Short-Term Research Experience (SRE) in the Traditional Lab: Qualitative and Quantitative Data on Outcomes

The San Diego Biodiversity Project introduces undergraduate students at four different 2- and 4-year schools to a short-term research experience (SRE) that was implemented as a module in the last third of a traditional laboratory course. The study assesses the qualities of this SRE for students using three different methods. Twenty-one participants were interviewed about their experiences in the traditional and research components of their course. In a repeated-measures design, 124 participants took the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey immediately before and after their participation in the SRE. Finally, using a propensity score matching technique, PITS survey results for SRE students were compared with those for students in a course-based research experience (CRE). Student perceptions of the traditional lab and the SRE are different—students appreciate learning basic processes and procedures in the traditional lab, but they express having personal investment in and a sense of participating in science in the SRE. Significant increases were found for the variable of Project Ownership in the SRE condition over the traditional lab, but SRE outcomes were lower than CRE outcomes. Although the SRE may not provide the benefits of a CRE, it is a serious option for expanding access to authentic research.