Brew & Mantai (2017), Academics' perceptions of the challenges and barriers to implementing research-based experiences for undergraduates

Short summary of the scope and focus in the article

This article focused on answering the research question, "what constrains and enables the implementation of undergraduate research experiences at institutions that believe in the value of undergraduate research and wish to implement such experiences more widely?" The authors performed 20 semi-structured interviews with research participants ranged from lecturers, senior lecturers, associate professors, and professors at the authors' university. The data analysis was a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews.

Quote a statement that summarizes what the author claims they contribute to the field

The critical contribution of the paper is that "In this paper, we argue that how academics define undergraduate research is key to understanding how to develop it across a university because academics views are critical determinants of the forms of undergraduate research that they implement."

In your own words, compare the results/arguments presented in the article with the authors' claim(s) you identified in question 1.

I agree with the conclusions of the authors. Based on the interview data the authors collected, the authors listed five different forms of engagement: individual work, coordinated skills development, research-based scholarly experience, scholarly practice within course, and integration into the scholarly community. The outcomes of the different forms of engagement vary. Various forms of engagement will need different support and resources.

Is the argument that the authors provide solid enough based on the evidence and/or theoretical considertaions to convince you of their claim(s)? ̈

I think the authors' arguments reflect what they can get from the semi-structured interviews. However, it will be good if the authors can find other relevant data to complement the interview data to increase their conclusions' credibility.

What is missing in the article?

The main limitation of the article is that the data are limited. The results are quite preliminary. The authors studied the research questions from only the teacher's perspective without getting opinions from students and university management. Thus, the benefits and limitations observed by the teachers may not reflect the whole picture.

What was most interesting for you?

It is interesting to have an overview of different forms to engage students in research. The list of various forms helps me identify different opportunities to involve undergraduate students in research activities.

How does this article relate to your own teaching?

The article provides me an overview of several possible forms of engaging undergraduate students in research. The authors also identified several constraints that might hinder the implementation of the engagement. In my future teaching, I would like to choose and pilot some form of engagement to include my students in my projects and research.

What can you learn from it?

I got to know the state of the art of the studies focusing on combining education with research. Although not all findings from this study are novel, some insights, especially the list of the forms of engagement, could help me think and plan the students' engagement in research systematically.