graduate level research vs undergraduate level research

Graduate Research vs. Undergraduate Research: Exploring the Differences

• by Matthew Morales
• October 31, 2023

Have you ever wondered how graduate research differs from undergraduate research? As you navigate the world of higher education, it’s important to understand the distinctions between these two levels of academic pursuit. Whether you’re a current undergraduate student considering your future options or a curious individual seeking knowledge, this blog post will shed light on the unique aspects of graduate research.

But before we dive into the specifics, let’s first clarify what it means to be a graduate. A graduate student is someone who has already completed a bachelor’s degree and has decided to pursue further studies in a specific field. With a master’s or doctoral degree in mind, they embark on a more advanced academic journey that involves in-depth research and specialized coursework.

Now that we’ve established the foundations, let’s uncover the key differences between graduate and undergraduate research. From the level of study to the depth of inquiry, this exploration will provide valuable insights into the distinct realms of academia at the graduate level. So, fasten your seatbelts and join us in unraveling the nuances of graduate research versus undergraduate research in 2023!

How is Graduate Research Different from Undergraduate Research

In the world of academia, research plays a crucial role in shaping new knowledge and pushing the boundaries of understanding. While both undergraduate and graduate students engage in research, there are significant differences between the two. Let’s delve into how graduate research differs from undergraduate research and what sets them apart.

Graduate research takes a deep dive into a specific field of study, whereas undergraduate research tends to cover a broader range of topics. Picture undergraduate research as a sampler platter at a restaurant, while graduate research is more like a five-course meal with each dish meticulously prepared and savored. Graduate students explore a single topic in great detail, allowing them to become experts in their field.

The Complexity:

While undergraduates may conduct research under the guidance of professors, graduate students are expected to work more independently and demonstrate critical thinking skills. Graduate research often involves complex methodologies , intricate data analysis , and the creation of new ideas or theories. It’s like going from solving a jigsaw puzzle with fifty pieces as an undergraduate to tackling a 1000-piece puzzle on your own as a graduate student.

Undergraduate research provides an introductory understanding of a subject, giving students a taste of what research entails. On the other hand, graduate research requires a more in-depth exploration, often leading to the creation of new knowledge. It’s like going from dipping your toe in a shallow stream as an undergraduate to diving headfirst into the deep ocean as a graduate student.

The Independence:

Undergraduate research is usually conducted in a structured environment with close supervision, whereas graduate research allows for greater independence. Graduate students are responsible for designing and executing their research projects, organizing their time efficiently, and making critical decisions. It’s like transitioning from driving a car under the watchful eye of an instructor as an undergraduate to confidently maneuvering the open road by yourself as a graduate student.

Graduate research demands a higher level of rigor compared to undergraduate research. The expectations for analysis and writing are elevated, and the standards are more exacting. Graduate students are pushed to question existing knowledge and contribute original ideas to the academic community. It’s like going from playing a friendly game of football with friends as an undergraduate to competing in a professional league as a graduate student.

The Contribution:

Undergraduate research often focuses on replicating existing studies or contributing incremental findings to the existing body of knowledge. In contrast, graduate research aims to make a substantial contribution to the field, whether by proposing new theories, discovering novel insights, or solving long-standing problems. It’s like going from being a supporting actor in a high school play as an undergraduate to headlining a Broadway production as a graduate student.

In summary, while undergraduate research provides a valuable introduction to the world of research, graduate research elevates the game to a whole new level. With its narrower focus, complex methodologies, and higher expectations, graduate research offers students an opportunity to make a lasting impact on their field. So, whether you’re an undergraduate considering your next steps or a graduate student embarking on your research journey, remember that while the transition may feel daunting, it’s also an exhilarating adventure filled with growth, discovery, and a few sleepless nights. Embrace the challenges, dive into the depths of knowledge, and let your research journey begin!

Graduate Research vs. Undergraduate research: FAQs

As you embark on your academic journey, you may find yourself wondering about the differences between graduate and undergraduate research. We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help shed some light on this topic. So, let’s dive in and get those burning questions answered!

What’s the Deal with Graduate Research

Q: what level is level 6.

A: Ah, level 6, the elusive grade that may leave you scratching your head. Well, fret not, my friend. Level 6 refers to the final year of an undergraduate degree program. It’s like reaching the top floor of a skyscraper, but still not quite reaching the penthouse.

Q: What is a Level 7 Bachelor Degree

A: A Level 7 Bachelor Degree is the shiny trophy you obtain after successfully completing an undergraduate program. It’s like earning a black belt in academia—the culmination of your hard work, sweat, and a fair amount of caffeine.

Graduating to the Next Level

Q: what makes you a graduate.

A: Ah, the moment when you spread your academic wings and officially become a graduate. To achieve this prestigious title, you must complete a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. It’s like leveling up in the game of life, where that hard-earned diploma becomes your +10 armor.

Q: What level is a Master’s degree

A: Welcome to the realm of higher education, my knowledge-hungry friend! A Master’s degree resides at level 7 on the academic ladder. It’s like discovering a hidden treasure chest full of specialized knowledge and increased career opportunities.

Q: What is a Level 7 Master’s

A: A Level 7 Master’s degree is the ultimate treasure you acquire after fulfilling the requirements of a challenging graduate program. It’s like obtaining a PhD in wizardry—okay, maybe not quite as magical, but close enough!

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Q: what’s the difference between an undergraduate and a graduate.

A: Ah, the eternal question! The main difference lies in the level of study. Undergraduate programs are like dipping your toes into the vast academic ocean. Graduate programs, on the other hand, plunge you headfirst into the deep waters, where you become a master of your chosen subject. It’s like upgrading from a learner swimmer to a synchronized diving champion!

Q: Do you need an undergraduate degree to get a graduate degree

A: Absolutely! An undergraduate degree is your ticket to the graduate realm. It’s like the mandatory training montage you see in movies—gotta start from the bottom before you can conquer the world. So grab your diploma and prepare to level up!

Graduate Research Revealed

Q: how is graduate research different from undergraduate research.

A: Oh, the wonders of research! Graduate research takes you on a whole new adventure compared to its undergraduate counterpart. It delves into uncharted territories, where you devise and execute original research projects to contribute new knowledge to your field. It’s like being Indiana Jones, minus the fedora and the threat of giant boulders.

The College Graduation Badge

Q: what degree makes you a college graduate.

A: An undergraduate degree, my friend! It’s like unlocking the achievement “Adventurer Extraordinaire” in the game of academia. Whether it’s a Bachelor of Arts or Science, that degree signifies your completion of a rigorous academic journey. Wear it with pride, for you have conquered the college world!

Voila! We’ve journeyed through a whirlwind of FAQs, unlocking the secrets of graduate research and its distinction from undergraduate research. Now armed with this knowledge, you can confidently navigate the academic landscape. Remember, education is a continuous quest for knowledge and growth, and you’re well on your way to becoming a master of your craft.

Until next time, happy researching!

*Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Always consult with academic advisors or program coordinators for specific details regarding academic requirements and degree levels.

• academic pursuit
• current undergraduate student
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• graduate research
• key differences
• specific field
• undergraduate research

Matthew Morales

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Research and innovation menu, research and innovation, defining undergraduate research.

As a faculty member, you know what research is. You also recognize and respect that what counts as research is unique to each discipline. This perspective – a working knowledge of research coupled with a scholarly regard for research and creative scholarship in other disciplines – is an essential starting point for understanding undergraduate research and creative scholarship.

Undergraduate students come into higher education at various levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is likely that many of the students have not been exposed to rigorous academic research, possess vague ideas of what faculty research looks like, and may be intimidated by the concept.  However, they do know that research is a vital part of a university and they do appreciate that faculty who are productive researchers translate to the university and their discipline having prestige.  And more importantly, they are at a stage in their life when they are most eager to learn and explore their interests, and are therefore ripe to discover the joys of inquiry and discovery.

This setting illuminates the difficulty with defining undergraduate research.  It is not simply undergraduate students conducting research in the same arenas as faculty, using the same research methods and techniques, and working towards contributing original knowledge.  While that is an important part, a more accurate definition of research includes the learning, education, and developmental components that students go through as they learn about and experience academic research.  To further conceptualize this understanding, think back to your own undergraduate education and your first encounter with research.

• How would you describe that experience?
• What were some of they key moments and characteristics?
• Who were the key players?
• Why were you successful?
• How did you overcome challenges?

Contemplating and answering these questions is crucial to understanding undergraduate research and creative scholarship. All of these attributes, factors, and forces are what defines undergraduate research and creative scholarship. It isn’t simply a project, a report, publication, or presentation.  It is the experience — the learning, the intellectual growth and development, the acquisition of skills, the maturation of thought and self, and the fostering of an inquiring and critical mind.

It is from this perspective that the difference between research conducted at the undergraduate level and that which is conducted at the graduate level and beyond is revealed.  It is the pursuit of not only the answers to the research question, but also the pursuit of the positive outcomes associated with student learning and growth. It involves maintaining the ideals of rigorous and ethical research while simultaneously developing students as scholars.

Therefore, how we think about undergraduate research and creative scholarship is more important than how we define it.  Taking this approach allows us to use a broad definition of research that results in increased synergy between teaching and research (Colbeck, 1998; Healey & Jenkins, 2009; Jenkins & Healey, 2005; Zamorski, 2002), which can lead to beneficial educational activities for undergraduate students.

Next – The Teaching-Research Nexus

Suggested Readings

• Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship
• Colbeck, C. (1998). Merging in a seamless blend.  The Journal of Higher Education.  69(6), 647-671.
• Healey, M. & Jenkins, A. (2009).  D eveloping undergraduate research and inquiry.  Research report to the Higher Education Academy.
• Jenkins, A. and Healey, M. (2005).  Institutional strategies to link teaching and research.  York: The Higher Education Academy.
• Zamorski, B. (2002). Research-led teaching and learning in higher education: a case,  Teaching in Higher Education.  7(4), 411–427.

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The Pioneer Pursuit

8 Important Differences Between Undergraduate and Graduate School

May 28, 2021.

Written by SHU Graduate Admissions Team

Over the last two decades, universities across the nation have seen impressive growth in their master’s programs. Since 2000, the rate of growth of earned master’s degrees (60 percent) has outpaced bachelor’s, doctoral, and professional programs. Certain fields of study, primarily business, education, and health professions , have experienced the most growth. What’s more, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in occupations requiring a master’s degree will increase by almost 17 percent by 2026. 

Naturally, important questions arise when considering whether to join the growing ranks of those obtaining graduate degrees. Often prospective grad students wonder — is a master’s worth it? What’s the real difference between an undergraduate vs. graduate degree? How do you choose which program and degree are best for you? To begin answering these questions, explore these eight important differences between a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree. 

