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If undergraduate research is a high-impact practice and experience, why do so many students drop out of their research labs? A study by 14 undergraduates at Arizona State University and several other scholars published in PLOS ONE found that lab climate is a major factor in undergraduate research persistence. The study, based on a survey of more than 750 life sciences undergraduates who did research at 25 public research institutions, found that half of the sample had considered leaving their research experience -- and that 53 percent actually did leave. The biggest influences for students who stayed in their labs were positive environments and social interactions, feeling included, enjoying everyday research tasks, and having flexible schedules. Students who quit were more likely to report negative lab environments and not learning important knowledge and skills.
“We often assume that all undergraduate research experiences are positive for students, but this study shows that this is not the case,” senior author Sara Brownell, associate professor of life sciences at Arizona State, told ASU Now. “If 50 percent of students consider leaving their undergraduate research experience, then that means that we have a structural problem with how we are integrating students in undergraduate research.” Race, gender, grades and first-generation college-going status also seemed to play into students’ research experiences, to a degree.
