Published: Feb. 24, 2020 By

CU Boulder program makes undergraduate research accessible, teaching students to follow their curiosity and reframe their failures


Amy Martinez didnā€™t think it would take so long to start her research on Latinx identities. As a junior, she received a research grant fromĢżCU Boulderā€™s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP),Ģżbut she struggled to earn separate approval fromĢżCU Boulderā€™s Institutional Review Board (IRB).Ģż

Amy Martinez

Amy Martinez

Because she wanted to study human subjects, she needed IRBā€™s OK before collecting data.

ā€œThere were so many questions and details that the IRB required me to write about that I didn't even have answers or solutions to yet,ā€ says Martinez, whoĢżgraduated in December fromĢżCU Boulder with a BA in anthropology and communication.Ģż

ā€œIt really required me to think outside of the box and make tough decisions about where my research would take me.ā€

It took time for Martinez to address IRBā€™s stringent requirements. The complication extended her project timeline, which meant she had to change her summer plans and collect data.Ģż

She completed her project and defended it as an honorā€™s thesis in December. Her research documents the struggles of bicultural, bilingual youth who try to maintain Latinx identities while meeting the expectations of mainstream, white-dominant U.S. culture.Ģż

I learned that I can, really, do anything. It just takes a lot of really hard work.ā€ā€‹

Notwithstanding hardships these youth face, they succeed as resilient, adaptable individuals who feel secure in their Latinx identities.Ģż

Undergraduate research fueled Martinezā€™ self-confidence as a scholar, and she is exploring graduate school.Ģż

But this outcome was no foregone conclusion. Three years ago, she would not have considered applying for a university research grant.Ģż

Sheā€™d heard aboutĢżUROPĢżbut figured ā€œthatā€™s not something that someone like me does. ā€¦ Thatā€™s what some other crazy, determined student would do.ā€

Ģż

Redefining ā€˜research and creative workā€™

Martinez is not alone. According to UROP, manyĢżundergraduates have difficulty seeing a path to research and creative work.

ā€œA huge issue is what the word ā€˜researchā€™Ģżevokes,ā€ says Joan Gabriele, who directs CU Boulderā€™s Special Undergraduate Enrichment Programs (SUEP), which houses UROP.Ģż

ā€œWhen we do workshops, I just love to ask the question, ā€˜What images come to mind when you hear the word research?ā€™ Itā€™s usually science. Itā€™s usually labs. And if youā€™re not in that world, then research does seem like something that (only) scientists do.ā€

Other students donā€™t pursue research and creative work because they think theyā€™re unqualified.

ā€œA desire weā€™ve had is to avoid that language of hierarchy that says ā€˜only the best and the brightest should do research.ā€™ Those definitions are pretty slippery,ā€ says Gabriele. ā€œRecognizing that potential looks different in different students, thatā€™s one of the reasons that UROP is available to everyone.ā€Ģż

Since its 1986 beginning, UROP has sought to recruit and support more student research with a relatively flat budget. Four years ago, Gabriele and her staff examined every facet of the application and funding processes, then changed ineffective procedures.Ģż

For example, they removed eligibility requirements for a minimum GPA and credits earned and removed the restriction on simultaneously earning CU Boulder credit while receiving UROP funding.

ā€œTake about any aspect of the program, and weā€™ve really tried to say, ā€˜How can this be easier? How can students make more sense of this and how can they get started faster?ā€™ā€ says Tim Oā€™Neil, assistant director of UROP. ā€œWe are getting it into a position where weā€™ve cleared out as much of the bureaucracy as we can.ā€

Ģż

The circuitous path toward a scholarly idea

With a simpler application process in place, Oā€™Neil is helping students see how faculty and students generate ideas.ĢżĢż

ā€œĀ鶹ŅłŌŗ donā€™t see it (the path to a research outcome) when they see a faculty member in the front of their class with a lot of credentials and a lot of success often highlighted in terms of disciplinary success,ā€ says Oā€™Neil.Ģż

ā€œThey donā€™t know that the person up there has taken a far more circuitous route to that destination than they realized. And it has been sign-posted by failure as far back as they can go. The turns are often serendipitous, and in every case, someone helped.ā€Ģż

In the case of Martinez, she heard about research and creative work as a first-year student and again as a sophomore, but she thought she needed a focused problem or idea. She had neither. Instead, she knew she loved cultural anthropology field work and wanted to know more.Ģż

She took a class in practicing anthropology at CU Boulder and was introduced toĢż, a program that supports the siblings of pregnant and parenting teens. While observing the programā€™s strategies to support Latinx teens, she reflected on her past.Ģż

ā€œI had these personal questions about my own cultural identity and why I wasn't given the opportunity to experience some of it,ā€ says Martinez, who is the great granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. ā€œIā€™ve always had those questions, and then I was introduced to the (GENESISTER) program.ā€

A faculty advisor in anthropology helped Martinez form her questions into a potential project. She then applied for and received a grant from UROP.Ģż

Martinezā€™s project met unexpected barriers from the outset. Conducting research over the summer challenged her ability to collect data and affected the scope of work. But she adapted, completed her project and successfully defended it before a faculty panel.Ģż

You can have the most general, overarching idea. A word or a concept. Just meet with professors and as many as you can,ā€ā€‹

UROP invests in stories like Martinezā€™s that stress both the result and the process of coming to that result. Another initiative called theĢżLightbulb MomentĢżuses videos toĢżdescribe students driven by curiosity, strategies they deploy to overcome challenges and pathways to results. Staff members with UROP and other programs within SUEP believe that showing research and creative work as a process helps students understand a facet of scholarship that many undergraduates misunderstandā€”failure.

ā€œWeā€™re getting high-achieving scholars who a lot of times are stuck in these narratives about who they are as learners,ā€ says Jim Walker, teaching faculty in SUEP. He notes that many feel pressure to avoid failure, which discourages them from taking risks.Ģż

Oā€™Neil says self-forgiveness is critical.Ģż

ā€œIf (students) only see the final outcome and a linear path to it, whenever life presents a turn or a failure, that seems catastrophic,ā€ says Oā€™Neil. ā€œThey donā€™t see how you can turn and actually end up some place better than you had hoped.ā€

Ģż

The hardest part is getting started

Martinezā€™s UROP experienceĢżbuilt her confidence as a student, a scholar and as a graduate exploring her next career step.

ā€œI feel like I can do more. I want to go to grad school, and Iā€™m thinking about PhD programs,ā€ says Martinez. ā€œI learned that I can, really, do anything. It just takes a lot of really hard work.ā€

Martinez believes her confidence grew as a result of her UROP experience. She encourages fellow students toĢżapply, even if early in their academic careers.

ā€œYou can have the most general, overarching idea. A word or a concept. Just meet with professors and as many as you can,ā€ says Martinez.Ģż

ā€œIt can be really scary to show up to someoneā€™s office hours and say ā€˜I kind of want to do this, but I also have no idea what Iā€™m doing.ā€™ But thatā€™s what theyā€™re there for. They want to help you figure it out. The hardest part is making that first decision of ā€˜Am I going to do this or am I not going to do this?ā€™ā€Ģż

Her advice is succinct:

ā€œJust do it.ā€