1. Highly specific coursework

During an undergraduate program, students take several foundational and general subject courses, some of which are unrelated to their major. Graduate school coursework, on the other hand, is highly specific. 

The goal of graduate school is to help you become an expert in your chosen field of study. Graduate school empowers you to become the master of your own education. A master’s program supports a higher level of individualized learning and offers greater professor support to serve your unique goals. You’ll develop self-awareness and self-confidence as you mature as an expert in your field.

2. Flexibility within the program

Switching majors or even schools one to two years into an undergraduate program is very doable because of the universality of the degree, similarities between programs across institutions, and time you have to complete the degree. In graduate school, however, it is not as easy to make a change to a new program or school. While not impossible, most master’s programs take one to two years to complete — so if you think you want to make a change, initiating it during your first semester is your best bet for retaining all your credit hours. 

3. Admissions Requirements

Undergraduate programs have a relatively simple admissions process, and commonly include submitting your high school grades, SAT or ACT scores, and providing a few writing samples and letters of recommendation. Graduate school applications often require these items and more. Other common admission requirements for graduate school include proof of a completed bachelor’s degree, GRE/GMAT scores, a minimum undergraduate GPA, a statement of purpose, a research proposal, and an interview with the school. Certain graduate programs will have prerequisite course requirements, so be sure to inquire about your specific program of interest. Also, if you are an international student, check with the college or university to see if you need to provide additional documentation. 

4. Course load 

Undergraduate students juggle 5-6 courses per semester, while graduate students usually take only 3 advanced level courses. These courses involve much more reading and research than undergraduate classes and typically have fewer assignments. Because there are fewer projects, papers, and exams for graduate-level courses, each item is worth more and is expected to be a demonstration of your expertise in the subject.

5. Community

Undergraduate classes are often large lectures with hundreds of students, whereas graduate classes are much smaller (usually under 20 students). In grad school, you will become well acquainted with the other students and the professor. After a rigorous application process, you can be sure of the caliber of students that surround you. With everyone’s diverse backgrounds, work, and life experiences, you will learn from and challenge each other. Additionally, you will learn to work with your professors as opposed to simply completing assignments for their classes. 

6. Research experience

Research experience is valuable in almost every line of work. It teaches you to plan, think critically and logically, seek out answers to your questions, and incorporate those findings into your work. Research in an undergraduate program is typically comprised of a few research projects or papers, whereas in graduate school, research makes up the vast majority of learning in the classes. Depending on your program and area of interest, graduate students generally have access to advanced tools and systems that they can use for research purposes. You’ll have the opportunity to work closely with professors on their research projects, learning from them and discovering your own areas of interest.

7. Professional marketability

While an undergraduate degree allows you to apply for entry level jobs, a graduate degree expands your job market and increases your favorability in the eyes of potential employers. In a competitive market, you’ll need an edge over other job applicants. Graduate school gives you a larger network and better connections. When career advancement opportunities, promotions, and leadership positions open up, your graduate degree will help you stand out as the best candidate.

8. Leadership development

An undergraduate degree offers you a broad knowledge base, but a graduate degree sets you up to be a leader in your field. A 2016 Gallup poll found that a shocking 82 percent of managers aren’t very good at leading people , even while corporations spend billions to develop them. This means there is an eminent need for qualified leaders in today’s workforce. Through the rigors of graduate school, you will gain many of the necessary skills and character traits companies look for in their leaders. During your degree program, you’ll work as part of many teams and develop critical thinking, problem solving, time management, perseverance, commitment, and communication skills — all qualities that hiring managers look for in the leaders they need.

Choosing the right Graduate school and degree Program

In order to choose the school and degree that are right for you, you should begin by identifying your interests, your ideal career, and your needs (part/full time, geographic location, price range, etc.). After determining these, investigate various programs and look into their requirements, curriculum, research opportunities, and graduation outcomes. It is also a good idea to talk with admissions professionals, professors, and, if possible, the students in the program.

If offered, you should take advantage of virtual events or in-person offerings on campus such as information sessions and open houses. Even if you plan to earn your degree online, visiting the campus and having a face-to-face conversation with admissions professionals, faculty, students, and alumni of the program will give you the chance to have your questions answered and help you envision what it would be like to attend. 

At Sacred Heart University, we host an open house event each semester . It’s our hope that you will come and visit us, ask your questions, and allow us to help you explore your grad school possibilities. If you would like more information about one of our upcoming events, please reach out to us and we’ll be in touch soon!

If you'd like a more in-depth look at the differences between graduate and undergraduate study, we invite you to explore our comprehensive digital resource which covers admissions requirements, salary increase expectations, and much more!

About the Author

We are the graduate admissions team at Sacred Heart University. We aspire to create a welcoming and supportive environment for students looking to continue their education while empowering them in mind, body and spirit. We hope you find our resources helpful and informative as you explore and pursue a graduate degree at Sacred Heart!

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The Differences Between Graduate and Undergraduate Study: Everything You Need to Know

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Key Differences Between Undergraduate and Graduate School

Going to a graduate school is a different experience than getting your undergraduate degree. But, how different?

As you consider your options for earning a master’s degree , it will help you to know what is expected of you and how you can prepare for success. It’s important to know those expectations going in, because preparing yourself is a key step toward success in a master’s program.

Below is a list of the most palpable differences that make graduate school feel different than undergraduate.

You’ll Be Surrounded by Like-minded People

The average age for a graduate student is 33. Most students work at least part-time.

According to Kody Kuehnl, Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Technology at Franklin University , “You’ll be attending graduate-level courses alongside of professionals who are in your chosen field of study. Because you’re with many educated, experienced, like-minded people, just interacting with other students can be a way to build your network and gain important career connections.”

In traditional undergraduate courses, students are typically younger and don't have professional work experience or connections. At graduate school, you’ll have more experienced peers. Be ready to plug into that built-in network of professionals at the student level.

Rather than the common undergraduate tactic of grade competition—or grading on a curve, which pits student against student—graduate work is considered on its own merit. You’ll find that your fellow students are often ready with insights, ideas, and support to help you do even better.

Classes Are Much More Interactive

As mentioned above, your student peers in graduate school are actually an important part of the process. Faculty members at a graduate level will regularly encourage active participation and discussion. Undergraduate professors typically provide information and direction, whereas graduate faculty might focus more on facilitating debates and discussions.

At a graduate level, classroom time is shared. Professors will engage you, and you’ll be expected to contribute to a conversational, collaborative class experience. The student should always come to class fully prepared, having read materials and sources prior to the class. As an undergraduate, class discussion may be less focused and more spontaneous; however in graduate school, discussions are often laser focused and require preparation. The ideas you bring with you will enhance not only your learning and understanding, but also your peers’.

What matters most when choosing a master’s program? Compare features, benefits and cost to find the right school for you.

You’ll have to think on a different level.

In undergraduate work, the focus is on learning information; it’s about memorization and understanding concepts. Graduate school is different.

“You move from theory to real-world applications. Whereas undergraduate is about gaining a broad understanding of a topic, graduate school is a much deeper dive into the intricacies of the field. The thinking is different with more of a focus on how you construct your arguments, what your sources of information are, and how you apply it all as you tackle a real problem.” —Kody Kuehnl

When you reach a graduate level of courses, the focus switches from learning information to applying it. More of your time will be dedicated to seeing one topic from many different angles and then finding your own point of view about it.

More Time Spent Researching and Writing

A 4-year undergraduate degree may take longer than an 18-month-long master’s degree, but the master’s is more likely to feel like a marathon.

You’ll be reading and researching a great deal. Your study habits will need to be tighter and smarter. You’ll have to be ready to write a lot more. According to Kuehnl, “The time you spend studying is much more active in the graduate world. Rather than memorizing, you’re actually training your mind to use information in a new way.”

Be ready for the additional effort.

There’s No Fluff

At a graduate level, the content is laser-focused on specific career-building outcomes and skill sets. Unlike undergraduate studies, there is not a broad range of content to create a well-rounded person. Your master’s degree is designed to do just that: build mastery in one area of content.

Most of what you’ll do is based on what you want to do. When you’re done, you’ll have a depth of understanding that can immediately be put to use in the working world.

There’s Less Structure and More Freedom

In a bachelor’s program, professors and lecturers typically give you detailed reading lists, organized notes, timelines, project check-ins, and plenty of detailed directions so you’ll know what’s expected of you. In a master’s program, you’ll have far more freedom—and you’ll need to learn how to manage it!

Remember that freedom equals responsibility. Without someone constantly prompting and reminding, you will need to manage your own deadlines, both large and small. Be sure to stay on top of your reading and research because it can be hard to recover if you get behind.

Professors Treat You More Like Peers Than Students

As mentioned above, master’s degree students are expected to contribute during class time; this is a major component of how professors feel about you, talk with you, and treat you. Leave behind any idea that the professor teaches while you listen. Your professors hope for and plan for you to be a positive contributor who is both learning and sharing at the same time.

Some universities elevate the importance of this concept. For example, Franklin University calls it “360-degree learning,” where you are a part of a network of professionals at both the faculty and peer level.

It Will Be Hard(er)

Graduate work is no walk in the park.

According to Kuehnl, “Some people considering graduate school will actually wonder if they’re ‘smart enough.’ But getting a master’s degree is not about being smart. A major factor in graduate degree success is what I call ‘grit.’ It’s about being determined, knowing what you want, having focus, being organized, and making the time and effort to do the work.”

You’ll Likely Earn More Money in Your Lifetime

According to the Social Security Administration, a graduate degree can be a financially rewarding asset. Their records suggest that a person with a graduate degrees typically earns $650,000 to $845,000 more in median lifetime earnings than a person with bachelor’s degree. Generally speaking, a graduate degree will open doors to opportunities (such as promotions and raises) that might not be available without it.

Vive La Difference

Undergraduate classwork is generally broad and designed to create well-rounded individuals who are ready to enter the working world. In traditional four-year schools, the student body is mostly comprised of young adults in a highly social environment with most students living on or near campus. The graduate coursework, environment, and mindset—even though they occur on some of the very same campuses—typically stand in contrast in order to meet the different educational goals.

So, yeah, grad school is different! And maybe you’ve never attempted any coursework that’s this intense. But with the right preparation, you can navigate those differences and powerfully position yourself for that next big step in your career and life.

