissions to conduct your research;
- Collecting and analyzing data/materials, drawing conclusions from that analysis;
- Writing about, presenting and publishing your findings.
You can read more about how "research" is defined nationally by the NSF/OECD Frascati Manual (an applicable definition across disciplines and fields) here.
What is undergraduate research and creative inquiry?
In keeping with national definitions, CCRF defines undergraduate research as follows:
Undergraduate research is a scholarly or creative investigation that contributes to the systematic production of new knowledge; it is a meaningful activity undertaken with the guidance of a faculty member or other research mentor(s) and is used to enrich the College academic curriculum and student experience through enhanced critical thinking skills and a greater understanding of a chosen discipline(s) and its methodologies.
CCRF joins the Council on Undergraduate Research in their endorsement of scholarship by Drs. Jeffrey M. Osborn and Kerry K. Karukstis who argue that four common threads must run through every undergraduate research activity on any campus:
- Mentorship. A serious, collaborative interaction between the faculty mentor and student, in which the student is intellectually engaged in the scholarly problem or project
- Originality. The student makes a meaningful and authentic contribution to the scholarly problem or project, and the work must be entirely or partially novel
- Acceptability. Employing techniques and methodologies that are appropriate and recognized by the discipline with a problem or project that includes a reflective and synthetic component
- Dissemination. Includes a final tangible product for which both the process and results are peer-reviewed, juried, or judged in a manner consistent with disciplinary standards
The term “undergraduate research” encompasses faculty- or discipline-expert directed scholarly research activities and creative endeavors. CCRF recognizes that these experiences may range from historical scholarship, curatorial research, and laboratory experiences to music composition, creative writing, dramaturgy and data analysis in the social sciences.