REU Site: Quantitative Social Science Research at the University of Michigan

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan hosts a new Research for Undergraduates (REU) site offering a ten-week summer experience for eight eligible undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years. This program builds on and expands both a long standing summer training program in quantitative research in the social sciences, hosted by ICPSR since 1963, and a highly effective undergraduate internship program that began in 2005. The REU site significantly expands the existing internship program's scope through the inclusion of a research project that pulls together all of the skills the students learn into one tangible product, completed under the guidance of a designated research mentor, and expands its breadth by increasing the number of students. This site creates a research experience in which delving into the data management aspects of social science research (preparing data for archiving and dissemination), along with focused methodological training in quantitative research, is seamlessly integrated for the purpose of exploring a research query from start to finish. This provides a unique research experience for undergraduate students, especially those from small and under-resourced institutions preparing them for capstone or senior thesis projects, graduate school, and/or research-based careers. This REU Site (1) Introduces undergraduates studying the social sciences to the entire research process including data preparation, documentation, and analysis; (2) Provides advanced training in research methods/statistics through the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences; (3) Identifying a research question; completing a literature search, review, and data analysis; and preparing a research poster with the assistance of both research process and faculty mentors in a substantive field of interest. (4) Broadening access to research opportunities to social science students at colleges and universities with fewer resources; (5) Providing experiences in professional socialization through networking, brown bags, and informal presentations. Intellectual Merit: Research methods and statistics are core training for all undergraduate majors seeking a degree in the social sciences. However, such training often neglects many aspects of the research process because of limited course time and the complexity of research tasks, including study design, data collection and preparation, variable selection, and sophisticated data analysis. The pedagogic gap left between required methods and statistics courses in most undergraduate programs and actual research practice can be filled by full immersion in the research process as practiced in the substantive archives at ICPSR and the nuanced and focused practical coursework offered in the Summer Program. Rarely will an undergraduate have a chance to be involved in the entire process of social research, bolstered by coursework and individualized mentorship, in the way ICPSR's unique combination of opportunities allows. This exposure to the research process on a large scale will enhances the students' abilities to enter graduate school and to be successful once there. Broader Impacts: In addition to offering a research opportunity focused on students at small and under-resourced institutions, this program allows students from several types of institutions to share experiences and build contact networks they would not otherwise have. The combination of coursework, hands-on experience, and professional socialization gained through the REU should increase participants' "research confidence" so that they can go back to their own campuses and act as mentors to others in their departments. By talking about their experiences with other students at their home institutions, REU participants themselves contribute to the goal of exposing students who might not otherwise think about graduate school or careers in research to these possibilities. The larger social science community also benefits when students present their work at regional meetings or undergraduate poster events.