Research Ambassador Blog Post By: Tracy Asingo There are different qualities and skills you need in order to be successful in research. Some of those skills are technical for helping with discipline-specific studies and others are more socially transferable. Although it may feel like you need to master these skills before starting research, you don’t…
Research Ambassador Blog Post By: April Read Forming a question and hypothesis is the first step of any study. We want to discover new things and learn more, which means there is not usually a correct answer or even a known answer for a study’s objective. The next step in research is running experiments. But where…
Research Ambassador Blog Post By: Yue (Cassie) Zhang Participating in undergraduate research can increase our interest in enhancing graduate school (Hathaway et al., 2002; Kremer & Bringle, 1990); help us gain data analysis and speaking skills (Bauer & Bennett, 2003); and provide us with experience in professional and personal development (Seymour et al., 2004). However, it…
Research Ambassador Blog Post By: Gwen Freeze So often we talk to friends who know exactly what they want to do with their lives. Come to the end of high school, they are dead set on being doctors, business owners, occupational therapists, and so on. I was never one of those people who knew what they…
Research Ambassador Blog Post By: Tyler Floen Before you begin your undergraduate research, one of the most important things to do is find a research supervisor. In a university setting, this is usually one of your professors or another faculty member that specializes in what you want to research. This can sometimes be intimidating, especially if…
Research Ambassador Blog Post By: Lauren Okano Picture this. You have just completed a research project on your dream research topic, and you can’t wait to share your findings. What do you do? Well, you have come to the right place because this post is all about one of the key players in research dissemination:…
My name is Nikki, and I conducted my own self-led wildlife behavioural ecology research within Kamloops, BC, in 2021/2022. I wanted to learn about the ecological preferences that the Western terrestrial garter snake (T. elegans) possesses in an urban city park. There seemed to be a particular small hill within the park that the snakes…
How did you become a Research Coach? What was that process like? I was approached by Lea Bucknell, who knew that I had an interest in casting and installation work; she was planning a project for her first-year sculpture class that incorporated both of these elements. Casting is a fairly in-depth medium, and she thought…
Building Confidence & Tackling Imposter Syndrome with Alyssa Holt (she/her), Fifth-Year Social Work Student. My research journey began at the very beginning of 2020 when I received an email from two of my professors offering me a position as a research assistant. Dr. West and Dr. Murphy were working in affiliation with the Kamloops Elizabeth…
Lauren Okano – Research Coach for CHEM 2100 Fall 2021 How did you become a Research Coach? What was that process like? In the fall of my fourth year, my research supervisor, Dr. Kingsley Donkor, recommended that I apply for the Research Coach program. I have been involved in undergraduate research at TRU since my second…
How do you become a researcher? In case you haven’t noticed, you already are one – and here’s why! You weren’t born knowing how to use a computer or what the internet is. You had questions along the way, and you had to find your own answers by asking for help from those who might know or…
Am I done with research after I’ve shared my knowledge? That depends! What are you interested in? Are there still questions you want to answer? Are there other areas you want to explore with your newly acquired knowledge? Is there more to the project than you were able to explore in the time frame you…
How can I share my research with others? There’s no right or wrong here, and you should share your work in the way that best matches the preferences and habits of your target audience. Did you discover something that might affect how other researchers view their own fields or approach their own projects? Then writing…
What does it mean to engage with research? As a researcher, you can engage with your research and with your audience! In this process, you will be diving into the world of trial and error where it is essential to think critically, take it one step at a time and be comfortable with the unknown….
Am I ready to start engaging with research? If you have reached your third or fourth year in your program, this is the perfect time to engage with research. If you still don’t know what areas interest you the most or you still haven’t found a supervisor, you might want to check out our resources…
I’m already doing research and things are not going well. What do I do? Welcome to the club! Research is a windy road full of twists and turns, it is very normal for it to feel like the whole world is burning and you’re the one who has to fix it. Here are some tips…
What is research? If you’re just starting to explore what research is, Discover is the right place for you! Find out what is research and how it can help you achieve your goals! Research is all about looking at a problem in many different ways, learning new things about it, and sharing what you learn…
How do I get started with research? It is never too late or too early to start, and you can do that by identifying things that pique your interest in school and in life, and then connecting with faculty and peers who can support you through your curiosity! Here’s a complete guide on getting started with…
What does working with research look like? Working with research can happen in many different ways: from dealing with cell cultures in a lab to listening to people’s stories and interpreting their art to understand more about societal issues affecting the community. As a matter of fact, you have probably done a ton of research…
Why is it important to connect with your community? By consulting with your local community, you can find research questions that are relevant on a smaller scale and answers that will directly benefit the people and environment around you. Not all research questions need to address the biggest world problems and some of the best…
Who should you connect with when doing research? One of the first steps in getting involved with research is to find a faculty member who you can partner with. Not only can they provide insight into the research process, but also ideas for a project, the scope of the research, and additional resources to get…
How can research help me explore my own learning? Research is a great way to explore your personal learning styles and be open-minded about different ways of knowing. This allows you to consider different cultural perspectives and be aware of how your research influences different groups of people. The best researcher is receptive to those…
During the CURN Sprint 2021, the Undergraduate Research Ambassadors got together to explore what CURN means to them and how we all understand Discover, Connect, Engage, and Become. Below you will find the collaborated ideas to further your understanding. Brainstorming Posters from CURN Sprint 2021:
What are the Truth and Reconciliation 94 Calls to Action, and how can we better engage with them? Within current academic discourse there is a lot of discussion surrounding reconciliation, particularly centering around the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions 94 Calls to Action. Although these are referenced frequently, many students and academic staff still struggle to…
This post will describe how I found out about and eventually got involved in undergraduate research at TRU, as well as how it enriched my educational experience.
This is the story of how I accidentally stumbled upon research as an undergraduate student, and the reasons why this was the best thing to ever happen to me.