Differentiating undergraduate research

The work of undergraduates has been generally perceived in terms of coursework rather than research; research, rather, has been considered the domain of postgraduates and academics. This study collected data from interviews with 80 undergraduates at an Australian research university. The results suggest that undergraduates perceive research along a spectrum, from developmental - where research is framed by an intellectual hierarchy from undergraduate to postgraduate to academic - to discrete perceptions of research, which frame research as non-hierarchical. These two frames - the developmental and the discrete - have implications for universities choosing to mainstream undergraduate research (UR) opportunities.