Authentic Research Examples

Name Institution Course Module Research Structure
2-Year Community Colleges
Nitya Jacob Oxford College
(liberal arts intensive 2 year college)
Intro Bio for majors Arabia Mountain Student-generated question and hypothesis, authentic research
Joanna Vondrasek Piedmont Virginia Community College Required research course for science majors Semester-long independent research Student-generated question
Non-majors Biology Bean beetle labs Semester-long, guided inquiry
Sophomore-level Cell Bio and Genetics courses Fairly open-ended multi-week labs
Minority-serving Institutions
Barbara J Abraham Hampton University
(HBCU)
Intro Bio for majors Analyses of chemistry and animals in soil samples 3-4 weeks student-generated question, presentation and paper
Lawrence Blumer Morehouse College
(private liberal arts, HBCU)
Freshman course Howard Hughes Medical Institute Phage Hunters Novel question
Intro lab for majors Bean beetle guided-inquiry Student-generated questions, experiment design
Liberal Arts Colleges
Sibdas Ghosh Dominican University of California
(liberal arts college)
Undergraduate Research Sequence, starting 2nd semester Required scaffolded research courses Research methodology
Lonnie Guralnick Roger Williams University
(public university)
Intro Bio lab at Western Oregon Ecology intro module for majors Directed inquiry, term-long project
Pam Hanson Birmingham-Southern College
(liberal arts college)
Upper level genetics, honors-level intro cell and molecular biology, impacts General Chemistry and Advanced Inorganic Chemistry KP1019 Chemotherapy drug Semester-long novel research project
Mary Miller Rhodes College
(liberal arts college)
Intro Bio Sequence Student-designed experiment, focus on scientific communication with 2-4 week modules Guided inquiry, followed by student driven hypothesis and experimentation, then presentation
Gary Reiness Lewis and Clark College Introductory Bio 141, 151, 200 Student designed, inquiry-driven laboratories
Jen Rhode Ward UNC-Asheville
(public liberal arts university)
Freshman and sophomore courses Plant ecology, physiology, and genetics Authentic research-based lab work
Kathy Winnett-Murray Hope College
(liberal arts college)
Non-majors Investigation of the impacts of invasive plant species in ecological communities Month-long group research project, jigsaw approach
Comprehensive (Masters Granting) Institutions
Judy Guinan Radford University
(comprehensive)
Introductory majors Guided inquiry, student-designed question and experimental design, analysis and presentation
Larry Wimmers Towson State University Intro labs Guided inquiry with student generated hypothesis and design
Research (Doctoral Granting) Colleges
Kristen Miller University of Georgia
(public university)
Introductory Biology for majors Student-designed experiments
Craig Ogilvie Iowa State University
(public research university)
Multiple courses, approximately 1000 students per year 5-6 week research projects in 9 science lab courses across several disciplines Involves learning communities of faculty and graduate student TAs
Elisabeth Schussler University of Tennessee
(public university)
Second semester introductory biology for majors (cell biology) Four 2-week guided laboratories Guided inquiry based on research by UT faculty members
Rachelle Spell Emory University
(private research university)
Majors intro labs Yeast genome stability Multi-week module with guided student-generated question