How Do I Start?

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First Step

To begin your independent scholarly activity, you should first think about what you would like to pursue and then find a faculty mentor who can help you and guide your research or creative activity along the way. It is common for students in some majors (e.g. STEM, Social Sciences) to participate in a small aspect of a faculty mentor’s larger research program.

 

How Do I Find a Suitable Project?

Identify your area of interest by asking yourself:

• What are my scholarly or creative passions?
• What do I enjoy reading or doing?
• Which issues and topics really matter to me?
• About which area would I like to know more?
• What topics particularly interest me in my major?

 

Find more information about your area(s) of interest by:

• Talking to: 
  • faculty in your discipline and/or area of interest
  • faculty whose course(s) you enjoyed
  • students who are already involved in similar research
  • staff or faculty associated with the Center for Community Engagement
• Scheduling a consultation with a Southern Miss librarian or asking a librarian remotely
• Searching online (e.g. Google Scholar)

 

Develop some questions you may want to pursue by following these steps (modified from the Right Question Institute):

• Set a timer to 5 minutes and write down all questions you can think of about a topic of interest; don’t judge the quality of a question or change any of them!
• Change closed questions (yes/no answers) into open questions (how, why, what, etc.).
• Prioritize the open questions according to a criterion of your choice (e.g. most interesting to me, most pressing or important to pursue).
• Explore relevant literature related to the top three questions to determine how much prior research has been done in those areas.
• Think about aspects about which you cannot find much information and which might, therefore, leave room for your own research to help advance the field.

 

How Do I Find a Faculty Mentor for my Project?

Depending on your area(s) of interest:

• Talk to your academic advisor about possible project mentors in your discipline.
• Talk to faculty members whose course you enjoyed or whom you already know about their areas of scholarly activities.
• Check out the Southern Miss faculty pages for a faculty member in your major or with expertise related to your area of interest.
• Talk to fellow students who have found a mentor about their experiences.
• Contact a member of the DCUR Steering Committee in your College for help.
• Contact DCUR staff for help with general DCUR applications.
• Contact Center for Community Engagement staff for help with community-engaged DCUR applications.

 

Discuss your project ideas with potential faculty mentors:

• Find out how to connect with a faculty member and prepare for a meeting! 
• Meet with a few faculty whom you have identified as potential mentors; not all of them may be able to mentor you and/or be a good fit for you.
• Describe your project ideas and ask the faculty for feedback, ideas, and recommendations for reading material.
• Be open to suggestions from faculty for modifications to your project or alternative projects; you may not be able to pursue exactly the project you have in mind.

 

Make “the Ask”:

• Make an appointment with your preferred mentor and politely inquire whether s/he would consider serving in that capacity.
• Be specific about the time frame you envision for your project and be as flexible as possible to accommodate the mentor’s schedule.
• If a faculty member agrees to serve as your project mentor, discuss expectations for time commitment, effort, frequency of meetings to assess progress, etc.
• Make sure to thank her/him!

 

How Can I Develop My Project?

Things to consider:

• How much time can you can devote to the project?
  • number of semesters and/or summers
  • hours per week
• Can I complete the project within the time frame I have?
• Are all resources I need readily available or accessible? 

 

Make a project completion plan by discussing with your mentor:

• Training in the responsible conduct of research 
• Hypotheses you will test
• Questions your research will attempt to answer
• Methods and approaches you will use
• Results you might expect

 

How Can I Fund My Project?

• DCUR grant programs support undergraduate research and creative activities.
• Additional funding opportunities may also be available.

 

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