Providing Undergraduate Research Opportunities for Communication Students: A Curricular Approach

Abstract

Undergraduate research can provide transformative educational experiences and profoundly impact the teaching of communication. It is often difficult, however, to integrate undergraduate research into the communication curriculum. In this paper, we discuss the benefits of undergraduate research experiences and the challenges of teaching research methods in communication. We present a structure for incorporating a capstone undergraduate research experience into the communication curriculum. The value of the capstone experience stems from providing experiences that culminate in inquiry and knowledge creation. These experiences help students find relevance and ownership during the research process.

Keywords:

• Research
• Communication Curriculum
• Communication Assessment
• Capstone Course
• Undergraduate Research