Five Essential Skills for Every Undergraduate Researcher

Being my research problem, it was up to me to solve.
…The crucial lesson was that the scope of things I
didn’t know wasn’t merely vast; it was, for all practical
purposes, infinite. That realization, instead of being
discouraging, was liberating. If our ignorance is infinite,
the only possible course of action is to muddle through
as best we can (Schwartz 2008, 1771).

Research is hardly easy. As Martin Schwartz points out in his 2008 essay “The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research,” solving research problems requires us to immerse
ourselves in the unknown. However intimidating it may be to overcome this infinite amount of ignorance, we believe there is a special set of traits that will equip an undergraduate
researcher to successfully solve research problems.
Creativity, judgment, communication, organization, and persistence are all equally important skills to make the leap from gaining knowledge from others’ discoveries to making discoveries on your own. Having and honing these skills,skills that encompass every level of research in every discipline,are key to an undergraduate developing the foundation for a successful career in research. As a group of undergraduate researchers and mentors, we want to motivate
students to solve problems and make discoveries, and to start a discussion on how to forge the right path for each student toward research success. Following is our list of key skills.