When someone mentions research, the first thing that comes to mind is a person in a lab or someone who is an expert or a graduate student. Although this is research, it is only one example of how research is done in a particular discipline; every discipline has a way of doing research, scholarship, or creative activity and they can vary significantly.
Everyone engages in research daily without knowing it. Consider when you do a Google search, read through a Wikipedia entry, or look for just the right item on Amazon - these are all research activities. Admittedly, it may only be the beginning stages of a research project or may not be academic research, but you are asking questions, filling in gaps in your knowledge, or finding solutions, but it is still nonetheless research.
Research, scholarship, and creative activities requires curiosity and a great deal of time and effort. To complete academic research, it is required that the individual has attention to detail, strong adherence to the standards and principles of the discipline, and persistence to complete the project.
How does one go about participating in research, scholarship or creative activities as an undergraduate?
Every department at SJSU encourages undergraduate students to participate in research, scholarship, or creative activities. Typically, there are two ways to begin an undergraduate research project:
To find opportunities in the schools and colleges at SJSU, look through departmental websites for possibilities and to see what current faculty or working on.