Dear Deirdre,
I agree that we need to make these distinctions (between research and Research), and importantly, we need to make undergraduates aware of these distinctions as part of their introduction to various research cultures and research practices.
For example, we can be very direct in how we describe things, step-by-step.
In working on projects, undergraduates have generally been given a problem to address which means that their literature search is aimed at clarifying issues, establishing methods of approach and discerning possible outcomes. In moving forward from the search phase, they need to be reminded that they are applying research methods rather than simply solving the problem. We need to be describing these methods as distinct parts of the project just as we might describe a variety of tools used in the production of objects.
For lots of reasons, the outcome phase, in the case of undergraduates, can dominate the student experience. The student is pleased to have a solution, any solution. The importance of how they arrived at the solution depends, to some extent, on the cultural weight we give to research steps. Just giving assessment value to each step is not really enough. Students know, by the look in our eye, what we value. We are representatives of the cultures.
Reinforcing the research aspects of the process of arriving at the outcome is something that does not usually happen in humanities areas. In the traditional humanities the varieties of research methods are simply part of the culture: you soak this stuff up by working in the area. By the time humanities students are in their honours year they are ready to radically pull apart these methods that they have been using in everyday kinds of ways. Other fields that do not have their own distinct research methods can benefit from announcing the research processes in deliberate ways.
cheers
keith russell
oz newcastle
>>> Deirdre Barron <[log in to unmask]> 12/02/10 6:37 AM >>>
Hi All
It seems to me that the problem lies in the meaning of research. Little "r" research" is often used to mean gathering information e.g readings. Capital "R" research applies to the type of research which is the focus of this discussion- while I agree with requirements for rigour, transferability and generalisability in Research, - I would encourage research in undergraduate programs before students undertake Research
Deirdre
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