50 Student Research Reflections
Young Scholars in Writing is a peer-reviewed undergraduate journal that features research writing by outstanding authors. The editors work with undergraduate writers to develop, edit, and publish their research findings. The following three articles, in particular, feature undergraduate authors reflecting on their development as researchers, and serve as excellent examples of the kind of writing you may do in your composition classes:
Article Abstract: The field of Writing Studies borrows and adapts research methods from many disciplines, including quantitative and qualitative methods from the social sciences. However, many people still think of empirical research as something that is out of reach for undergraduate students in liberal arts majors. In this methodological reflection, the author describes her own journey from believing empirical research was for other people (especially those who like math) to conducting her own empirical research study related to faculty and students’ perceptions of “Standard English.” The author’s reflection on the process of designing her study and collecting data not only provides an encouraging and honest “behind-the-scenes” look at the recursive nature of empirical research for other novice researchers in Writing Studies, but also reminds more experienced researchers, especially faculty, of the unique constraints undergraduate researchers face, especially when conducting studies that involve faculty as participants or rely on faculty to recruit participants.
Article Abstract: The concept of transfer is important in First-Year Writing (FYW). Further research is need ed on how students’ existing beliefs about their FYW courses affect the likelihood of transferring their learning. My paper addresses this by gauging student beliefs both before and after taking a FYW course. I look at surveys and the three reflection assignments of eight FYW students. From the data, I argue student engagement is important to promote transfer and that reflection assignments may not be a good method of judging student learning. I conclude that FYW courses should focus more on ensuring students understand the purpose of reflection assignments.
Read the full article in Young Scholars in Writing
In the field of writing studies, many scholars agree that metacognitive reflection activities can impact the quality of students’ text and have also been correlated with increased writing self-efficacy. To expand on this preexisting relationship between metacognition and writing self-efficacy, my study explored the impacts of metacognitive reflection, specifically during the revisions stage of the writing process. I used two qualitative research methods to observe the effects of this intervention: field observations of peer review sessions and thematic, deductive coding of participants’ responses to an open-ended questionnaire. I found that the metacognitive revision questionnaire encouraged participants to consider revision choices that linked their purpose for writing to their identities and to the ways they appealed to their audience. Making linkages between purpose, identity, and audience through revision choices has implications for fostering writing self-efficacy.