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Research Needs and Learning Format Preferences of Graduate Students at a Large Public University: An Exploratory Study

Hilary Bussell, Jessica Hagman, and Christopher S. Guder *

This article reports on a study of research needs and learning preferences of graduate students at a public research university. A sequential exploratory mixed-method design was used, with a survey instrument developed from an initial qualitative stage. Significant differences were found between master’s and doctoral students’ and on-campus and online students’ confidence with several research skills. Graduate students overall prefer asynchronous online options and in-person workshops over synchronous online instruction and in-class presentations for learning research skills. The article concludes with a discussion of the value of the sequential exploratory mixed-method design for informing practice at an individual institution.

Introduction: Background and Research Questions

As part of their preparation to become independent scholars and professionals, graduate students are expected to follow a research path that is largely self-structured and that pursues questions that are specialized and original. 1 Graduate students may find it difficult to live up to this expectation for a variety of reasons. Because undergraduate research experiences vary widely, graduate students may not be prepared for graduate-level research when they matriculate. 2 Once in graduate school, students do not always learn the skills they need to do independent research through their coursework. 3 Many faculty members assume graduate students already know how to do research, and thus do not emphasize the acquisition of research skills in their roles as teachers and advisors. 4 Graduate students are more likely to ask for help from their professors than from librarians, but academic programs do not always provide help in acquiring the skills to perform effective literature reviews and to engage in other research activities. 5 Further, graduate students bring to their programs a variety of prior experiences, career goals, and expectations. A doctoral student who is preparing for a career in academia will likely have different experiences and needs than a student in a professional master’s program when it comes to developing his or her research skills and agenda.

These realities present a challenge for libraries in supporting graduate students. Common library instruction formats, such as one-shot sessions and orientations, are often ineffective for graduate students. 6 Although librarians may work with graduate research methods classes, students often take these at the beginning of their time in graduate school, long before they begin work on a dissertation or thesis. Additionally, the fact that many graduate degree programs are now offered either partially or fully online means that there is a growing group of graduate students who may never set foot on campus but who have distinct research and information needs that libraries should support.

This paper presents the results of a study undertaken to help one library better support its graduate students’ research needs in this complex landscape. 7 Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio, with ten academic colleges offering graduate degree programs, several of which are taught fully or primarily online. The number of graduate students enrolled for the spring 2014 semester was 4,703, excluding medical students. 8 It has been a strategic priority for the Ohio University Libraries to expand its support for graduate students, but Ohio University librarians have been uncertain about how to translate this into their day-to-day liaison activities. With only seventeen subject librarians, many of whom have multiple subject assignments and additional library responsibilities, it is difficult to support the breadth of graduate research projects across campus through individual reference consultations and course instruction. Anecdotal data shared among librarians and gathered in the libraries’ reference transaction statistics suggest that graduate students across disciplines need help gaining many of the same research skills, and thus one approach might be for librarians to collaborate on developing a unified program for providing support and instruction to graduate students across campus. However, library workshops were abandoned several years ago due to perpetually low attendance, leaving librarians wary of trying this strategy again.

Deciding that more data were needed to inform future efforts in this area, the authors of this paper undertook a sequential exploratory mixed-method study of graduate student research needs across their institution. The study was designed to provide evidence that could inform subject librarians and library administration on both the types of research needs graduate students have as well as their preferred format for learning research-related skills. The following questions were used to guide the study:

• RQ1A: Do these needs differ between on-campus and online students?
• RQ1B: Do these needs differ between master’s and doctoral students?
• RQ2A: Do these preferences differ between on-campus and online students?
• RQ2B: Do these preferences differ between master’s and doctoral students?

In addition to discussing the results of this study, this paper will reflect on the value of the sequential exploratory mixed-method approach to understanding local user needs, which may be of use for other libraries considering employing a similar approach to understand a segment of their own user populations.

Literature Review

Librarians have long been interested in offering services specifically tailored to the graduate students at their institutions. In 1976, Eldridge Smith introduced a series of articles in College & Research Libraries on services to the “graduate community” by noting that it had become “insufficient” for university libraries to support graduate students by building robust library collections. 9 In the intervening years, many libraries have sought to learn about the challenges that their graduate students have faced as they learn to find and use information in pursuit of their research projects. Of late, there has been a growing interest in understanding how academic libraries can support graduate students in all aspects of their research, and in meeting the needs of the growing population of students who take classes online.

Challenges in Finding and Using Information

Recent studies of graduate students show a strong preference for easily accessible online resources and frustration with the complexity of accessing needed resources online and through library-based subscriptions. Graduate students often begin research tasks with a Google search and show affinity for Google Scholar as an easy-to-use and useful tool for identifying research sources. 10 At the same time, graduate students report dissatisfaction with library-based research tools even as librarians have sought to improve the breadth of resources available online to their patrons. When asked about their research challenges, Georgetown graduate students expressed frustration at the process required to find the full text of journal articles and books in the stacks, a concern echoed by the nontraditional graduate students at Adelphi University and graduate students who had completed a literature review workshop at Oregon State University. 11 Unfortunately, this lack of ease with library tools and preference for easily accessible information can cause students to ignore valuable resources that are difficult to access in favor of those that are easier to find. 12

Once they have identified sources of information, researchers must decide how to organize information so it will be accessible as they write up the results. While there are now many citation management tools to automate this process, many graduate students say they do not use these tools, as they can be difficult to integrate into their workflow. In a multi-institution study of science researchers, Niu et al. found that only half of the respondents kept a “bibliographic database” of research materials. 13 Humanities students interviewed at Cornell and Columbia universities indicated that while they wanted to use citation tools, they did not often actually use such tools during their own research projects. 14 Melles and Unsworth surveyed participants in a literature review workshop and interviewed both graduate students and academics to understand their decision-making process about citation tools. They found a reluctance to begin using new tools, given the high time-cost of adapting their existing research materials and information management process. 15 Citation management is a likely contender for a library-based workshop, given librarians’ familiarity with such tools and the students’ presumed need to develop their own information management systems. It appears, however, that not all students consider learning such a tool to be a priority.

Challenges throughout the Research Cycle

While most research on graduate student needs has focused on finding and managing information, some libraries have investigated ways to support students in all aspects of the research process. At the University of Michigan, for example, a survey of graduate students in the humanities revealed strong interest in learning more about the process of publication. Panel sessions with faculty members ultimately proved to be a draw for graduate students. 16 The University of Denver has offered workshops on grant funding for graduate students. Focus groups held with attendees of these workshops indicated that the content was well received in an environment where students felt unable to find the funding they need for research and struggled to understand the process of winning grant funding. 17 A survey of graduate students at nine different Canadian universities found that 90 percent of students were confident in their ability to manage the data they collected for research projects. Yet 14.2 percent said they needed to recollect lost data, and 17.2 percent said that they had lost data files. 18 In a recent survey at Rutgers University, graduate students demonstrated interest in workshops on several research-related topics, including finding materials, identifying grant funding, data analysis, and formatting dissertation documents. Interestingly, the same study also included interviews with graduate program directors who expressed interest in workshops on the discovery of information and issues of plagiarism and ethics, topics that garnered little enthusiasm among students surveyed. 19 This disconnect raises the question of whether students will find the training they need to conduct research in their courses or through their academic departments. For students who are not able to learn these research-related skills in their coursework or departments, library support services may serve as a means to building these academic skillsets.

Library Outreach to Graduate Students

Recognizing that graduate students may face challenges as they develop into independent researchers, many libraries have offered learning opportunities to help graduate students develop the skills they need. At some libraries, this takes the form of workshops, like the Savvy Researcher series at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 20 the Graduate Library User Education series at the Georgia Institute of Technology, 21 or the library training program for ABD distance doctoral students at Nova Southeastern University. 22 Instruction may also be integrated into the students’ regular coursework, through online tutorials, 23 or through librarians’ direct contact and consultation with students either in person or online as the number of online graduate students grows. 24

For online students, the library website often serves as the primary means of contact with and information about library resources and offerings, which could leave students unaware of the full range of resources available to them. Like their counterparts in on-campus programs, graduate students in online programs report challenges in accessing the full text of journal articles. For students in the Graduate Social Work program at Marywood University, this proved to be true even when students reported that they had received instruction on how to use library resources. Also like their on-campus counterparts, online graduate students can be unlikely to ask for help from librarians, except as an option of last resort. 25

Graduate Perceptions of Library Support

In seeking to offer support for graduate students who face challenges throughout the research cycle, some libraries have run into difficulties connecting services with their intended audience, with graduate students ultimately proving to be “misunderstood, elusive or hard to reach.” 26 There is evidence that graduate students do not think of the library as a place to turn for assistance when they meet research challenges. Fleming-May and Yuro’s focus groups with graduate students indicated that students were not sure librarians could offer appropriate assistance, believing that they should be able to do research-related work independently. 27 This emphasis on self-sufficiency can also be seen among graduate students at Georgetown, who “prize their capacity to do the work independently, or perceive a lack of subject expertise in those available to help them,” and students at Oregon State University, who learned library-related research skills on their own. 28 When asked in a survey about the importance of different library services, graduate students at Notre Dame ranked reference assistance and subject librarian services as least-used and of low importance. 29 Ismail’s study of help-seeking by graduate students found that adult learners generally did not seek assistance from librarians, preferring instead to ask classmates or instructors. 30 Even when relevant support is offered, students may not be aware of the services available to them through their library. Interviews with graduate students at the University of Colorado-Boulder that were intended to solicit desired service offerings showed that at least some of the requested support was already available through the library. Some of the participants indicated that they would not have thought of the library as a “place to turn for such support.” 31 This lack of interest in or knowledge of library-based support may have less to do with the library or librarians, but instead be due to the students’ experiences with their department, which serves as the center of their academic lives. 32 Any effort to offer support services to graduate students must contend with these attitudes and fit into graduate students’ academic lives as seamlessly as possible.

The literature shows a wide range of ways that libraries have sought to support graduate students as they develop into independent researchers. Less explored, however, is the question of to what extent graduate students struggle with each aspect of the research process, and whether the formats in which libraries offer instruction match the preferences of graduate students. The present study seeks to build on this literature in two ways: 1) by exploring the range of graduate students’ research needs; and 2) by identifying how graduate students, whether on-campus or online, in master’s or in PhD programs, prefer to receive instructional support as they develop into independent researchers.

Methodology

Mixed-method design.

The goal of the present study is to better understand the research needs and learning preferences of the graduate student population at Ohio University to determine the best means of addressing those needs. Previous library-based surveys of graduate students have focused on perceptions of the library’s resources, spaces, and services, or on the information-seeking and collection stages of the research process. 33 Because the present study’s research questions are broader in nature, a research design was selected that would allow the researchers both to explore the authentic experiences of graduate students at Ohio University and to gather feedback from a large number of students.

