Modules
You are required to complete Getting Involved with Undergraduate Research at UCalgary and then select five of the optional modules.
Program overview
The Ready for Research micro-credential will prepare you to confidently participate in research within your undergraduate studies. It consists of ten synchronous and asynchronous online modules, allowing you to choose between various learning activities to match your personal interests. Participating in this badge will help you discover undergraduate research opportunities on campus and create a plan to get involved with the research you are truly passionate about, enriching your undergraduate experience.
Instructor: Dr. Victoria Guglietti, PhD, Academic Lead
Office of Experiential Learning
How to register
Registration closes on September 24, 2024
Sign in
Clicking Register now will take you to the Elevate login screen. Click on Student Login and use your UCID to log in.
Find the program
Once you have logged in, click on Research & Teaching Opportunities on the left hand side, then, click on Ready for Research 2024.
Enroll
You'll see an Enroll button at the top to click on. One more step...
Register for the first module
Click on the link at the top and then click on Register for this event. You're in!
Eligibility
This badge program is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Calgary. In order to receive the badge, you must register and participate in one required module, as well as five out of nine optional modules.
Learning outcomes
- Build your understanding of what undergraduate research involves while developing an appreciation and respect for diverse ways of knowing, doing, and practicing research across campus.
- Understand the many undergraduate research opportunities available to you at UCalgary and develop some strategies to get involved.
- Understand the numerous skills you can develop through a research experience and begin to develop a reflective research practice by exploring your interests and goals and formulating a research journey plan to support your next steps.
Getting Involved with Undergraduate Research at UCalgary
Facilitators: Dr. Victoria Guglietti, Ph.D.
Method of delivery: Synchronous, Online
Date: September 24, 2024
Undergraduate research is a category of experiential learning that provides students with high-quality research experiences that intentionally evoke students’ curiosity, engage students in the process of discovery, ensure there is an opportunity for students to disseminate findings, and extend student learning through critical reflection. When students engage in this type of hands-on learning, they develop skills like working effectively with others, solving complex real-world problems, and acquiring work-related knowledge and skills. In this session, students will explore different research paradigms and how undergraduates can participate in research at UCalgary.
Optional modules
Creativity in Research: Getting to a Research Section
Facilitators: Dr. Jennifer Cuthbertson, Ph.D., Dr. Mindi Summers, Ph.D., Dr. Kyla Flanagan, Ph.D.
Method of Delivery: Asynchronous, self-directed
Where do research ideas come from? How do researchers come up with novel questions? How do researchers take their curiosities and formulate them into a project? Identifying a research topic and developing a research question can be one of the toughest steps in the research process. In this session, we will provide students with strategies to develop their creativity, identify an area of interest, narrow a broad topic into a productively focused one, and construct a research question.
Ethics in Undergraduate Research
Facilitators: Dr. Jenny Godley, Ph.D.
Method of Delivery: Asynchronous, self-directed
This session will introduce students who are planning to conduct research with human participants to the research ethics process. We will begin by discussing the history of research ethics, both in the medical sciences and in the social sciences. We will then explore the theoretical underpinnings of research ethics, including Indigenous perspectives. Next, we will examine current regulatory requirements for ethical research with human participants, including the TCPS2 and OCAP(R). We will end the session with a discussion of the ethics application process at the University of Calgary.
Indigenous Research: Ethics, Risk, and Relationships
Facilitator: Keeta Gladue, Aylin Arzola Salazar
Method of Delivery: Asynchronous, self-directed
Description: Interested in Indigenous research? In this session, participants will learn about the history of Indigenous research in North America as well as the wise practices and requirements for conducting research with Indigenous People today. Together we will discuss Indigenous community engagement as well as Indigenous data sovereignty, both of which you will need in order to participate in or design an Indigenous research project. This workshop is ideal for those curious about Indigenous research, community engagement, and what it means to conduct ethical research with Indigenous Peoples.
