A National Examination of Undergraduate Educational Research

Presentation given at Georgia Educational Research Association Conference (GERA).

The purpose of this study was to analyze the current undergraduate research activity within the field of Education nation-wide. This quantitative study gathered secondary research data through the National Council of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) abstract archive to understand current levels of scholarly, creative, and collaborative research that incorporates undergraduate level students. This study examined various attributes of the current undergraduate research being presented at this national conference including the type of research project presented (e.g. oral or poster), the setting these projects occurred within (P-12 or community), the form of data collected (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method), and type of data collected (e.g. primary or secondary). Additional factors of the faculty mentor were collected including terminal degree, current and degree-granting institution, and university Carnegie classification to uncover any variability in faculty background and promotion of undergraduate-led research. Findings noted that 89% of projects included primary data collection, 73% involved P-12 settings, and 19% of projects were mentored by faculty currently located at R1 classified institutions. This study provides understanding of current research being conducted by undergraduate students with implications for faculty to continue to utilize and encourage student-led projects to advance undergraduates’ skills and accessibility to research experiences.