Abstract
To face twenty-first century challenges, an effective undergraduate education must prepare its students with interdisciplinary competencies: reflexivity, perspective seeking, and integrative thinking that reaches across disciplinary silos. As such, higher education has begun to shift towards societally engaged models that engender interdisciplinary collaboration. However, much of the work on interdisciplinarity focuses solely on intellectual concerns, missing out on key opportunities to center personal spheres of knowledge. To address this gap, we implemented interdisciplinary dialogue as a practice-based approach to facilitate conversation on how identity, privilege, and access shape undergraduate students’ experiences in mentored undergraduate research settings. Between 2021 and 2022, we facilitated four peer dialogue workshops with students participating in discipline-based summer undergraduate research programs (n = 54) where peers among different disciplines discussed how personal and disciplinary identities influence access to opportunities, choices in research, research process, and relationships. Thematic analysis of conversations within these dialogues revealed how students conceptualize the role of their own and others’ identities when describing their reasons for doing research, how they gained access to and navigated research spaces, and how they conducted the research itself. Undergraduate students described research as being highly personal as they consistently discovered, iterated, and embodied their unique identities throughout the research process, and adding a point of peer dialogue allowed students to explore these perspectives. By showcasing the ways that students articulate and negotiate their identities as researchers in dialogue with one another, we demonstrate the value in incorporating these discussions within interdisciplinary higher education.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The interview transcripts generated during the current study are not publicly available to protect participant confidentiality but de-identified data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Critical questions used in scripts and instruments underlying this study are openly available in the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative Center’s Knowledge Commons CORE repository (DOI: 10.17613/vwf61-6pp50).
References
Aikens ML, Robertson MM, Sadselia S, Watkins K, Evans M, Runyon CR, Eby LT, Dolan EL (2017) Race and Gender Differences in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Structures and Research Outcomes. CBE—Life Sci Educ 16(2):ar34. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-07-0211
Bernard HR (2006) Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. AltaMira Press
Blom J-P, Gumperz J (1972) Social Meaning in Linguistic Structures: Code Switching in Northern Norway. Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 407–434
Boyer 2030 Commission Report. (2022). UERU. https://ueru.org/boyer2030
Braun V, Clarke V (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Res Psychol 3(2):77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Carlone HB, Johnson A (2007) Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: Science identity as an analytic lens. J Res Sci Teach 44(8):1187–1218. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20237
Chamely-Wiik D, Ambrosio A, Baker T, Ghannes A, Soberon J (2023) The Impact of Undergraduate Research Experience Intensity on Measures of Student Success. J Scholarsh Teach Learn 23(1):1. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v23i1.32675
Creswell JW, Poth CN (2018) Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches, (Fourth edition). SAGE
Crowley S, O’Rourke M (2020) Communication failure and cross-disciplinary research. The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative: The Power of Cross-Disciplinary Practice. CRC Press, 1–16
Eigenbrode SD, O’rourke M, Wulfhorst JD, Althoff DM, Goldberg CS, Merrill K, Morse W, Nielsen-Pincus M, Stephens J, Winowiecki L, Bosque-Pérez NA (2007) Employing Philosophical Dialogue in Collaborative Science. BioScience 57(1):55–64. https://doi.org/10.1641/B570109
Faber CJ, Benson L (2015) Undergraduate Students’ Recognition and Development as Researchers. 26.1617.1-26.1617.10. https://peer.asee.org/undergraduate-students-recognition-and-development-as-researchers
Faber CJ, Kajfez RL, McAlister AM, Ehlert KM, Lee DM, Kennedy MS, Benson LC (2020) Undergraduate engineering students’ perceptions of research and researchers. J Eng Educ 109(4):780–800. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20359
Fam D (2017) Facilitating communities of practice as social learning systems: A case study of trialling sustainable sanitation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Knowl Manag Res Pract 15(3):391–399. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41275-017-0062-x
Follmer DJ, Zappe S, Gomez E, Kumar M (2017) Student Outcomes from Undergraduate Research Programs: Comparing Models of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs). Scholarsh Pract Undergrad Res 1(1):20–27. https://doi.org/10.18833/spur/1/1/5
Freire P (2000) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th anniversary ed. Continuum
