According to Joyce Kinkead, undergraduate English majors should have opportunities to conduct authentic empirical research. She recently published an article describing a research methods course that she developed for the English Department that does just that. “The Empirical Strikes Back: A RAD Research Methods Class for Undergraduate English Students” appeared in the College English Association journal.
In Joyce’s course, students gain skills in conducting replicable, aggregable, and data-supported (RAD) research by first completing a whole-class project to practice the process and then conducting individual IRB-compliant projects that result in a research reporter, poster, and lightning talk. Student research can add to the scholarly knowledge base, positioning students to be “makers of knowledge.” As Joyce puts it, beginning and completing a research project from conception to presentation is a tall order. She adds, “I wrote this article so that other campuses have a model of the possibilities of initiating students into this transformative learning.”
English 3470, the research methods course described in the article, is participating in a National Science Foundation (NSF) pilot study to evaluate course-based undergraduate research experiences (E-CURE).
Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed is a graduate student in his second year, pursuing a doctorate in sociology at USU. He recently helped survey Utahns to see if environmental concerns affect the decision to have children.
Utah State University President’s Office recently held receptions for this year’s round of inaugural lectures. Three recently promoted faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences presented thoughtful reflections on their research and the even...
