| This study examines the nature of the undergraduate research experience in a liberal arts setting, specifically considering the degree to which undergraduate student researchers come to understand and participate in the community of practicing chemists, the ways the faculty research advisor facilitates the entry of these novice chemists into the community of practice, and the degree to which undergraduate researchers begin to develop identities as chemists. The study is a multimethodological case study of senior students performing undergraduate research at a small liberal arts college and the faculty who supervise them. The study focuses in particular on three undergraduate chemistry students, under the direction of the same faculty advisor, during their yearlong research projects. Data, which included qualitative surveys, semi-structured interviews, group meeting observations, and laboratory artifacts, were analyzed using constant comparative analysis and thematic methods.; The study found that questions play several important roles in introducing students to the community of practice of chemistry and that the formation of an initial research question by the undergraduate researcher is a first step in the development of ownership of the project. The questions that the research supervisor uses to guide the undergraduates enable the students to be more productive and also demonstrate the nature of science, the nature of research, and the practice of the chemistry community. The student's research committee serves as a link to and a model of the community of practice as well as a check on the validity of the research experience. The study also found that the research advisor plays a number of roles, all of which are “bundled” into a single individual who balances these roles based on the needs of the particular student. Research advisors were found to use stories to communicate important lessons about the practice of chemistry. The study asserts that as undergraduates participate in research, they begin to develop an identity as a chemist, an identity that is enhanced by having personal desk and laboratory space. The study also identifies three dilemmas of undergraduate research and discusses the implications of the findings for individuals and institutions engaged in such research. |
