The New Social Worker Vol. 19, No. 4, Fall 2012 | Page 22

Research

U

10 Benefits of Student Participation in
Undergraduate Social Work Research

by Lucas J. Gogliotti, BASW, Justin J. Pung, BASW,
and Suzanne L. Cross, Ph.D., ACSW, LMSW

ndergraduate research can be incredibly beneficial to social work
students. Students may feel too
busy to take on the burden of another
obligation, but a research project is worth
the added responsibility. Lucas Gogliotti
and Justin Pung, two social work seniors
at Michigan State University, have had
the experience of working on a research
team with Dr. Suzanne Cross, an associate professor at MSU, and Dr. Angelique
Day, who was working at the time as a
community agency employee.

This quantitative and qualitative research study, entitled, Best Practices for the
Recruitment and Retention of American Indian Social Work Students, was conducted
from 2008-2011. The two students joined
the research team in the fall semester of
2010. Each student received the Provost
University Research Initiative (PURI)
Award, which provided funding for them
while they participated in the research.
Justin focused his literature review on
the recruitment and Lucas on the retention of American Indian students in
social work programs. In addition, both
students conducted individual interviews
and learned research methods, data
analysis, and manuscript development.
They participated in poster presentations
at the NASW-Michigan Chapter conference, the school of social work research
festival, and (for Justin) the Council on
Social Work Education Annual Program
Meeting (CSWE-APM).

The students’ experience was invaluable, and they want to encourage other
students to extend themselves to yield
the benefits of undergraduate research.
Therefore, Lucas and Justin have developed a list of ten benefits of social work
undergraduate research.

faculty member. During this relationship, students learn in-depth the actual
processes of research, an experience they
are likely not to have had in a research
course. This relationship also allows
the faculty member the opportunity to
observe the student’s research skill sets
more directly than in a classroom setting.
Conducting research can be confusing
and difficult to grasp at times. However,
with the help and support of my faculty
advisor, I (Lucas) was able to gain a
firm understanding of the process. I got
course credit for my research project, but
I didn’t have to share the attention of the
professor with 20 other students.

first, but students are not without help in
a project. We were fortunate to learn research methodology from a professional
social worker, who worked for a community agency and is now a professor at
Wayne State University. At first, I ( Justin)
had a difficult time understanding the
statistical concepts we worked with, such
as Pearson’s Chi Square. As the project
continued, however, I gained a better
understanding of them, and my senior
year statistics class felt mostly like review
after having this first exposure. Thanks
to this experience, we both feel confident
conducting more research at the graduate and professional levels.

2. Organizational Skills

4. Learn Interview Skills

In professional settings, it is necessary to manage numerous responsibilities
while still staying composed. Adding a
research project to classes and extracurricular activities is a good chance for a
student to practice this essential skill.
Granted, the life of a college student is
anything but calm and free of stress, especially during senior year. Yet, it is vital
students get involved in research projects
if they can, as early as the sophomore or
junior year. Personally, I ( Justin) have
already seen the impact that participating
in research has had on my time management skills. During the fall semester of
my senior year, I enrolled in 15 credits,
spent 16 hours a week or more at my
field placement, had a part-time job,
and was the treasurer/secretary for a
student social work organization. I was
not stressed out over any of this, because
putting extra time into research during
my junior year prepared me to handle
multiple commitments.

Conducting interviews for a research
project is the perfect way to practice
interviewing skills. Many undergraduate
students have had little or no experience
conducting formal interviews prior to
their field placements in the senior year.
Even new social workers may be nervous
when conducting one-on-one interviews
as recent hires in a professional setting.
As student research assistants, we had a
great opportunity to hone skills as interviewers and to develop our own personal
interview styles. We were able to conduct
phone interviews with American Indian
social work students. These interviews
were low pressure and highly structured.
They gave us a chance to learn about
ourselves as interviewers, and we felt
prepared to conduct interviews in our
field placements because of this experience.

1. Relationships With Faculty

3. Learn the Research Process

Developing relationships with social
work faculty provides a great experience to spend time with established
professionals. Involvement in a research
project allows a student one-on-one time
and/or small group interactions with a

Social workers are aware that research, policy, and practice are forever
linked. Therefore, it is advantageous to
become familiar with research methods
before entering the field. The complexities of research can be intimidating at

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The New Social Worker

5. Cultural Competence

Social work students learn very
quickly that they serve a wide range of
clients. It is important, therefore, to step
out of one’s comfort zone early and take
on a research project with a focus on a
diverse population. Although both of
us can trace a portion of our heritage to
American Indians, we were not intimately familiar with the realities that they cur-