Undergraduate Research in Psychology at Four-Year Institutions

Julia Omarzu,PhD, Erin P. Hennessey, and Lauren E. Rys
Loras College (IA)

An online survey of baccalaureate colleges with psychology majors investigated the nature of psychology research education. Responses from 182 participants reflected the importance of research courses and research experiences in psychology programs of all sizes. The majority of colleges surveyed require at least two research or statistics courses and also offer a variety of additional research opportunities such as independent study or research laboratory courses. Schools with Psi Chi chapters were more likely to report offering these extra experiences and also reported a higher rate of student involvement with research. Participants indicated what kinds of changes or resources they believed would increase student involvement with research on their campuses.

Experience with psychological research is an important component of undergraduate psychology education (Beins, 2003). Psychology professors' belief in this is evident in the results of a recent national survey concluding that most psychology departments, regardless of the type of institution, required research experience of their majors. This study also found that bachelor's level institutions differed from graduate level institutions in the types of research courses required and opportunities offered for students. While doctoral and master's level institutions offered significantly more opportunities for collaboration with faculty, four-year institutions were more likely to require an independent thesis project of students, to begin research experiences as early as the first introductory course, and to involve more faculty in teaching courses with research components (Perlman & McCann, 2005). A second recent study of smaller colleges provided more evidence that research education is thriving in psychology. This second survey compared undergraduate research today with that of 1984 and found that undergraduate research publications and presentations had significantly increased (Kierniesky, 2005).
     At least one other study, though, suggested that faculty at liberal arts colleges must be more creative in finding ways to continue developing their own research interests as well as encouraging students to participate (Schmauder, Robinson, & Hartley, 1999). It is possible that this is due to undergraduate colleges placing substantially more emphasis on teaching than on research activity among faculty. On the other hand, it is also probable that the smaller classes and more student-centered atmosphere of a baccalaureate college could allow for more collaborative research experiences between students and faculty.
Making a generalization in either direction is difficult because four-year colleges are extremely varied in philosophy and structure. Enrollments at such institutions can range from fewer than 500 students to over 10,000. Many are private schools, and some actively integrate religious or social philosophies into their curricula.
     The purpose of this study was to complement previous studies by further investigating the nature of research education at four-year, undergraduate institutions. Four areas were addressed in a survey of these colleges: (a) research courses required for psychology majors by each program, (b) additional opportunities for students to plan and conduct their own psychological research, (c) percentage of the faculty engaged in ongoing collaborative research with students, and (d) how research activity is supported (e.g., part of teaching load, grant funded).

Participants
     Using the Carnegie Foundation classifications of colleges (McCormick, 2001), we obtained the names of 532 institutions in the United States classified as baccalaureate colleges. The Foundation defines baccalaureate colleges as four-year institutions serving primarily undergraduates. Our research team searched the websites for each of these colleges to determine whether or not each offered a major in psychology. All colleges on the list had information publicly available through an official website. We obtained the name, mailing address, and email address of a department chair or a psychology faculty member at each college from website information. Colleges obviously without psychology majors were eliminated from the sample. This left 479 contact participants at baccalaureate colleges. Problems with email systems and misidentification of appropriate contacts eliminated at least 30 of these participants. There were likely more contacts who had difficulty receiving our correspondence or retrieving the online survey. We received 182 responses, a 40.5% response rate (although not all participants answered all questions on the survey). Of the 182 respondents, 46 came from schools with enrollments under 1,000 students, 108 reported enrollments of between 1,000 and 2499 students, and the final 28 had enrollments of 2,500 students or more. 