To that end, the study employed a sequential exploratory mixed-method design, in which an exploratory, qualitative stage was followed by a quantitative second stage. Sequential exploratory mixed-method design is frequently used by researchers seeking both to explore a phenomenon and to understand how the findings of qualitative research are distributed among members of a population, often by creating a new survey instrument. 34 This method allowed the researchers to use focus groups and interviews to learn more about the experiences of graduate students as they learn to do research and to build a survey based on the qualitative data that shows the distribution of those experiences throughout the population.

Qualitative Methodology: Focus Groups and Interviews

Qualitative Data Collection

The initial stage consisted of focus groups with on-campus students and individual interviews with online students. After securing Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, an e-mail was sent in June 2013 to all graduate students asking them to fill out a form on the library website if they wished to participate in the study. Interested students were contacted to arrange a time to attend a focus group or meet for an online interview.

On-campus participants (n = 25, over 6 focus groups) received a $10 gift card to the university’s dining facilities, as well as refreshments during the focus group. Online students (n = 9) earned a $15 credit in their student account with the bursar’s office. The same questions were posed to both groups (see appendix A). The focus groups were recorded and transcribed by members of the research team. Interviews with online students were conducted via the chat function in Adobe Connect, which provided an automatic transcript.

Qualitative Data Analysis

The qualitative data were analyzed using the applied thematic analysis (ATA) approach described by Guest, MacQueen, and Namey. 35 Like grounded theory, ATA allows researchers to examine their textual data to build an understanding of the themes contained therein. However, ATA places less emphasis than grounded theory on building a theory using those data. Using ATA in this study enabled the researchers to conduct an exploratory analysis of the interview and focus group results to understand what challenges participants faced and skills they needed to learn to do research.

After transcribing the focus group recordings and collecting the text from the Adobe Connect interviews, each researcher reviewed each of the focus group and interview transcripts, identifying challenges faced by participants as they developed their own research skills. Other themes were also noted as they arose, such as problems students had encountered with their academic programs and intellectual and personality traits that they considered important for researchers to possess.

The researchers met to compare analyses and flesh out understandings of how identified themes overlapped or diverged. This led to the development of a codebook in which consistent language was used to describe each theme. Each interview and focus group transcript was then recoded using Dedoose, a web-based qualitative analysis tool. For the second analysis, the responses of each focus group participant were collected into single documents to analyze responses by individual student.

Quantitative Methodology

Survey and Sampling

Using the themes developed from the qualitative stage, the researchers developed an 18-question survey in Qualtrics (see appendix B). The survey asked students to rate their confidence in their ability to complete a number of research-related tasks and their preferences for learning new skills related to their research. The survey also contained questions about the students’ use of technology and citation software for research, access issues and general satisfaction with the library, and how well they felt their undergraduate and graduate programs had prepared them for research. These latter questions, however, fall beyond the scope of the specific research questions of this paper.

During the spring 2014 semester, an e-mail list of all currently enrolled graduate students was obtained from Ohio University’s Office of the Registrar, along with data about academic college affiliation, program, degree sought, and on-campus or online status. Given this access to the entirety of the study population, this study used saturation sampling, a strategy in which all members of a population are sent the survey instrument rather than seeking a sample. 36 Conducting an online survey means confronting nonresponse bias, or the possibility that respondents will differ from nonrespondents in ways that will render the results invalid. 37 Therefore, it was decided that saturation sampling, rather than selecting a sample of the population, would yield the largest and most representative sample of the student population in our results.

Participants

The survey was distributed in April 2014. A link to the survey was e-mailed to every graduate student enrolled on the main campus (n = 2,840) and in online programs (n = 1,646), for a total of 4,486. 38 The survey remained open for one week, with a midweek reminder sent out to those who had not yet completed the survey. Respondents were given the opportunity to register for the chance to win one of ten $50 Amazon Gift Cards.

Of the 4,486 students contacted, 842 started the survey by completing the first question indicating their consent to participate. In total, 803 participants continued on to answer subsequent survey questions, resulting in a final response rate of 17.9 percent. Overall, the survey participants resemble the student population in terms of academic college affiliation, with some differences in on-campus versus online enrollment and degree sought. Table 1 shows the distribution of the survey participants by graduate college. Arts & Sciences students are overrepresented by 5.82 percent, while Business students are underrepresented by 4.95 percent. The other colleges show participation rates within 2 percent of the population rate. On-campus students are overrepresented compared to their peers in online programs, with on-campus students making up 12.03 percent more of the participants than the overall population (see table 2). Finally, doctoral students are somewhat overrepresented among the survey participants, making up 7.37 percent more of the participants than their rate in the population (see table 3).

Research Question 1: Identifying Research Needs

The first research question seeks to discover graduate students’ self-identified research needs and whether these needs differ between students in on-campus and online programs, and in master’s and doctoral programs.

Focus Group and Interview Results

In focus groups with on-campus students and interviews with online students, participants were asked about challenges they have faced in learning to conduct research and the skills they believed they would need to learn to become effective and efficient researchers. The students described a wide range of challenges and skills; however, the largest areas of concern were finding and accessing library materials, developing a literature review, collecting and analyzing data, and developing the intellectual and personality attributes they would need to succeed, skills beyond the scope of traditional library instruction.

Finding and Accessing Research Materials

Twelve out of thirty-four students in the focus groups and interviews described difficulties with accessing research materials via the libraries’ subscriptions. For three students, this was a technical problem with the proxy log-in system that allows access to materials from off campus. Eight students specifically mentioned having difficulty getting to the full text of articles or other research materials. These two issues are frequently addressed by librarians working at the reference desk or staffing the chat reference service. While some issues are beyond the library’s control—students not enrolled for classes, for example, cannot get access to library materials even if they plan to continue graduate-level work—such comments are a reminder that these challenges remain a barrier to research.

Twelve students also described difficulties searching for information resources that they needed for research projects, with a number of students describing finding articles as a major challenge. They encountered difficulty when trying to decide where and how to search for relevant articles, “finding niche articles,” “finding enough peer-reviewed sources” within the time frame of a shorter-term class, or choosing keywords that would lead to the most relevant sources. One online student mentioned having developed skills for narrowing searches after his/her program organized an on-campus residency in which the subject librarian for the program provided appropriate instruction.

Writing a Literature Review

In addition to the challenge of locating articles, seven students described difficulties with knowing when to stop looking for articles and writing the results of their searches into research reports or literature reviews. Some students were overwhelmed by the prospect of “putting together” all of their literature into coherent narratives, or what one student described as “working it into a written sort of thing.” One student remarked that some students in their program were working through “hundreds of articles” as they began to work on their theses. But even with a large number of sources compiled, other students felt a “looming fear” that they would fail to include important work in their research projects, leading to a thesis committee asking them, “‘How did you not find this person?’”

Accessing, Collecting, and Analyzing Data

Five on-campus students talked about challenges accessing, collecting, and analyzing data. For some students, accessing the data they needed to answer their own research questions was difficult: either the data were simply unavailable, not suitable for their project, or held by an organization that was unwilling to release the data to the student. Other students said they did not know how to analyze data they had collected, with one going so far to say as to have “no idea” how to analyze the data being entered into a data analysis program. One student mentioned limited access to data analysis software, given that his/her department had only one computer with this software and the library computers did not have this particular program.

Other Challenges

Beyond accessing information resources, writing a literature review, and working with data, students mentioned a range of other challenges and needed skills throughout the research process. These included finding funding for a research project, citing sources in the appropriate style, using various technology tools, and developing a poster to share research results.

A surprising result from the qualitative portion of the study was the mention of what could be considered intellectual or personality attributes. When asked what skills they needed to develop to become effective and efficient researchers, nine on-campus students in four of the focus groups brought up intellectual skills like the need to be patient, flexible, or bold. These may have come to mind given the students’ awareness of the differences in expectations for graduate-level research compared to expectations in undergraduate programs. Three students in the focus groups also brought up these expectations when discussing their research challenges.

Survey Results

Self-identified research needs regardless of group.

Survey participants were asked to rate their ability to complete 18 different research-related tasks using a 5-point Likert scale on which 1 was lowest confidence and 5 was highest confidence. Participants could also indicate that they were “not sure” of their ability to complete the skill. Respondents were not required to answer any of the questions, leading to a different number of responses for each question. Responses left blank or marked as “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Table 4 shows the three skills that the participants rated highest and lowest in terms of their confidence in the described skill. The higher mean scores indicate that, overall, participants were most confident in their ability to cite sources in the appropriate style ( M = 4.05), identify previously published research on their topics ( M = 3.90), and access the full text of previously published research ( M = 3.86), even though the focus group and interview participants reported difficulty finding and accessing the full text of resources. Lower mean scores indicate that participants were least confident in their ability to determine where to publish their research ( M = 2.48), successfully apply for grant funding for their research ( M = 2.05), and identify sources of grant funding for their research ( M = 2.04).

On-campus vs. Online

To help answer Research Question 1A (RQ1A), differences were identified between on-campus and online students’ confidence levels on research-related skills. To answer RQ1A, independent samples t-tests were used to investigate whether there were differences between on-campus and online students’ confidence levels on research-related skills. Four skills showed statistically significant differences between the two groups at P < .05 (see table 5). Effect sizes for the differences ( r ) are also shown on table 5. Overall, online students showed greater confidence in their ability to develop a poster presentation and to decide when to end the search for previously published research. On-campus students rated themselves more confident in their ability to access the full text of previously published research and access books needed for research. While these differences are significant, the effect sizes are small, indicating that the amount of variance in the mean scores between the two groups can be only partially explained by the students’ status as online or on-campus students.

Master’s vs. Doctoral

To address Research Question 1B, differences between master’s and doctoral students’ confidence levels on research-related skills were compared using independent samples t-tests. There were significant differences in seven areas, with doctoral students reporting significantly higher confidence levels than master’s students in each (see table 6). Again, the effect sizes are small.

Research Question 2

Learning preferences.

In the focus groups with on-campus students and interviews with online students, participants described how they would prefer to learn new skills once they had determined they needed them to complete their research. Given that they are generally not on campus to attend events, it is not surprising that online students preferred an online option for learning new skills. Some of the on-campus students, however, also indicated that they would like to see online options for learning research-related skills.

In discussing their preferred format for learning new skills, 14 students, evenly split across the on-campus and online groups, said that they would like to have an option to view a video to help them learn new research-related skills.

Learning Preferences, All Students

Participants ranked their preferences on five learning format options drawn from the qualitative data, from most preferred (scored as a 1) to least preferred (scored as a 5). This yielded an average score for each format that could be compared, with lower scores indicating that the option was more preferred among the participants (see table 7).

