Conducting Defining Research: A Defining Experience for Undergrads

July 22, 2014 Nash Dunn 2-min. read

Student researcher Ann Paschall works alongside Prof. Ann Ross. — Student researcher Anna Paschall works alongside Professor Ann Ross.

Creating new knowledge. It’s one of the big benefits of studying at a research-intensive university like NC State. And conducting important research is not reserved for faculty and graduate students; we encourage undergrads to conduct research, too.

CHASS Associate Dean Vicki Gallagher has spearheaded our college’s drive to get more undergraduates involved with research. Students can propose research projects and work with faculty mentors, supported by small grants made possible through, among other sources, contributions to the NC State University Foundation. “These research projects give students hands-on mentoring in how to be a researcher,” says Gallagher. “It’s akin to an apprenticeship. And while the experience has a profound and lasting impact on the students, the resulting research produces new knowledge that is of value to others as well.” Gallagher hopes to make funds available again this year.

In the video below, three students describe their projects: Daniel Gallagher (Communication, ’13), worked alongside Assistant Professor of Communication Nicholas Taylor on a mixed methods analysis of the growth and development of the electronic sports scene globally, and at the hugely popular League of Legends game specifically. Kevin Farrow (English, ’13) worked with Associate Professor of English Huiling Ding to look at retracted publications in the field of engineering as a way to study misconduct such as plagiarism and falsification of evidence. Anna Paschall (Biological Sciences ’16) was mentored by Professor of Anthropology Ann Ross as she investigated how to estimate the size of bullets from cranial gunshot wounds.