Procedure
     The survey was conducted through email. First, in order to ensure that participants would not simply delete the email survey as junk or unsolicited email, we sent a letter through regular mail explaining the survey to each of the contact people identified at the colleges. In the letter, we also requested that each contact person pass on the information to another faculty member if that was appropriate. 
     Approximately two weeks later we sent emails to the contact participants containing another explanation of the research and a website link to the survey. Participants who clicked on the link were taken to the survey. After the participant responsed to the questions and clicked on a "submit" button, survey responses were sent anonymously to the first author's email and automatically forwarded to a hard drive. 
     The survey itself consisted of 15 questions, both qualitative and quantitative, designed to elicit the structure of research education within each program, the nature of independent or collaborative research opportunities available to students in each program, and how faculty in each program balance research activity with other responsibilities. Additional questions addressed the size of the institution, the number of current psychology majors, the presence of a Psi Chi chapter, and access to an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
     To determine the structure of research education, participants were given a selection of possible courses (Statistics, Research Methods, Experimental Methods, Integrated Statistics & Research Methods, Senior Thesis) and asked to indicate how many of each were required in their major program. There was also an "Other" option for open-ended responses. 
     A question about additional types of research opportunities offered four possible choices: independent study with a collaborating faculty member, membership in a research laboratory for course credit, funded research assistantships, and research-related internships. Participants could endorse any or all of these choices as being available in their programs.
     The survey included questions about the number of full-time psychology faculty involved in collaborative research activities with students during the regular school year and during the summer break. Participants also chose from a list of possibilities (including an open-ended "Other" option) which one best described how mentoring undergraduate research was built into the faculty's teaching responsibilities. 
     Finally, participants ranked up to three types of structural changes or resources that would be of most assistance to them in improving undergraduate research experiences at their institutions. Participants could provide their own ideas as well. Choices given in the survey were: reduction of teaching responsibilities, ability to incorporate research activity into existing teaching load, funding for faculty release time, funding for student assistantships, online resources for help with data analysis, online resources related to research methodology, opportunities to collaborate with psychologists at other institutions, assistance with IRB processes, and increases in the number of undergraduate publications or conferences.

     There were 182 respondents to the survey, 46 from "small" schools with enrollments under 1,000 students, 108 with "medium" enrollments of between 1,000 and 2,499, and 28 "large" institutions, with enrollments of 2,500 students or more. The mean number of full-time psychology faculty was 5.05, but the numbers reported varied from 1 to 14 full-time members of the department. The modal number of full-time faculty was 3 (17.6% of respondents). 
     The average number of undergraduates majoring in psychology at each institution was 95 (SD = 62.26), but, not surprisingly, this varied significantly by enrollment, F(2, 173) = 31.02, p < .01. Small schools averaged 56.36 (SD = 43.33) majors; those in the middle range of 1,000-2,499 reported a mean of 96.03 (SD = 52.92) majors, and large schools were serving an average of 158.96 (SD = 69.19) undergraduate psychology majors. The standard deviations surrounding these figures are quite large, however, indicating considerable variation in the number of psychology majors at these institutions, in every size category.  
     One hundred and thirty (71%) of the respondents reported having an active chapter of Psi Chi. A majority (79.7%) also indicated that their institutions had active IRBs in place.

Research Courses Required for the Psychology Major
     The first question of interest was about the types and numbers of courses about research that were required for psychology majors. The mean number of total required research courses for the major (statistics, methods, experimental methods, integrated methods/statistics, or senior thesis) was 3.0 (SD = 1.35, N = 180), with a mode of 2 courses required. Responses ranged from 0 to 11 courses required.
     The three most commonly reported patterns of required courses were (a) a basic or integrated research methods course plus a statistics course (54 or 30% of participants); (b) a three-course series including experimental methods, basic research methods, and statistics (39 or 21.67%); and (c) this three-course series plus a research-based thesis (27 or 15%). Together, however, these three categories account for only 66.67% of the participating institutions, indicating there is considerable variation in the combination of research-related requirements for psychology majors, including five institutions (2.78%) reporting that none of these courses were required of psychology majors.  
     Regarding the frequency of specific courses, 78 institutions (43.33%) reported requiring completion of a research-based thesis project for the major. Forty-five institutions (25%) reported offering integrated methods and statistics courses rather than separate courses on each topic, although some of these also required an additional statistics course or an experimental methods course on top of the integrated class(es). Sixty-five institutions (36.11%) reported requiring a course titled experimental methods. See Table 1 for details on the frequency of specific course requirements, by size of institution.
     Other required courses mentioned more than once in the open-ended "Other" responses were: "Advanced Research" (5 participants), research practicum or lab (7 participants), and assessment (7 participants). Many participants indicated that the research process was also taught through content area courses.

