What does SF define as research?
Santa Fe College defines research as creativity-, discovery-, or inquiry-based learning that leads students to new scholarly insights or the creation of new artistic work, which is then effectively communicated back to their community. Research can be both/either: curriculum based or under the direction of a faculty researcher at SF or UF, collaborative or individual, or discipline based only or interdisciplinary.
What kind of projects can students do?
See the types of research projects students can do at Santa Fe College.
If a class does not have a lab, what kind of projects would be appropriate?
One possibility is for interested students to expand on a project already assigned for class credit to include more information gathering, more data analysis, etc. This could be done for extra credit or extra points. Another possibility is to require all students in a class to do a project that practices the scientific method and includes data collection, statistical analysis, graphic presentation and written/ oral presentation. Students that do an especially good project can participate in the Research in Undergraduate Education Spring or Fall Festivals. A third possibility is to include them in your own research. Not many SF faculty actually do their own research, but if they are this is a perfect way to get students involved in learning research methods. One last note, at the RUE festivals, projects are judged based on the student assignment. Therefore, different types and levels of research can be judged together and equivalently.
If you are asking students to do a project that is not part of the class curriculum, do all students of a given class have to participate in the research?
No, since extra work would be necessary to develop and finalize the research objective, the instructor can propose such research to be done by interested students only.
Can research be done outside specific classes? Can students register for “research credits”? Would the instructors receive formal credit for mentoring the students in form of having these special courses with a certain number of credits?
Yes students can work on a project outside of a class but they cannot receive formal credit for this. If they participate in the RUE festival they will get a certificate of participation.
What happens if no informative results are obtained within one semester long class? Can research be done outside specific classes?
If the time constrains of a semester long is not enough to complete a research project, the students could continue with the research proposal outside of a class as long as they and the instructor can agree with meeting times. Some of the most successful research programs are developed outside specific class sessions with students that are motivated to continue with their research project.
What are the benefits and responsibilities of mentoring? How are my mentoring activities acknowledged by the campus administration?
SF administration encourages faculty involvement in mentoring undergraduate students with research. The SF Provost’s Research as Teaching (PRAT) Award will pay up to 500 dollars towards salary stipend and relevant conference registration fees and/or travel to involved faculty that apply for the award.
Do we have an ethics committee that needs to review/approve my students' research?
No. Santa Fe College does not have an ethics committee. The college does have an Institutional Review Board for faculty, but students the mentoring faculty member is responsible for determining ethics.
What are the expectations regarding the rigorousness of the research project?
At Santa Fe College we are most interested in exposing undergraduate students to the scientific methods involved in doing research for the different areas of study that they are interested in. The research does not need to be original, but the students need to go through all the steps involved in research from literature research to presentation of the analyzed data (results obtained). A table with more detailed explanation of the type of undergraduate research projects is available here.
Are there any samples available of past projects that I can see?
Yes, projects presented in past RUE festivals are available here. These samples are from projects students presented in the RUE festivals. Also available are resources such a templates for poster preparations here.
How much involvement/guidance should I provide students (versus letting them do it completely on their own)?
Faculty involvement should be that of a mentor. Each faculty has the responsibility to access how much guidance students need. It is the expectation of this program to prepare students to think critically about research subjects, find ways to answer specific hypothesis/objectives and implement the necessary methodology to obtain data. As students research progresses, one may anticipate that students will get more independent.
Would the instructors receive credit for mentoring the students in form of having these special courses with a certain number of credits?
No, any research time offered by the faculty will not be considered instructional credit hour. Instructor can apply, however, to receive the SF Provost’s Research as Teaching (PRAT) Award which will pay up to 500 dollars towards salary stipend and relevant conference registration fees and/or travel to involved faculty that apply for the award.
