Science/Technology blog

Following Chad and Jake, I want to jump off from an article in Science about undergraduate research. It’s always nice when some sort of survey confirms one’s preexisting biases….

In short, the survey found that performing research increased undergraduates’ interest in science and technology fields (so-annoyingly-called “STEM” disciplines, for Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). Such undergraduates were also more likely to go on to advanced degrees, although here the causality isn’t necessarily clear. The survey did find that students with higher grades tended to be more likely to get involved in research; this raises at least the possibility that “getting involved in research” and “going on to an advanced degree” are affected by a common cause, and that the former doesn’t necessarily increase the probability of the latter.

Of great importance was the fact that undergraduate research seemed to improve the confidence and future success of underrepresented minorities and women. I’m not sure I can tell you what is particularly “white male patriarchy” about classroom performance, but if this is a way to help people realize their true abilities in science regardless of their ethnic background, then it could be an important component in the continuing problem of minorities and women in science. (Indeed, the title of the Science article is “The Pipeline: Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences.”)

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