Additional Research Opportunities Available for Psychology Majors
     Secondly, participants indicated which of five types of additional research opportunities were available to psychology students at their institutions, although not specifically required for the major. Options given were research as independent study, research laboratory team, internships, and funded research assistantships (see Table 2). Participants could also describe other types of programs available that did not fit into one of these categories. 
     Independent study opportunities were available to psychology majors at 84.0% (N = 153) of the institutions, making it the most common research experience available outside of required coursework. This option was significantly less likely to be available at small schools, however, than at medium or large schools (65.9% versus 94.2% and 92.9%), _X² (2, N = 176) = 22.86, p < .01. 
     Research laboratory courses were offered at 53.8% (N = 98) of schools, and research assistantships funded by grants or other outside sources were available at 32.4% (N = 59). Research-related internships were offered at 53.3% (N = 97), but this, too, was an option significantly less likely to be available at small schools than at medium or large schools (16.3% versus 33.9% or 39.8%), _X²(2, N = 176) = 7.92, p = .019.
     Other types of opportunities mentioned by more than one participant were: Honors or voluntary Senior thesis (17 participants), summer research (15 participants), and collaboration with faculty without credit (9 participants). Seventeen participants also mentioned "directed research" as an opportunity available to students.
     The percentage of majors involved with these research activities was calculated from responses to questions about the total number of psychology majors and about the number of majors involved in the given research opportunities. Not all respondents supplied information about number of students involved in the activities. The mean percentage of students reported to be involved in research opportunities was 21.95% (SD = 23.44, N = 166). There was no significant difference between the percentage of majors involved at institutions of different sizes.

Faculty Collaboration with Students
     Participants reported that during the regular school session, an average of 61.62% (SD = 34.41, N = 178) of full-time psychology faculty members were involved in ongoing collaborative research with undergraduates. This percentage did not differ significantly by school size. Twenty-four schools (13.2%) reported that none of their faculty members were currently involved in this type of activity, and 51 (28%) reported that all of their full-time faculty members participated in collaborative research.
     During summer breaks, an overall mean of 26.54% of faculty members were reported to be collaborating with students on research (SD = 28.66, N = 176). This did differ significantly by school size, with small schools reporting a smaller percentage of faculty involved in the summer (15.17%) than either medium schools (28.26%) or large schools (38.51%); F(2, 173) = 6.56, p = .002.

Funding and Support for Undergraduate Research Activity
     When asked about how mentoring undergraduate research fit into psychology professors' teaching responsibilities, 86 participants (47.3%) reported that faculty members were expected to work on research with students outside of their regular teaching assignments. This was the most common response. Forty-six participants (25.3%) reported that research work with students could be incorporated into their course loads, and 23 (12.6%) reported that research work with students could be counted as an "overload" course for which faculty could receive compensation. These percentages were not significantly different when compared by size of school. Only one participant reported that grant funding was used regularly to support this type of activity.
     Additionally, in qualitative responses, 13 participants wrote in some detail about how their faculty could utilize different combinations of these mechanisms, including rotating faculty responsibilities for research labs and "banking" hours for later course load reductions.

Improving Undergraduate Research Opportunities
     The final item on the survey required participants to indicate the three resources or changes they believed would be most helpful in improving undergraduate research experiences (N = 175 for responses to this item). The most requested change was a reduction in teaching load, with 81.1% of responding participants listing this option as one of their top three requests, and 62.3% listing it as their first-ranked choice. 
     The remaining top five choices were funding for release time to work on research (71.4%), funding for undergraduate research assistantships (56.6%), support for a research laboratory course (40%), and opportunities to collaborate with psychology departments at other institutions (21.1%). There were no significant differences in rankings or top 5 selections based on school size.
     An open-ended response item was also attached to this question. Faculty from small and medium sized schools were more likely to write in additional responses than were participants from large schools. Fifteen participants mentioned the need for additional funding for students, either for their work as research assistants, summer research projects, or their travel to conferences. The other two most frequent requests were an additional faculty member (8 participants) and more lab space (7 participants). A variety of other requests were made by one or two participants, including access to a participant pool, better library facilities, grant-writing assistance, well-written laboratory materials, information on service or community-based research, and (last but not least) increased student motivation for research work.

Psi Chi Chapter Effects
     Based on survey responses, the percentage of faculty and students involved in research is significantly different between schools with and without Psi Chi chapters. In Psi Chi-affiliated psychology departments, an average of 64.99% (SD = 31.21) faculty are involved in collaborative research with students, as opposed to 52.69% (SD = 41.14) at non-Psi Chi schools, t(175) = 4.54, p < .01. Psychology majors at Psi Chi schools are also more involved with research than those at other schools (M = 24.59%, SD = 24.73 vs. M = 13.66%, SD = 16.90), t(163) = 2.66, p = .009.
     Schools with Psi Chi chapters were significantly different from schools without Psi Chi chapters in terms of the variety of research opportunities offered to undergraduates. Schools with Psi Chi chapters were more likely to offer faculty-student collaborative research as an independent study option than were schools without Psi Chi chapters (91.4% vs 74.5%), _X² (1, N = 175) = 8.64, p < .01. Psi Chi affiliated schools were also more likely to offer the chance to participate in a research laboratory for course credit (62.7% vs. 38.3%), _X² (1, N = 173) = 8.27, p < .01, and to have paid research assistantships available for students (39.7% vs. 17.0%), _X²(1, N = 173) = 7.89, p < .005.
     There were no significant differences between schools with and without Psi Chi chapters in the total number of research courses required for the major, the ways in which research activity was supported by their institutions, or in the rankings of resources or changes that would help improve undergraduate research opportunities.