Applying for Undergraduate Research Funding #1
Facilitators: Stephanie Vahaaho, Dr. Victoria Guglietti, Ph.D., Jennifer Logan
Modality: Synchronous, Online
Date: October 22, 2024
Are you an undergraduate student interested in research? Are you looking for an opportunity to work with researchers on campus and strategies to approach research supervisors? Summer research studentships comprise many awards across campus, including Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentships, Biomedical Engineering (BME), O’Brien Centre Summer Studentships (OCSS), Libin Cardiovascular Health Research Award, NSERC CREATE in Neurotechnologies Awards, Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) Awards, Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) and others. Summer studentships provide financial support for University of Calgary undergraduates to conduct research for 8, 12 or 16 weeks between May and August. This session will outline strategies for finding a supervisor for undergraduate student research opportunities and the summer studentship application process. Students will have the opportunity to hear from past summer student researchers and develop a plan for applying for summer research.
Faculty and Student Meet-and-Greet
Facilitators: Dr. Victoria Guglietti, Ph.D., PURE Faculty Coordinator Team
Method of Delivery: Synchronous, In-person
Date: December 2, 2024
Come join us for a fun, informal social networking event with undergraduate faculty coordinators, research supervisors, and other students interested in research like you! We are thrilled to showcase the diverse opportunities available in the world of research and equip you with valuable tools to unlock your inner research potential. During this gathering, you'll have the chance to create new connections, explore ongoing research projects, and even enjoy a slice of pizza! Don't miss out on this enriching experience!
Applying for Undergraduate Research Funding #2
Facilitators: Stephanie Vahaaho, Dr. Victoria Guglietti, Ph.D., Jennifer Logan
Modality: Synchronous, Online
Date: November 26, 2024
Are you an undergraduate student interested in research? Are you looking for an opportunity to work with researchers on campus and strategies to approach research supervisors? Summer research studentships comprise many awards across campus, including Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentships, Biomedical Engineering (BME), O’Brien Centre Summer Studentships (OCSS), Libin Cardiovascular Health Research Award, NSERC CREATE in Neurotechnologies Awards, Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) Awards, Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) and others. Summer studentships provide financial support for University of Calgary undergraduates to conduct research for 8, 12 or 16 weeks between May and August. This session will outline strategies for finding a supervisor for undergraduate student research opportunities and the summer studentship application process. Students will have the opportunity to hear from past summer student researchers and develop a plan for applying for summer research.
Finding and Managing Research Sources
Facilitator: Kathleen James, James Murphy
Modality: Asynchronous, self-directed
This session will introduce students to a process for searching, accessing, and organizing high-quality research sources for a topic. We’ll begin by discussing how to develop search strategies for their research question incorporating synonyms and operators. Next, we’ll demonstrate how to execute a search in a relevant multi-disciplinary database, apply filters and other strategies to broaden or narrow a search and showcase some of the advanced functionality available in the database. We’ll then look at how to select, organize and manage the sources that are turned up by a search. Finally, we’ll go over the crucial role of citation in research and review the components of good citations.
Community Engagement in Research
Facilitators: Dr. Stephanie Warner, Ph.D. and Sarelle Azuelos (Knowledge Engagement Team)
Method of Delivery: Asynchronous, self-directed
Research can occur in many places, and it can impact or be interesting to a variety of different audiences, partners, and communities. In this workshop, the Knowledge Engagement team in Research Services will share considerations for partnering with the community for research, like reciprocity and co-designing projects. We’ll talk about “nothing about us without us,” and how new knowledge can reach the people and communities who can benefit from it.
Next Steps in Research
Facilitators: Liliana Gonzalez
Modality: Asynchronous, self-directed
This session will explore how you can take your research career to the next step. You will develop an understanding of how to reflect on your preferences (values, interests, and personality) and how these can guide your career planning. Also, we discuss opportunities available for researchers and how you can translate the skills you’ve acquired into different roles for your career. Additional resources that you can access for career development support will also be summarized.