Want to do undergraduate research?

Women, people from global majority ethnic and racial backgrounds, people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, and people from other underrepresented backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply. If you need accommodations for the application, please contact me via email or phone (352) 273-3690.

To my current, past, and future Black, Indigenous, students of Color: I see your pain, grief, and anger. I promise to hold space for it in and out of the classroom. I promise to use my power and privilege to put forth a pedagogy of anti-racism. For my current, past, and future students of other marginalized identities: I see your pain, grief, and anger. I promise to hold space for it in and out of the classroom. I promise to use my power and privilege to put forth a pedagogy against all forms of discrimination on an identity basis. I welcome feedback on my progress. – Adapted from Erica Ciszek, PhD.

Note: For Fall 2020 (at least), all projects will be remote-only.

To express your interest:

Please send an email describing your interest and a few of the projects above you are most interested in. Please include several times you could meet for 15-20 minute discussion in the two weeks following your email. Email materials to stofer at ufl dot edu

At the first meeting, we’ll discuss your interests and goals for doing research with me, and I’ll give you a sample project to work on to try out the independent, self-directed work you’ll be doing with me. After the project, we’ll meet again to discuss specifics. I look forward to meeting you.

I value the contributions of people from equity-seeking groups and encourage applications from LGBTQ+ people, Indigenous peoples, people of color, low-income earners and the unemployed, immigrants and refugees, and people with disabilities or another equity-seeking group with which you identify. If you wish to identify as belonging to an equity-seeking group(s), please feel free to indicate so in your email or introduction to me. Thanks to the Environmental Leadership Program for this language from their job applications.

What can you expect from working with me as your research mentor?

I view these experiences as an opportunity for you to learn about the process of research while supporting my projects as a contributing member of the team. That means I will expect from you that you show up when scheduled and accomplish the tasks we discuss and agree you will undertake. This may be the first time many of you have had a job where you have been asked to produce products with your original thoughts but that contribution is exactly what I am looking for.

On the other hand, I will guide you through the steps of conducting original research, from working with a team, to planning and carrying out the study, to writing it up and sharing the results. You can expect me to provide you clear guidance and regular feedback on what you do so that you can revise your work and progress in capability. I’ll also introduce you to other student researchers and the tools of a professional researcher.

Example available projects

These are some of the types of projects undergraduate researchers in Dr. Stofer’s Learning in the Wild group. All volunteers’ work has the potential for co-authorship. These projects can also be used for honors theses. All volunteer positions are generally 8-10 hours per week during fall/spring, and possibly more, especially in summer. Students are encouraged to register for 0-3 credits of AEC 4911, Supervised Research.

Example/Current Volunteer Positions

NOTE – if you have interest in another of my research projects that you have seen listed elsewhere (such as UF Center for Undergrad Research or on my web site), you can certainly send me an email to discuss the possibility of working on those as well.

Research support – census/population lookup

Online data search related to sustainable producers in North Central Florida. Help identify from census records a target audience of producers who could be considering or implementing sustainable (social, environmental, and economic) production in the area. Time-limited to perhaps 40-60 hours total. Could be a good introduction to other projects in the lab.

Data management/archival for research dissemination

Data management for long-term preservation, dissemination, communication, and storage is critical to the research enterprise. This student will gain insight into many projects going on in the lab while assisting in archiving and sharing of data and research papers in various stages of review. This is a great opportunity to explore potential projects to move forward with if you have no research experience. Must be detail-oriented and organized.

General Science Education research assistance

Assist with research in a variety of capacities, including literature searching and writing summaries, archiving publications, creating/revising ethics review board documents, physical or digital file management, or other activities.

Qualitative Data analysis

Qualitative data analysis involves looking for patterns in any sort of data that is not numerical – often words, but sometimes drawing, pictures, etc. Some of these projects will involve creating a rubric or key for what may be considered correct and then comparing data against the rubric. Other projects strictly look for patterns based on expected patterns or without any expectations.

Example topics for analysis:

• Science role models: Students listed their science role models.
• Science definitions: Students listed their definitions of science.
• Genetically modified/GE Organisms: Public survey respondents listed definitions related to genetically modified foods
• Teacher workshops: Personal meaning maps, focus group, and/or interview analysis for patterns.

Quantitative data analysis

Quantitative projects focus on numerical input. Analysis could be basic descriptive statistics such as calculating percentages, others may get into more advanced analysis including t-tests and ANOVAs and regression.

Example topics:

• Teacher or student survey data related to professional development experiences
• Genetically modified/GE Organisms: survey results from a public audience
• Science Anxiety: survey results from a public audience

Writing-ready projects (minimal analysis, mostly writing for publication – not generally for novice researchers)

• Science in agriculture museums
• Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, Research, and Agriculture terminology

Desired experience (none required):

Research in any field, writing about research, education [teaching/tutoring/volunteering]. Desired background: STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) including agriculture, psychology, sociology, health, education, communication. I have a lot of students from different majors working with me on research!