     The purpose of this survey was to gain information about the structure of research education and the types of hands-on research opportunities available to psychology majors at baccalaureate institutions. Because these schools are not primarily associated with research in the way that universities are, students and faculty in psychology should be encouraged by the results of this survey. Research appears to be a highly valued and visible part of the curriculum in the vast majority of these institutions. These findings confirm those of other recent surveys (Kierniesky, 2005; Perlman & McCann, 2005).
     Most of the baccalaureate schools surveyed here require at least two courses specifically aimed at teaching research skills to psychology majors, with many requiring three or more. Almost half require a research-based thesis project for the major, with an additional 10% offering it as an option. Outside of required coursework, 90% of the institutions offer, on a regular basis, other types of research experiences, including research labs, internships, summer programs, and student-faculty collaborations. Many of these opportunities are equally available regardless of institution size. In an increasingly competitive marketplace for smaller colleges, this is a result to keep in mind when speaking with prospective students or in developing recruiting materials to be used by an institution's admissions department.
     The results of this survey also demonstrate the variety and creativity of the psychology curriculum at many schools and the resourcefulness of smaller departments in providing enriching research experiences for students. The titles of research methods courses alone are extremely varied. This finding does indicate a potential concern, though, in that faculty at baccalaureate colleges may have some difficulty discussing pedagogical or curriculum issues related to research education with colleagues at other institutions, as our own individual curricula become more and more unique. We observed some of this potential confusion in the responses to the survey itself. Several participants felt the need to clarify their objective responses because they were unsure whether their terminology matched ours; for example, one participant was not sure whether a course entitled "Empirical Research" should be recorded as a general research methods course or not.
     Students, too, should be aware of what appears to be tremendous flexibility in the opportunities available to them. No matter what size the school, psychology majors who wish to gain more experience or skill at research should make the effort to inquire about independent study options, possible internships, collaboration with faculty, or special summer programs. Not all of these programs are offered as regular courses so it may require some initiative on the part of students to gain access to them. The survey results also show that fewer than 25% of our majors are involved with research outside of required coursework. At least some of the remaining 75% may simply be unaware that some of the more informal opportunities exist, or may be hesitant to approach faculty directly about an area of interest.
     Another factor that impacts the number of students involved with research, however, is faculty time. The survey results reveal that faculty at almost half of the institutions surveyed must find time to mentor student research outside of their regular teaching responsibilities. While many institutions reported, again, a variety of creative ways of helping faculty manage, only a quarter were able to state that research laboratories or student research mentoring were regularly a part of their teaching loads. When faculty at smaller schools teach an average of 6-8 courses per year (Kierniesky, 2005), directing student research on top of that could be a heavy burden. It is not surprising that the most commonly requested forms of assistance by participants were reduction of teaching loads or release time for research work.
     Schools with Psi Chi chapters compare favorably with other schools in this survey. Psi Chi institutions reported a larger percentage of students involved with research outside of required coursework, a larger percentage of faculty involved in ongoing research with students, and greater likelihood of paid research assistantships, independent study opportunities, and regular research laboratories for students than schools without Psi Chi chapters.
     There are a number of limitations to the conclusions presented here. Although intended to be a comprehensive survey of baccalaureate colleges, less than half of those listed in the Carnegie classification guide responded to the survey. Results might be different with higher levels of participation. Comparisons between size categories are also biased because of the relatively small number of schools placed in the small and large size categories. This was probably due to the wording of the related survey item, as it presented only one category for schools between 1,000 and 2,500 enrollment; providing more size categories for participants to choose from would have allowed for more balanced group comparisons.
     Word choice for survey items in general also presents a limitation. Although we attempted to keep the categorical choices in survey items as general as possible, it was clear that several participants were unsure about whether their classes fell into a category named on the survey or not. Many participants also included long explanations of programs that of necessity had to be condensed to basics in order to be included in aggregate results. As mentioned above, psychology departments appear to use their own distinctive terminology in describing their own courses and other types of research work with students. Our decisions about how to handle unique responses, and our interpretations of the survey responses overall are thus biased by our own idiosyncratic experiences with research education and our own college's version of these courses.  
     Overall, however, we believe that this survey indicates that hands-on research opportunities for students, including those outside of regular coursework, are quite abundant, even at smaller baccalaureate colleges. For Psi Chi as an organization, the good news in these results is that there does seem to be some relationship between student-centered research activity at these institutions and the presence of a Psi Chi chapter. The direction of this relationship is of course undetermined. Schools with more research-oriented faculty would probably be more likely to sponsor a Psi Chi chapter as well as to emphasize research experiences with students. 
     There are two general recommendations that we would make based on the responses to this survey: one for undergraduate psychology students (or prospective students) and one for Psi Chi as an organization. The first, for students, is to be proactive about involvement in research; take the initiative in seeking out information. Ask professors for information, or department chairs, and ask specifically about such options as independent study projects, assistantships, research lab groups, and internships. If you have an idea that you would like to turn into a research project, do not be afraid to propose a collaboration to a faculty member or to find out about applying for grants or other funding. Most schools have these options available, but most professors likely do not have time to counsel each student individually about these possibilities without evidence of the student's serious interest.   
     Psi Chi should consider the requests made by faculty participants. Outside of basic institutional changes in workload, participants expressed a desire for more funding for students' research. Although Psi Chi already sponsors several grants for student research, certainly this indicates that even more would be welcomed, or that perhaps those programs that exist are not being utilized or publicized as effectively as possible. Rather than increasing awards for completed research, Psi Chi could provide more small awards for things like conference travel, equipment, or testing materials. Funding for summer research internships would also be popular, according to this survey.
     Another possibility for Psi Chi is to investigate establishing a network that would allow faculty at smaller colleges to collaborate with colleagues at other institutions. This was one of the top five most requested resources. In qualitative responses, some participants also reported frustration with limited resources and expertise at their institutions. There were even one or two individual participants who requested information about specific types of programs that other participants described using quite successfully--community service research, to use one example. Some type of central site for sharing information about student-oriented research programs might be helpful; a place where some could offer what was working well and others could access that information or ask for assistance. Opportunities for communication and collaboration could potentially lead to less fragmentation of the research curricula across institutions and also to increasingly effective research opportunities that will better prepare students for graduate school or careers in fields related to psychology.


