Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring is the third scholarly journal to be published at the university.
A biannual academic journal supported by Elon University debuts this week with information, observations and reflections on undergraduate research.
Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring is focused on scholarship related to the guidance professors offer students who take part in research activities as part of their college experience.
Led by associate professor Mat Gendle in the Department of Psychology and assistant professor Rebecca Pope-Ruark in the Department of English, the inaugural edition of the online journal includes the following articles:
– “Valuing and Challenging Selective Undergraduate Research Programs”
– “Developing Expertise: An Apprenticeship Model of Mentoring Undergraduate Research across Cohorts”
– “Challenges and Rewards of Community-Based Research and Scholarly Engagement”
– “Faculty Perceptions of Undergraduate Research”
– A review of the 2009 book Developing Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
The journal’s website states its mission to “create a home for scholarly contributions to the process literature in undergraduate research and mentoring” while providing a platform for various stakeholders – professors as well as students – to voice their ideas on research while building a sense of community.
“Our position is that talking about undergraduate research and leaving out undergraduate voices misses the point entirely,” Gendle said. “This journal is about the process of conducting undergraduate research.”
As such, professors and students review the submissions and work together on selecting material for inclusion, he said. Nor is the journal meant for undergraduate research product, but rather the academic study of how undergraduate research is evolving and the impacts it makes on both students and mentors.
Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring is the third journal to be published by Elon University. It joins the Department of Economics’ Issues in Political Economy, co-managed with the University of Mary Washington, and the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications.