Importing the Laboratory Model to the Social Sciences: Prospects for Improving Mentoring of Undergraduate Researchers

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been identified as High-Impact Practices that increase understanding of complex concepts, foster independent inquiry, and improve educational outcomes, such as student retention and graduation rates. This article argues that in order to make the URE truly “high-impact,” the laboratory model from the sciences can be used by social science faculty members in a variety of institutional settings to foster mentorship at multiple levels. The theoretical is combined with the practical, offering suggestions for best practices based on the author’s experience setting up a undergraduate laboratory in International Relations at a research-oriented institution.

Keywords:

• Undergraduate research
• high-impact practices
• mentoring
• laboratory
• social sciences

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Megan Becker

Megan Becker is an Assistant (Teaching) Professor at the University of Southern California’s School of International Relations (SIR), where she is the co-PI of the Security and Political Economy Lab (http://uscspec.org) and the Director of the SIR Undergraduate Research Program. Her pedagogy research engages with matters related to undergraduate research, data literacy, and the teaching of research methods. She is the 2017 recipient of APSA's Craig L. Brians Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Mentoring and 2019-2020 Faculty Fellow of the Project on Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research. She holds a MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and a BA in International Politics from Pennsylvania State University.