Among all participants who ranked their learning format preferences (n = 712), “a video I could watch as needed” was ranked the most preferred among all the students (with the lowest overall score, M = 2.64), giving it a slight edge over “a website with images I could consult as needed” ( M = 2.68) and “an in-person workshop” ( M = 2.86).

Learning Preferences, On-Campus vs. Online

To help answer Research Question 2A, the learning format preferences were compared between on-campus and online graduate students (see table 8). On-campus students showed the strongest preference for in-person workshops ( M = 2.69), closely followed by a website ( M = 2.71) and a video ( M = 2.71). Online students showed a preference for a video ( M = 2.32), with a website ( M = 2.57) and a live online workshop ( M = 2.80) following behind.

Independent samples t-tests were run to determine whether these differences were significant. As shown on table 8, all formats except a website showed a significant difference in mean scores when comparing on-campus versus online students.

Learning Preferences, Master’s vs. Doctoral

Learning format preferences were compared between master’s and doctoral students to help answer Research Question 2B. Master’s students showed a preference for a video ( M = 2.59), followed by a website ( M = 2.75) and an in-person workshop (M =2.95). Doctoral students showed a preference for a website ( M = 2.54), followed by an in-person workshop ( M = 2.66) and a video ( M = 2.76).

Independent samples t-tests were run to determine if the differences among these two groups were significant. In this case, only two learning formats (in-person workshops and online workshop) showed significant differences at P > .05.

Needs across the Research Spectrum

The findings suggest that graduate students have research needs in a wide range of areas, from foundational skills such as choosing effective keywords, known item searching, and accessing article full text, to advanced skills like finding and analyzing data and disseminating research findings. While the qualitative findings reveal the scope of these needed skills, the quantitative findings give a more detailed picture of where these needs are distributed across different groups of graduate students. Breaking down the data in this way provides evidence for whether and how to tailor instructional offerings to the needs of specific groups.

Both on-campus and online students discussed difficulties in finding and accessing research materials in the qualitative portion of the study, though the survey results indicated that, overall, students were more confident in their ability to find and cite sources in comparison to other research-related skills. The students differed, however, in their self-described need to find and analyze data and to develop certain intellectual and personality attributes to become effective researchers. These needs were only identified by students in the on-campus programs. While this does not necessarily mean that these skills are not relevant to the students in the online programs, these challenges appear not to be a priority to this group, as they were not mentioned by any online students in discussing difficulties they had faced. Instead, they focused on access and searching challenges.

The quantitative findings show that master’s students have significantly less confidence than doctoral students in several research-related skills. These skills include both what could be considered more foundational (like citing sources) and more advanced (such as storing and managing data). Libraries should consider how they can better support master’s students specifically in gaining these skills. This can be trickier than it may first appear, since many institutions, like Ohio University, offer graduate courses that include both terminal master’s and doctoral students. Librarians could reach out directly to master’s students, especially those who will be writing a thesis or intend to apply to a doctoral program, by asking graduate thesis advisors to help spread the word about research skills support services to these students.

Additionally, online students reported lower confidence levels than on-campus students in foundational skills related to accessing materials needed for research. This suggests that libraries should do more to help online students understand how to navigate online library resources and find the full-text link or link resolver in databases, as well as to promote Interlibrary Loan services and options for sending books to off-campus students.

Some Online Learning Options Are Popular—But Not Synchronous Formats

The qualitative findings suggest that on-campus as well as online students are open to learning research skills through online formats. This is backed up by the survey findings, with the two most preferred formats overall being videos that can be watched when needed and websites with text and images. These preferences persist when the results are broken down by group. While on-campus graduate students rated in-person workshops as their most preferred format, this was followed closely by websites and videos, which were the two formats most preferred by online students. Similarly, videos were rated the most preferred format by master’s students, and websites were rated most preferred by doctoral students. The popularity of text- and image-based websites as well as videos among graduate students provides support for creating online guides using platforms such as LibGuides or WordPress for this population.

On the other hand, librarians should be wary of investing time or resources in live online workshops for graduate students. The live online workshop format was rated at or near the bottom by both online and on-campus students and by both master’s and doctoral students. This confirms anecdotal observations of many librarians at the researchers’ institution who have offered online workshops in the past. The fact that “a video that I could watch when needed” was rated the highest overall and in the top three preferred formats for all groups suggests that it is the synchronous nature of the live online workshop that graduate students do not like, rather than the online format itself.

In-Person Workshops over In-Class Presentations

Unlike their online cousin, in-person workshops were ranked as one of the more highly preferred formats by graduate students. Given the low attendance at workshops offered by Ohio University, the researchers found this result particularly surprising and worthy of further exploration, as will be discussed below in “Directions for Future Research.”

By contrast, in-class presentations were one of the least preferred formats. It may be disheartening to see in-class presentations rated so low, as this is a common way for librarians to provide instruction, but this finding supports the researchers’ suspicion as well as literature indicating one-shot sessions are insufficient for graduate students. Considered in light of graduate students’ preference for asynchronous online options (such as videos and websites) and in-person workshops, these results suggest that graduate students want to be able to choose when and where they learn the skills they need for their research.

Directions for Future Research

The workshop model offers a promising solution to the problem, articulated at the outset of this paper, of how libraries can offer support and instruction to graduate students across campus in learning the skills they need for their research, without requiring each subject librarian to provide the entirety of this instruction for the students in their departments. As noted above, the fact that workshops often have low attendance makes it all the more surprising that this format was rated among the most highly preferred by graduate students. This finding suggests that it may not be the format itself but rather the content, timing, and promotion that contributes to low attendance. Future research could look at whether adjusting these variables, combined with offering instructional content based on the research needs identified in this study, leads to better attendance. It is also worth exploring other measures for success than attendance, like assessing how much attendees learned from the workshop by following up with them after some time has passed.

This study offers evidence for libraries to continue exploring ways to implement an Information Commons model to support their graduate students. The qualitative findings suggest some graduate students do not receive adequate support and instruction from their academic programs in accessing, collecting, and analyzing data. While these skills could be taught to a limited degree in a workshop setting, graduate students would benefit from additional support in the form of a dedicated space with drop-in help and research computing programs they can use if their departments don’t offer them. Future research might consider whether this type of dedicated space, paired with a robust workshop series and drop-in help, perhaps in conjunction with other research-focused units on campus (such as the Office of Research or the Grants Office, among others), could contribute to the cultivation of the intellectual and personality attributes that respondents in the qualitative portion of the study identified as important to becoming effective researchers. In researching the feasibility of this approach at their campuses, future researchers may consider reaching out to the Graduate College or other graduate student-focused organizations during the survey-development stage. Although the present study asked participants about research skills that are not traditionally considered “library skills,” feedback from nonlibrarians who work with graduate populations could add to the robustness of a study by ensuring that a broad range of skills are addressed.

Finally, a point of future analysis could be to compare differences in research needs and learning format preferences across disciplines. Although the survey included data on the academic college of each respondent, there were not enough responses from each of the 10 academic colleges to draw meaningful distinctions among them. A future study could avoid this pitfall by comparing across general disciplinary categories (social science, natural science, and others) as opposed to academic college.

Reflections on the Research Design

A unique aspect of this study was its sequential exploratory mixed-method design. An overall goal was to learn what graduate students identify as research needs in a way that avoided, as much as possible, imposing the researchers’ preconceived ideas. The researchers also wanted to design a study that would be effective in producing data about the unique population at Ohio University; thus, it was important to develop a survey based on qualitative themes identified by Ohio University graduate students, as opposed to one based on another institution’s population. Starting with focus groups and interviews helped reveal a range of challenges faced by Ohio University graduate students, which the researchers then used as a basis for their survey. The range of these challenges was wider than the researchers anticipated, with graduate students expressing needs in areas that the researchers might have considered too foundational to ask about had they developed the survey from scratch. The survey results bore this out, enabling the researchers to identify which segments of the graduate student population need support in certain areas.

There is a connection to be drawn between implementing this type of research design and practicing evidence-based librarianship. Because it explores a specific user population’s needs without imposing a predetermined set of ideas, the sequential exploratory mixed-method design lends itself particularly well to gathering data to inform practice at a specific library. To that end, the authors have attempted to describe the methods and results of this study in a clear enough way that other librarians could replicate them. It is hoped that this will empower other librarians to use the research design described in this paper to gather evidence to inform practice at their own local institutions.

This study contributes to a growing body of literature on library support for graduate students. Results indicate that graduate students prefer to learn research skills through formats they can access on demand or attend when they need them, rather than during class. The fact that many graduate students take research methods classes at the start of their programs, and that doctoral students continue working on dissertations for years after finishing coursework, are additional reasons to develop opportunities for continued learning and retooling outside of coursework. Therefore, the researchers recommend that librarians focus on ways to provide research instruction to graduate students in formats that can be accessed or attended when needed, while at the same time focusing extra effort on marketing to key groups that have been shown to have lower confidence in various research skills (namely, master’s students and online students).

Finally, the results of this study add to the case for libraries to partner with other units on campus in offering instruction for graduate students. Graduate students showed low confidence ratings in many areas that are not the traditional purview of library instruction, such as determining where to publish, securing grant funding, and data analysis. Although some universities may have units within the library that work in these areas, at Ohio University, as at many others, specialties in these areas reside in units across campus. It is important for libraries to use their central position to connect graduate students with specialists across campus.

APPENDIX A. Focus Group and Interview Questions

• Describe a recent research project that you completed for your graduate program.
• What would you say were the biggest challenges in completing a research project?
• Where did you learn how to do research?
• Where do you go when you need help with a research project?
• What kinds of skills do you think you need to develop to become a more effective or efficient graduate student or researcher? If there are any skills that you don’t think you need to learn yourself, what skills do you think are most important for a graduate student to be effective and efficient?
• Possibilities: In class? Via an online workshop? Through a self-paced video tutorial? By text-based directions on a website?
• Possibilities: via e-mail? A social networking site like Facebook or Twitter? On a website you visit frequently? Elsewhere?
• What one thing do you think is most important for the library to offer to graduate students?

APPENDIX B. Survey Questionnaire

1. Rachel Fleming-May and Lisa Yuro, “From Student to Scholar: The Academic Library and Social Sciences PhD Students’ Transformation,” portal: Libraries and the Academy 9 (2009): 209, 10.1353/pla.0.0040 .

2. Hannah Gascho Rempel and Jeanne Davidson, “Providing Information Literacy Instruction to Graduate Students through Literature Review Workshops,” Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 53 (2008): 2, doi:10.5062/F44X55RG .