Graham MJ, Frederick J, Byars-Winston A, Hunter A-B, Handelsman J (2013) Increasing Persistence of College Students in STEM. Science 341(6153):1455–1456. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240487
Hazari Z, Chari D, Potvin G, Brewe E (2020) The context dependence of physics identity: Examining the role of performance/competence, recognition, interest, and sense of belonging for lower and upper female physics undergraduates. J Res Sci Teach 57(10):1583–1607. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21644
Hazari Z, Sonnert G, Sadler PM, Shanahan M-C (2010) Connecting high school physics experiences, outcome expectations, physics identity, and physics career choice: A gender study. J Res Sci Teach 47(8):978–1003. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20363
Holland DC (Ed.) (2001) Identity and agency in cultural worlds (1. Harvard Univ. Press paperback ed., 2. print). Harvard Univ. Press
Hubbs G, O’Rourke M, Orzack SH (Eds.) (2020) The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative: The Power of Cross-Disciplinary Practice (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429440014
Huffmyer AS, O’Neill T, Lemus JD (2022) Evidence for Professional Conceptualization in Science as an Important Component of Science Identity. CBE—Life Sci Educ 21(4):ar76. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-12-0280
Imbruce V, Jaeger V, Rinkus MA, Hua J, & O’Rourke M (2024) Raising undergraduate researchers’ interdisciplinary consciousness through dialogue. J Enviro Stud Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-024-00942-0
Jackson P (1993) Life in classrooms. Teaching and Learning in the Primary School. Routledge
Junge B, Quiñones C, Kakietek J, Teodorescu D, Marsteller P (2010) Promoting Undergraduate Interest, Preparedness, and Professional Pursuit in the Sciences: An Outcomes Evaluation of the SURE Program at Emory University. CBE—Life Sci Educ 9(2):119–132. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.09-08-0057
Kjellberg P, O’Rourke M, O’Connor-Gómez D (2018) Interdisciplinarity and the Undisciplined Student: Lessons from the Whittier Scholars Program. Issues Interdiscip Stud 36(1):34–65
Knezek C, Morreale P, Gannon S, Chang G, Toney JH (2022) A Culture of Undergraduate Research at a Diverse Public University Leads to Unprecedented Student Success. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, 48–55. https://doi.org/10.18833/spur/5/3/6
Kuh GD (2008) High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. AAAC&U
Le PT, Doughty L, Thompson AN, Hartley LM (2019) Investigating Undergraduate Biology Students’ Science Identity Production. CBE—Life Sci Educ 18(4):ar50. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.18-10-0204
Leyva LA, Quea R, Weber K, Battey D, López D (2021) Detailing Racialized and Gendered Mechanisms of Undergraduate Precalculus and Calculus Classroom Instruction. Cognition Instr 39(1):1–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2020.1849218
Linn MC, Palmer E, Baranger A, Gerard E, Stone E (2015) Undergraduate research experiences: Impacts and opportunities. Science 347(6222):1261757. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261757
Lopatto D (2007) Undergraduate Research Experiences Support Science Career Decisions and Active Learning. CBE—Life Sci Educ 6(4):297–306. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.07-06-0039
Lu C (2015) Finding Los Científicos Within: Latino Male Science Identity Development in the First College Semester. J Coll Stud Dev 56(7):740–745. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0069
Marco-Bujosa LM, Baker L, Malott KM (2024) Why am I here?”: A phenomenological exploration of first-generation college student experiences in STEM majors within a predominantly white institution. J Res Sci Teach 61(4):905–936. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21911
McGee EO, Martin DB (2011) You Would Not Believe What I Have to Go Through to Prove My Intellectual Value!” Stereotype Management Among Academically Successful Black Mathematics and Engineering Students. Am Educ Res J 48(6):1347–1389. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831211423972
McGee EO, Thakore BK, LaBlance SS (2017) The burden of being “model”: Racialized experiences of Asian STEM college students. J Diversity High Educ 10(3):253–270. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000022
McLeskey C, Berling E, Rourke MO, Pennock RT (2020) The Evolution of the Scientific Virtues Toolbox Approach to Responsible Conduct of Research Training. In W Banzhaf, BHC Cheng, K Deb, KE Holekamp, RE Lenski, C Ofria, RT Pennock, WF Punch, & DJ Whittaker (Eds.), Evolution in Action: Past, Present and Future: A Festschrift in Honor of Erik D. Goodman (pp. 535–550). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39831-6_35
Mekolichick J (2021) Mapping the Impacts of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Inquiry Experiences to the NACE Career Readiness Competencies. Default. https://www.naceweb.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/individuals-with-disabilities/ready-willing-but-still-underemployed/0f654274-aed4-41ec-a6d5-5eba2a535aa2
O’Rourke M, Crowley S, Eigenbrode SD, Wulfhorst JD (Eds.) (2014) Enhancing communication & collaboration in interdisciplinary research. Sage