References

Beins, B. (2003, Spring). What should psychology majors know and what should they be able to do? Eye on Psi Chi, 7(3), 38-39.

Kierniesky, N. C. (2005). Undergraduate research in small psychology departments: Two decades later. Teaching of Psychology, 32, 84-90.

McCormick, A. C. (Ed.). (2001). The Carnegie classification of institutions of higher learning. Menlo Park, CA: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Retrieved February 1, 2005, from http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/index.htm

Perlman, B., & McCann, L. I. (2005). Undergraduate research experiences in psychology: A national study of courses and curricula. Teaching of Psychology, 32, 5-14.

Schmauder, A. R., Robinson, M. D., & Hartley, J. E. (1999). Psychology research at liberal arts colleges. Teaching of Psychology, 26, 95-101.


Author Note. This project was funded by a 2004-2005 Thelma Hunt Research Grant. We would like to thank Samantha Nerison for her help with data entry and analysis, and Colleen Fitzpatrick for her assistance with the initial mailing. Correspondence concerning the article should be addressed to Julia Omarzu, Psychology Program, Loras College, 1450 Alta Vista Street, Dubuque, IA, 50211. Email: julia.omarzu@loras.edu


Julia Omarzu, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology and the Psi Chi faculty advisor at Loras College. Dr. Omarzu is a social psychologist who received her doctoral degree from the University of Iowa. Her research has been focused on close relationships and self-disclosure. She especially enjoys teaching and mentoring undergraduate research.


Erin Hennessey graduated from Loras College in 2005 with a BA in psychology. Currently, she is planning to continue her schooling and pursue a second degree in elementary education. Ms. Hennessy is also interested in obtaining a master's degree in either school counseling or school psychology.


Lauren Rys is a junior psychology major and gender studies minor at Loras College, where she has spent three semesters as a member of the psychology research labs. Ms. Rys teaches swimming lessons, volunteers at a domestic violence shelter, and has used her research skills to perform data analysis for the local Girl Scout Council's Junior Outcomes report. Her future plans are to apply psychology to children in a community setting. She plans to attend graduate school and work toward a PsyD or PhD.

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