3. Chris M. Golde and Timothy M. Dore, “At Cross Purposes: What the Experiences of Today’s Doctoral Students Reveal about Doctoral Education” (Philadelphia, Penn.: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2001): 17, available online at http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED450628 [accessed 16 May 2016].

4. Rempel and Davidson, “Providing Information Literacy Instruction to Graduate Students,” 2; Fleming-May and Yuro, “From Student to Scholar,” 209–10.

5. Golde and Dore, “At Cross Purposes,” 17; David N. Boote and Penny Beile, “Scholars before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation,” Educational Researcher 34, no. 6 (2005): 9–10, doi:10.3102/0013189X034006003 ; Fleming-May and Yuro, “From Student to Scholar,” 210; Amalia Monroe-Gulick and Julie Petr, “Incoming Graduate Students in the Social Sciences: How Much Do They Really Know about Library Research?” portal: Libraries and the Academy 12 (2012): 327, 10.1353/pla.2012.0032 .

6. David Gibbs et al., “Assessing the Research Needs of Graduate Students at Georgetown University,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 38, no. 5 (2012): 272, 10.1016/j.acalib.2012.07.002 .

7. Results from this study were previously published in Hilary Bussell, Jessica Hagman, and Christopher S. Guder, “Mixin’ It Up: Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Understand Graduate Research Needs” (paper presented at the ACRL Conference, Portland, Oregon, March 25–28, 2015).

8. Ohio University Office of Institutional Research, Final Spring Enrollment Headcount, 2010–2016, available online at https://www.ohio.edu/instres/student/QuartEnroll/QuartEnrollSPRING.html [accessed 27 June 2016].

9. Eldridge Smith, “Library Services to the Graduate Community: Introduction,” College & Research Libraries 37, no. 3 (1976): 246, doi: 10.5860/crl_37_03_246 .

10. See Monica Vezzosi, “Doctoral Students’ Information Behaviour: An Exploratory Study at the University of Parma (Italy),” New Library World 110 (2009), doi:10.1108/03074800910928595 ; Barbara Blummer, Sara Lohnes Watulak, and Jeffrey Kenton, “The Research Experience for Education Graduate Students: A Phenomenographic Study,” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 17 (2013), doi:10.1080/10875301.2012.747462 ; Tanya Cothran, “Google Scholar Acceptance and Use among Graduate Students: A Quantitative Study,” Library and Information Science Research 33 (2011), doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2011.02.001 ; Hamid R. Jamali and Saeid Asadi, “Google and the Scholar: The Role of Google in Scientists’ Information-Seeking Behaviour,” Online Information Review 34 (2010), doi:10.1108/14684521011036990 .

11. Gibbs et al., “Assessing the Research Needs,” 273; Eloise M. Bellard, “Information Literacy Needs of Nontraditional Graduate Students in Social Work,” Research Strategies 20 (2005): 500, 10.1016/j.resstr.2006.12.019 ; Hannah Gascho Rempel, “A Longitudinal Assessment of Graduate Student Research Behavior and the Impact of Attending a Library Literature Review Workshop,” College & Research Libraries 71 (2010): 542, doi:10.5860/crl-79 .

12. Vanessa J. Earp, “Information Source Preferences of Education Graduate Students,” Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian 27 (2008): 85, doi:10.1080/01639260802194974 .

13. Xi Niu et al., “National Study of Information Seeking Behavior of Academic Researchers in the United States,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 61 (2010): 876, doi: 10.1002/asi.21307 .

14. Gabriela Castro Gessner et al., “Supporting Humanities Doctoral Student Success: A Collaborative Project between Cornell University Library and Columbia University Libraries” (2011): 11, available online at https://www.2cul.org/activities/intervention [accessed 23 February 2013].

15. Anne Melles and Kathryn Unsworth, “Examining the Reference Management Practices of Humanities and Social Science Postgraduate Students and Academics,” Australian Academic & Research Libraries 46, no. 4 (2015): 259, doi:10.1080/00048623.2015.1104790 .

16. Barbara Alvarez, Jennifer L. Bonnet, and Meredith Kahn, “Publish, Not Perish: Supporting Graduate Students as Aspiring Authors,” Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication 2 (2014): 4. doi:10.7710/2162-3309.1141 .

17. Carrie Forbes, Gina Schlessleman-Tarango, and Peggy Keeran, “Expanding Support for Graduate Students: Library Workshops on Research Funding Opportunities,” College & Research Libraries (forthcoming), available online at http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2016/03/22/crl16-854.full.pdf +html [accessed 21 June 2016].

18. Lise Doucette and Bruce Fyfe, “Drowning in Research Data: Addressing Data Management and Literacy of Graduate Students” (paper presented at the ACRL Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 10–13, 2013): 167, available online at www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/DoucetteFyfe_DroDrown.pdf [accessed 18 April 2013].

19. Bonnie L. Fong et al., “Assessing and Serving the Workshop Needs of Graduate Students,” Journal of Academic Librarianship (in press): 3, doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2016.06.003 .

20. Merinda Kaye Hensley, “The Savvy Researcher: Teaching Information Management Skills to Graduate Students” (paper presented at the LOEX Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 30–May 2, 2009).

21. Lori Critz et al., “Development of the Graduate Library User Education Series,” Reference Services Review 40 (2012), doi:10.1108/00907321211277341 .

22. Johanna Tuñón and Laura Ramirez, “ABD or EdD? A Model of Library Training for Distance Doctoral Students,” Journal of Library Administration 50 (2010): 989–96, doi:10.1080/01930826.2010.489004 .

23. See Penny M. Beile and David N. Boote, “Library Instruction and Graduate Professional Development: Exploring the Effect of Learning Environments on Self-Efficacy and Learning Outcomes,” Alberta Journal of Educational Research 48 (2002): 364–67, available online at http://eprints.rclis.org/16961 / [accessed 1 April 2016]; Swapna Kumar and Mary E. Edwards, “Information Literacy Skills and Embedded Librarianship in an Online Graduate Programme,” Journal of Information Literacy 7 (2013): 3–17, doi:10.11645/7.1.1722 .

24. Andrea Baruzzi and Theresa Calcagno, “Academic Librarians and Graduate Students: An Exploratory Study,” portal: Libraries and the Academy 15 (2015): 401, doi:10.1353/pla.2015.0034 .

25. Lizah Ismail, “Closing the Gap,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 53, no. 2 (2013): 167, doi:10.5860/rusq.53n2.164 .

26. Baruzzi and Calcagno, “Academic Libraries and Graduate Students,” 401.

27. Fleming-May and Yuro, “From Student to Scholar,” 211–12.

28. Gibbs et al., “Assessing the Research Needs,” 270; Rempel, “A Longitudinal Assessment,” 541.

29. Jessica Kayongo and Clarence Helm, “Graduate Students and the Library: A Survey of Research Practices and Library Use at the University of Notre Dame,” Reference & User Services Quarterly 49, no. 4 (2009): 348, doi:10.5860/rusq.49n4.341 .

30. Ismail, “Closing the Gap,” 167.

31. Andrew Johnson, Rebecca Kuglitsch, and Megan Bresnahan, “Using Participatory and Service Design to Identify Emerging Needs and Perceptions of Library Services among Science and Engineering Researchers Based at a Satellite Campus,” Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 81 (2015), doi:10.5062/F4H99366 .

32. Kirsten Kinsley et al., “Graduate Conversations: Assessing the Space Needs of Graduate Students,” College & Research Libraries 75 (2015): 761, doi:10.5860/crl .76.6.756.

33. See Kayongo and Helm, “Graduate Students and the Library”; Castro Gessner et al., “Supporting Humanities Doctoral Student Success”; Hannah Gascho Rempel, Uta Hussong-Christian, and Margaret Mellinger, “Graduate Student Space and Service Needs: A Recommendation for a Cross-Campus Solution,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 37 (2011), doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2011.07.004 .

34. John W. Creswell et al., “Advanced Mixed Methods Research Design,” in Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research, eds. Abbas Tashakkori and Charles Teddlie (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2003), 225–28.

35. Greg Guest, Kathleen M. MacQueen, and Emily E. Namey, Applied Thematic Analysis (Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2012), 10–13.

36. Valerie M. Sue and Lois A. Ritter, Conducting Online Surveys (Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE, 2012), 35.

37. Linda J. Sax, Shannon K. Gilmartin, and Alyssa N. Bryant, “Assessing Response Rates and Nonresponse Bias in Web and Paper Surveys,” Research in Higher Education 44 (2003): 411, doi:10.1023/A:1024232915870 .

38. The study population includes all of the students enrolled at the time that the data were received from the Registrar’s office in March 2014. Final enrollment for the Spring 2014 semester was 4,703, as reported by the university’s Office of Institutional Research.

* Hilary Bussell is Assistant Professor and Social Sciences Librarian at The Ohio State University Libraries; e-mail: [email protected] . Jessica Hagman is Social Media Coordinator and Subject Librarian and Christopher S. Guder is Reference and Instruction Librarian in Alden Library at Ohio University; e-mail: [email protected] , [email protected] . ©2017 Hilary Bussell, Jessica Hagman, and Christopher S. Guder, Attribution-NonCommercial ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ) CC BY-NC.

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What is Research?

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Research is independent study and discovery in a field of interest. In the sciences, research is usually conducted in a laboratory led by a Principal Investigator (PI) – this is the faculty member who runs a research project. Research addresses a hypothesis, or scientific question. New student researchers typically join an ongoing project in a faculty’s lab and are often trained & supervised by postdoctoral scholars & graduate students.

WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH?

• Conducting independent study complements your studies, your academic goals, and your professional goals
• UCLA is a world-class research institution with prestigious faculty conducting original research in their fields. Take advantage of the resources available to you
• Find out if a career in research is right for you
• Get valuable research experience to make you a competitive applicant for graduate or professional school
• Research can serve as valuable work experience to make you a competitive applicant for your future career
• Earn university credit and funding for your research
• Build meaningful relationships with and receive mentorship from faculty and lab members

Conducting research as an undergraduate is an excellent way to gain experiences and skills that will benefit you both academically and professionally. In addition to exploring your areas of interest, undergraduate research develops skills in collaborative learning and critical thinking. For students interested in pursuing graduate or professional school, undergraduate research is a way of expanding your education outside of the classroom and better preparing yourself for the rigors of graduate study. Even if you are unsure about graduate studies, conducting undergraduate research is a way of exploring your research interests and testing the suitability of a research career to your interests.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Some questions to ask yourself as you plan your research are:

• What subjects am I interested in and passionate about?
• How much time can I commit to research?
• Will I need financial support to conduct research throughout the summer and academic year?
• What do I want to gain from my research experience?
• How can I best prepare myself academically and professionally to do research?
• What courses should I take that will complement the work I do?
• What safety courses will I need to take to do research in my field or lab?