O’Rourke M, Donovan S, Engebretson J, Gonnerman C, Goralnik L, Imbruce V, Kjellberg P, Rinkus MA, Robinson B (2024) Addressing perspectives with the Toolbox dialogue method. In R Szostak (Ed.), Handbook of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Administration (pp. 171–193). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035309870.00019
Palmer RJ, Hunt AN, Neal MR, Wuetherick B (2018) The Influence of Mentored Undergraduate Research on Students’ Identity Development. Counc Undergrad Res Q 2(2):4–14. https://doi.org/10.18833/spur/2/2/1
Patton MQ (2002) Qualitative evaluation and research methods, 2nd ed. Sage Publications, Inc, p. 532
Pierszalowski S, Bouwma-Gearhart J, Marlow L (2021) A Systematic Review of Barriers to Accessing Undergraduate Research for STEM Students: Problematizing Under-Researched Factors for Students of Color. Soc Sci 10(9):9. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10090328
Remich R, Naffziger-Hirsch ME, Gazley JL, McGee R (2016) Scientific Growth and Identity Development during a Postbaccalaureate Program: Results from a Multisite Qualitative Study. CBE—Life Sci Educ 15(3):ar25. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0035
Repko AF, Szostak R (2020) Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. SAGE Publications
Rinkus MA, Donovan SM, Hall TE, O’Rourke M (2021) Using a survey to initiate and sustain productive group dialogue in focus groups. Int J Soc Res Methodol 24(3):327–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2020.1786240
Rinkus MA, O’Rourke M (2020) Qualitative Analyses of the Effectiveness of Toolbox Dialogues. The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative. CRC Press
Smith JL, Deemer ED, Thoman DB, Zazworsky L (2014) Motivation under the microscope: Understanding undergraduate science students’ multiple motivations for research. Motiv Emot 38(4):496–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9388-8
Smith-Keiling BL, Sharma A, Fagbodun SM, Chahal HK, Singleton K, Gopalakrishnan H, Paleologos KE, Brantley J, Nguyen V, Mathew M, Van De Ligt AJ (2020) Starting the Conversation: Initial Listening and Identity Approaches to Community Cultural Wellness. J Microbiol Biol Educ 21(1):25. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.2073
Trujillo G, Tanner KD (2014) Considering the Role of Affect in Learning: Monitoring Students’ Self-Efficacy, Sense of Belonging, and Science Identity. CBE—Life Sci Educ 13(1):6–15. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-12-0241
Urrieta L (2007) Identity Production in Figured Worlds: How some Mexican Americans become Chicana/o Activist Educators. Urban Rev 39(2):117–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-007-0050-1
Wenger-Trayner E (2008) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press
Wenger-Trayner E, Wenger-Trayner B (2015) Introduction to communities of practice—Wenger-trayner. https://www.wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
Acknowledgements
We thank the students who participated in the dialogues; Binghamton University and participating undergraduate research programs, Summer Scholar and Artist Program, McNair Scholars Program, Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation, Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, and Bridges to Baccalaureate; Michael O’Rourke for assisting in the facilitation of the 2021 workshops and Vanessa Jaeger and Regina Nguyen for assisting in the facilitation of the 2022 workshops. We thank the National Science Foundation (NSF award Nos. 2314625 and 2137424) and US Department of Education McNair Award P217A170020 for funding support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MAR, VI, and JH contributed to project conceptualization, methodology, project administration, funding acquisition, and supervision. MAR, VI, and KRS conducted data collection. All authors contributed to the development of the thematic coding scheme. KRS and JGV conducted formal analyses and wrote original manuscript drafts and contributed equally to the work. All authors edited and reviewed the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical approval
The questionnaires and methodologies for this study were approved as exempt by the institutional review board (IRB) of Michigan State University (Ethics approval number: Study #00005341, Approved 11/5/2020). All research was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all relevant guidelines/regulations applicable when human participants are involved.
Informed consent
Consent was obtained in written form through an online application from all participants on the day of the workshop they attended and immediately prior to their participation in the workshop (workshop dates: 14 July 2021, 21 July 2021, 19 July 2022, and 20 July 2022). Participation was completely voluntary and participants had the option to withdraw at any time, decline to respond to any particular question or statement, or decline to participate in the dialogue. By providing consent, participants acknowledged that any data collected in this study could be used in research publications and presentations with all personal identifiable information redacted.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Shaw, K.R., García-Vila, J., Hua, J. et al. Using interdisciplinary dialogue to understand the influence of identities on undergraduate research experiences. Humanit Soc Sci Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-06499-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-06499-3
