While UCLA prides itself on being a research institution, navigating the paths it takes to start a research project can be a daunting task for undergraduate students looking to pursue their own research.
The Undergraduate Research Center provides the tools for students to do just that, said Boris Dralyuk, a master’s student in Slavic languages and literature and a mentor for the humanities division of the research center.
The research center provides the tools and opportunities to help students become involved in research regardless of what major or topic of study they are interested in, Dralyuk said.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to test the water in a variety of departments,” he said.
The research center provided resources for Allison Truong, a third-year physiological science student with minors in Asian languages and public health .
Though Truong originally got in contact with her professional research mentors through e-mail, the research center let her pursue her research interests without financial worries by offering her the Center for Academic and Research Excellence scholarship, she said.
The research center offers the Student Research Program, a two-unit course designed as a “building block” program, which allows students to pursue research in any type of field they choose, Dralyuk said.
Since its inception in 1985, the research program has helped more than 10,000 students obtain research positions on campus.
Truong started her research as a freshman in 2007, studying inflammatory bowel disease.
She joined another lab in September 2009, where she is currently doing research on viral pathogens and DNA.
Independent research done by undergraduates is usually based off of a project on which a professor is already working, Truong said.
Students are not required to form their own research ideas or proposals, she added.
Truong’s first quarter working in a lab involved getting used to the new environment and learning the techniques involved with the specific type of research.
“Every time you contact a mentor (and they take you on as a student researcher), they have to pick a time out of their schedule to teach you how to do a new protocol or experiment,” she said.
But as the year progresses, mentors may design projects that are specifically aimed for the student to pursue, she said.
“Your second quarter is when they’ll have more confidence in you and they can give you an independent project designed just for you,” she said.
Along with mentors who are professors or associate professors, Truong has also worked directly with graduate students and post-doctoral scholars through her lab, she said.
Getting involved with others who are doing research on campus has provided advantages to Casey Stegman, a third-year political science student.
Stegman started his first quarter at UCLA studying the 2007 MacArthur Park rally from the perspective of newspapers and media outlets.
He plans on continuing this research through the summer while also starting on a senior thesis.
Stegman is working on a separate project about the testimonials of people who attended the rally.
Having exposure to multiple research projects has shown him the scope of what kind of research is being done on campus, he said.
“It opens up your eyes to the broad research questions on this campus and the huge amount of research that’s going on,” Stegman said.
Along with the initial task of finding a specific professor and project, publishing finished research is also a hurdle that students may find difficult to cross, said Tama Hasson, director of the life and physical sciences division of the Undergraduate Research Center.
It may take up to two years for an undergraduate’s research to be published in a paper or scholarly publication, Hasson said.
Usually, the researchers must be involved heavily in the publication process for this to happen, she added.
However, the center has its own three academic journals that specifically look to publish the work of UCLA undergraduates, Hasson said.
Aleph and Westwind are two of the journals that focus on research and creative writing in the humanities and social sciences, while the Undergraduate Student Journal publishes research done in the life and physical sciences.
Through the research center, students can more easily integrate themselves into the large research populace at UCLA.
“It provides the opportunity to help you get plugged into the research community,” Stegman said.