The better you plan your academic coursework, the better you will be able to organize your time for research. Whatever your future professional and academic plans are, gaining experience in research will enhance your application and your preparedness for more self-directed research.

Once you have evaluated your research interests and organized your time, the next step is finding a faculty mentor. As part of a collaborative research team, you will need to find the right position both for you and your potential research lab.

You can also take part in UC Online’s ‘Introduction to Research’ class available through the Cross-Campus Enrollment System (CCES). This introductory course will help you understand what research means and provide guidance in how to find a research position.

Do you have a question about getting involved in research? Send us a message through Message Center ( Topic: Beginning Undergraduate Research )!

• Stories Archive (pre 2021)

February 16, 2022

• Undergraduate vs. Graduate School

What’s the difference between graduate and undergraduate study?

The growth of master’s degree programs has been significant in the last two decades. And it’s not surprising given the Bureau of Labor Statistics projection that employment in occupations requiring a master’s degree will increase 17% by 2026.

Graduate school is a different experience than studying for your undergraduate degree. But how different is it?

Knowing what is expected of you and how to best prepare will help you as you consider your options for attending graduate school to earn your master’s degree . One of the keys to success is to know all expectations before you even begin.

Here are some ways that graduate school differs from undergraduate study.

      1. Leadership development

An undergraduate degree gives you a broad knowledge base, but a graduate school degree provides specialized knowledge to prepare you for leadership roles in your chosen career.

In graduate school, you’ll gain the leadership skills companies are looking for in management positions. In addition, you’ll develop the critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills necessary to be a strong leader.

      2. Professional marketability

SUNY Empire graduate school students tell us they’re earning their master’s degree to differentiate themselves in a competitive job market.

Often, undergraduate degrees help you obtain entry-level positions. A graduate school degree can expand your job market and career options and make you a more favorable candidate to employers. Additionally, graduate school can introduce you to a more extensive professional network. When applying for promotions and leadership positions, a graduate degree can help you stand out.

      3. Research experience

Research experience is valuable in almost any line of work. It teaches you to think critically and logically, find answers to your questions, and apply those findings to your work.

Research in an undergraduate program typically consists of introductory research projects and papers. In graduate school, research is the primary focus in many of your assignments. Occasionally, in graduate school programs, you may find the opportunity to learn from or participate in your professors’ research and discover your area of interest.

      4. Specific coursework

In undergraduate programs, students take general education courses and electives in addition to their program requirements. In graduate school, your courses will be more specific. Graduate school programs provide a higher level of individualized learning to serve your unique goals and start to become an expert in your field.  

      5. You’ll be immersed in a diverse community

The average graduate student is 33 years old, and most work part-time or full-time while completing their graduate school work.

In graduate programs, you’ll connect with experienced students with similar interests and goals while learning from and being challenged by peers from diverse backgrounds with different work and life experiences.

Why Choose SUNY Empire?

Choosing the right school and degree is a good place to start your graduate program journey.

SUNY Empire’s real-world-ready  graduate programs  can be completed fully online (although some are enhanced with onsite residencies), which means you can work  and  live your life while earning your graduate degree. We offer 22 graduate degrees and 26 advanced certificates in business, policy, education, and liberal studies through the School for Graduate Studies and the School of Nursing and Allied Health.

Take the next step with SUNY Empire and explore our graduate programs by  registering for an information session.

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Journalism - Resources for Journalism Graduate Students

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Tips and Techniques for Effective Database Research

Research tips.

• Conducting a Literature Review
• Literature Search Essentials
• Brief Guide to Resources for Research
• Masters Projects, Theses, & Dissertations
• Communication Theories
• Methodology
• Research Resources
• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Citation Styles & Tools
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• Data Sets - Qualitative - Quantitative
• Research Assistantships, Project Proposals, Defenses and Finishing up
• Quick Reference

How do you find an article if you have a citation or if the library subscribes to a specific journal?

• From the Journalism Library Web site: https://library.missouri.edu/journalism/  
• Under "Quick Links" (vertical navigation menu on the left), choose the “ Find a Specific Article/Journal ” link
• Type in the journal title from the citation.
• Choose the “Find it at MU” button
• If the library subscribes to the journal or a database containing the journal, you will be presented with a list of choices that might include holdings information (range of dates available, if it is available in print or microform).
• Based on the date listed in the citation, choose the most appropriate link to locate the journal.
• If you choose an online database, you may filter by date or search within the publication.
• If the journal is not available online, but the library has print copies, choose the " Check MERLIN for paper copies" link.  You will be taken to the online catalog where you can locate the "call number" and locate it in the library stacks.
• If MU Libraries does not subscribe to the print or online journal, or doesn't own the volume and issue that you need, you may request it through Interlibrary loan (ILL) .  A link to the scanned article will be sent to you from ILL fairly quickly, depending on its availability.

How do find out if a journal is "scholarly," "peer reviewed" or "refereed"?

• The journal title may include the word "Journal" or perhaps the word "Research." 
• The author's academic credentials/affiliation will typically be listed at the beginning of the article.
• The article will typically include an abstract (summary) at the beginning of the article.
• The article will describe an original study (experiment) or will provide a literature review that evaluates research by other scholars.
• The article's list of cited references will be provided at the end of the article. This list is often labeled with the terms "References" or "Works Cited."
• The article is usually quite long.

Once you have decided on a research topic:

• Work from the general to the specific
• Create a list of concept terms that you want to search.
• Translate your topic into the subject language of the databases and catalogs you use--check your topic words against a thesaurus or subject heading list.
• Take advantage of subject headings and descriptors found by exploiting the database thesaurus or subject guide.  Using subject specific "controlled language" will add precision to your search
• Exploit bibliographies.  These may lead you to other important resources.
• Record what you find and where you found it--- write out a complete citation for each source you find; you may need it again later. You can use a program like  EndNote  or  Zotero  to help with this. 

What is the most appropriate place to begin research on a topic?

• That depends on the subject area or your approach to the topic. 
• Make sure that you browse the Journalism Research Guide for databases grouped by subject.
• Discover @ MU
• Google Scholar
• ProQuest Database Collection (28 databases)
• Search ProQuest Dissertation Abstracts or MOSpace for research on your topic
• Factiva  
• Proquest Newsstand

How can you create quality search strings to get the most out of the databases?

• Most databases will allow you to create a “search history.”
• Create a list of quality concept search terms. 
• Search each concept individually and then use Boolean Logic operators to combine them.
• Examples:  journalist  OR  reporter  OR  photographer  OR  correspondent =  S1  (the first set of combined terms)
• Examples:  post traumatic stress  OR  PTSD  OR  Trauma =  S2  ( the second set of combined terms)
• Examples:   S1  AND  S2  yields articles containing information about more than one type of journalist and trauma which might include PTSD
• Example:  Mexico  NOT  New Mexico

How can I keep track of all these resources? 

• Use a bibliographic manager like  Endnote  or  Zotero.
• Many databases provide server space for you to save your searches.
• Save your searches and results so that you can revisit them or share them.

How can I make sure that I don’t miss reading any new articles on my topic?

• Most databases will provide the opportunity to create alerts.
• Use your saved searches to create alerts to send any new articles on your topic to you either via email or rss.

Once you exhausted MU Libraries’ databases, try   Google Scholar

Use the advanced search feature and filter by date and any other measure that can help focus your search.

What other resources should I consider using?

• Keyword searches add breadth while subject heading/descriptor searches provide depth to your search.
• Social Sciences Research Network
• Open Access Institutional Repositories
• Networked Digital Libraries of Theses and Dissertations  (NDLTD) 
• Develop a research topic –one that is interesting to you, captures your attention and stimulates your curiosity.
• Read and explore background information. Perform a  literature review.
• Build an  annotated bibliography  using  Endnote , Reference Manager,  Zotero or other bibliographic tool.
• When is this paper/project due?
• Is information available on campus or through campus resources?
• Will you have to travel to access this information?
• Who is the audience for this research?
• How exhaustive should the research be? Class paper? Publishable paper/article? Thesis? Dissertation?
• Bibliographies
• Subject specific/scholarly
• Alternative resources
• Archival material/ primary sources
• Dissertations/Theses/Journalism Master’s Projects
• Biographies
• Dictionaries
• Style Guides
• Transcripts
• Government documents
• Original research
• Browse/scan books, journal articles, databases, archival research
• Interviews, surveys, etc. ( understand IRB policies )
• Interlibrary loan
• Telephone or email interview rather than traveling to a location for an interview.
• Local rather than distant archives
• Government records (government depository or online resources)
• Translator necessary?
• Create a schedule of when research/field work needs to be completed, review/bibliography to be completed, journal submission deadlines, etc. based on deadlines.
• Exploit database thesauri
• Understand controlled vocabulary
• Understand and use Boolean logic effectively
• Apply search strategies in various information retrieval systems.
• Implement and use database/article alert systems
• Assesses quantity, quality and relevance of search results.
• Examine and compare information from various sources, evaluating reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, point-of-view and bias.
• Recognize cultural, physical, or other context within which information was created and understand the impact of context on interpreting information.
• Summarize and synthesize information.
• Draw conclusions based upon information gathered.
• Test hypotheses/theories with discipline-appropriate techniques.
• Validate your understanding and interpretation of information through dialogue with other graduate students, subject area experts and professionals.
• Organize the content in a manner that supports the purposes and format of the paper/thesis/article; analyze the content within the framework of the discipline.
• Effectively incorporate data, images, etc. as appropriate.
• Communicate clearly, accurately citing resources, demonstrating an understanding of intellectual property, copyright, and fair use of copyrighted material.
• Finish your research project by deadline.

Some content based on:  Information Literacy Competency Standards for Journalism Students and Professionals.

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Undergraduate vs. Graduate Level Writing

• General Writing Tips-Graduate Level
• OWRC-Online Writing Resource Center

Transitioning to graduate-level education does not automatically result in an upgrade of your writing capabilities. These skills remain consistent with those developed during your undergraduate studies, despite the heightened expectations that come with graduate-level communication. It is important to recognize the continued need for intentional efforts toward advancing your writing skills to achieve proficiency in this area. Writing goes beyond simple communication; it acts as a medium for intellectual exploration. Thus, improving your writing is directly linked to strengthening your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, essential for both academic success and professional achievement.

