Re: Definition of Undergraduate Research

[James McLean <jmclean@CHEM.UCSD.EDU>]

"Rauber, Joel Phys" wrote:
> At the risk of sounding flippant, what's wrong with the following
> definition: undergraduate research is . . .
> "research that is performed by an undergraduate"
> The definition of "undergraduate" should be fairly clear; so it probably
> boils down to defining "research".

How about research is activity which "advances the field".  This is
still a bit nebulous.  But it means that designing a better detector
does qualify as research, while repeating a historically important
experiment does not (unless accuracy is improved or something).

This definition also has as a benefit that it matches what actual
practitioners of the field do (by definition, practically).

Yet it does not require that the field be advanced very far.

--
--James McLean
jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu
post doc
UC San Diego, Chemistry