The guides below are designed to assist you with the transition into your graduate and doctoral programs here at Tiffin University. Please review the guides below to assist you with your writing needs.

Graduate Writing Guides

Undergraduate vs. Graduate Writing Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me! Click Me!

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What’s the Difference Between a Graduate and Undergraduate Degree Program?

When you’re starting to consider your path in higher education, degrees — such as BBA, BS, MBA and MS — can look more like alphabet soup than the academic accomplishments they are.

An undergraduate degree, which commonly refers to a bachelor’s degree, is the next educational step you can pursue after high school. After you earn a bachelor’s degree, you can consider pursuing a graduate degree, which commonly refers to a master's degree. A bachelor's degree is required before a master’s degree because master’s programs generally build on bachelor-level education with more in-depth study.

If you’re considering a path in higher education, use this guide to learn more about undergraduate and graduate degrees.

What is an undergraduate degree? Undergraduate degrees usually require students to take general education courses in areas such as math, language and culture, as well as courses focused on their majors.

Many institutions offer bachelor's degrees in a wide range of subjects. Bachelor's degrees can look slightly different depending on which subject you major in. For example, if your major is information technology, you might earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Information Technology. If you major in English, you might graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English.

While the term undergraduate degree most commonly refers to a bachelor's degree, some students earn a two-year degree called an associate degree after high school before or while pursuing a bachelor's degree.

What is a graduate degree? If you want to continue your studies after completing your bachelor's degree, the next level of education is a graduate degree . Graduate degrees vary significantly depending on the type of degree and the specific program you pursue. Overall, graduate studies provide a more advanced, in-depth curriculum and often practical industry experience to help prepare you for a specific career or field.

There are many types of graduate degrees. You might pursue a master's degree, such as a Master of Arts (MA), Science (MS), Education (MED), or Business Administration (MBA). Other graduate degrees include doctoral and professional degrees, such as Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Juris Doctor (JD) and Doctor of Medicine (MD).

Undergraduate vs. graduate degrees: What’s the difference? While both undergraduate and graduate degrees involve courses and developing new skills, there are significant differences between the degrees, including:

Order of degrees Consider degrees as educational building blocks. After completing high school, you have the foundation to pursue an undergraduate degree, such as a bachelor’s degree. Once you've earned a bachelor's degree, you can pursue further studies in your chosen field through a graduate degree.

Course of study The academic content and focus vary between undergraduate and graduate degrees. For example, if you are completing an undergraduate degree in business, the concepts will be more foundational and general. These concepts lay the groundwork that allows business graduate students to study more specific disciplines, concepts and applications.

Number of courses Given the foundational nature of bachelor’s programs, they typically require more courses to graduate than master’s programs, which are more specialized. For example, the Strayer University Bachelor of Business Administration program has 40 courses, and its Master of Business Administration program has 10 courses. Remember that the time it will take you to complete a degree program can vary depending on the specific program and your academic performance.

Is earning a degree worth it? Undergraduate degrees can help you explore your interests, gain valuable knowledge and skills, expand your professional connections and pursue your career goals. Meanwhile, graduate programs can help you learn the more specialized skills you might need to further your career goals.

Some institutions offer their students assistance to offset costs and support every step of the way. At Strayer University:

• Enroll in a bachelor’s program and we’ll give you a brand-new laptop to help you with your coursework.*
• We offer access to up to 10 no-cost gen ed courses through our affiliate, Sophia, to help you save time and money.*
• For every three bachelor's courses you pass, earn one on us tuition-free, to be redeemed near the end of your program with the Strayer Graduation Fund .*
• You’ll have a dedicated student service coach who will help guide you through your program.
• Access our Career Center with on-demand tools, tips and resources to help you succeed during your program and after graduation.

Still wondering if an undergraduate or graduate degree is worth it? This is a worthwhile question for each potential student to explore. Many careers require a certain level of education or specific skills, so research the career pathways you're interested in and weigh the qualifications needed against your priorities to determine the best next step for you.

*Eligibility rules and restrictions apply. Connect with us for details.

Learn more about Strayer University’s online degree offerings .

Category : Value of a Degree

Published Date : MAY 5, 2024

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"Neurofest 2024" - a celebration of neuroscience at Kent State and the recipients of Excellence in Neuroscience Research Scholarship awards

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“Neurofest 2024” took place on April 11 to celebrate current and former neuroscience students and their accomplishments. This event was organized by Dr. Wilson Chung, Director of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, and was held in the BHRI lobby, located in the lower-level of ISB. The event was attended by undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members.

Dr. Chung first shared an update about the neuroscience major, followed by talks by recent alumni of the neuroscience major who shared their experiences and advice to the attending undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. The major event of Neurofest 2024 was the announcement of the winners of the Excellence in Neuroscience Research Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to neuroscience majors who are juniors or seniors and have or are currently engaging in neuroscience research. Each awardee received a $250 scholarship and gave a 10-minute presentation on their undergraduate research.

Congratulations to the Excellence in Neuroscience Research Scholarship awardees 2024:

Autumn Redd , Junior, Neuroscience/Premedicine (2022 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Lique Coolen (Biological Sciences)

Kendra Dillon , Senior, Neuroscience (2022 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Aleisha Moore (Biological Sciences)

Aidan Wade , Senior, Neuroscience (2022 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Jeff Mellott (Neomed)

Autumn Redd:

"My name is Autumn Redd, and I am a third-year neuroscience/pre-medicine major. I am currently working at the Brain Health Research Institute under Dr. Lique Coolen, and we are studying the effects of a chronic spinal cord injury on neuropeptide expression in the spinal ejaculation generator of male rats. I have worked on this study for upwards of two years, having presented at the 3MT, neuroscience symposium, and the Undergraduate symposium. In the upcoming future, I would like to attend medical school while also continuing to indulge in the world of research!"

Kendra Dillon:

"I have the privilege of working in the laboratory of Dr. Aleisha Moore where I study the neuroendocrine basis of infertility. Throughout my time there, I have had the opportunity to become skilled at a multitude of laboratory techniques, present my research, and collaborate with different individuals. After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in embryology where I will work in an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory."

Aidan Wade:

"In Dr. Jeffrey Mellott's lab at NEOMED, I have investigated age-related changes to the synaptic ultrastructure of the rat inferior colliculus. Last summer, I was selected to be an Amgen Scholar at Stanford University where I created a spatial map of receptor expression across the mouse hippocampus in Dr. Longzhi Tan's lab. I was recently awarded the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship, so upon graduation I will join the Noninvasive Neuromodulation Unit at the NIMH where I will study non-invasive neuromodulation techniques for psychiatric treatment in clinical populations. I hope to enter a PhD program next year to study clinical neuroscience."

We would also like to congratulate the following BHRI Undergraduate Fellows for winning awards at the 2024 Annual Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Endeavors:

First place winners:

Anna Anello - Senior, Computer Science (2021 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Kwantaek Kim.

Clarice Farley - Senior, Biology/Premedicine (2023 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Angela Ridgel.

Second place winners:

Autumn Redd - Junior, Neuroscience/Premedicine (2022 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Lique Coolen.

Elli Marhefka - Senior, Biology/Premedicine (2023 BHRI Fellow). Mentor: Lique Coolen.

For the full list of 2024 Annual Undergraduate Symposium award winners, please visit: 2024 Award Winners and Mentors for Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors | Kent State University    

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ECE Graduate Student Association Sparks Community

• by Katherine Panaligan
• May 09, 2024

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Student Association , or ECE-GSA, fosters an environment of enrichment, collaboration and community at the University of California, Davis.   

“Our mission is to assist ECE graduate students in achieving a productive, enjoyable and enriching experience at UC Davis,” said Calum Shelden, the ECE-GSA president.  

To this end, the association hosts a variety of activities and programs for graduate students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with both large-scale events and small meetings, to offer comprehensive support for ECE graduates.  

For example, the association hosts recurring events like weekly coffee socials — held Fridays in Kemper Hall Courtyard — and barbecues and game nights to provide a space for graduate students to have fun and destress from their studies.   

They also host technical events to support graduate students’ education and industry experience. These have included talks from professors within the department and informational sessions with representatives from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and companies like Texas Instruments and Analog Devices.  

In addition to year-round programs, ECE-GSA hosts two major events each academic year that enrich its community.   

The first event runs from November to January. Throughout this period, the association holds mock examinations for first- and second-year Ph.D. students to prepare for their preliminary examinations, which students must pass in the winter quarter to continue pursuing their Ph.D. program.  

ECE-GSA’s other big annual event is its Picnic Day booth, “The Art of Semiconductors,” which saw its third iteration this year.  

At the family-friendly booth, visitors can participate in art activities that demonstrate the process of semiconductor device fabrication.  

“It requires a lot of planning,” said ECE-GSA Vice President M.A. Mort, “but every year it amazes me that we are able to pull it off with all the help from our fellow officers and volunteers of graduate students in our department.”  

All that effort is worth it, both for community members and the graduate students who put it on, as Shelden notes.  

“This event provides a platform for the general Davis community, often young, aspiring engineers and scientists, to engage with us as ECE grads and humanize us as STEM professionals.”  

The ECE-GSA’s mission to enrich the student experience and spark community within the department is always growing as they consider and develop new projects.   

“Typically, the development and implementation of a new event or program is led by one or two officers,” Shelden said. “However, I would describe the final product as a mosaic of the thoughts and ideas that all the officers contribute during our weekly officer meetings.”  

The association’s most recent project builds off the success of its mentorship program for graduate students. This one, however, pairs undergraduate students with graduate student mentors, bridging the gap between the two groups.  

The association developed this new program with the UC Davis chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers , or IEEE, and the Club of Future Female Electrical Engineers , or COFFEE, who provided insight into the needs of ECE undergraduates. According to their recommendation, ECE-GSA hosted a panel where undergraduates could ask graduates questions and preview what mentorship would be like.  

“Collaborating on this mentorship program has opened the door for collaborations on other activities with IEEE and COFFEE,” Shelden said. “I'm looking forward to seeing the connections between the organizations continue to grow.”  

Currently, the program consists of 12 undergraduates and nine graduate students whom the ECE-GSA has paired by topics of interest, such as applying for graduate school, research opportunities and navigating college as a first-generation student. Nurturing these personal connections in the ECE community through its activities is the driving force for ECE-GSA’s work.  

“The most rewarding part of being a member of the ECE-GSA is interacting with the students who come to our events and participate in our programs. I get to observe ECE-GSA achieving its goal and see that its work is valued by the community.”  

For more information on the ECE-GSA and their work, check out their webpage or Instagram @ece_gsa.  

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