Emerging Scholars Mentor Information

Instructions

Your project should be designed to be completed by an Emerging Scholar working on the project around 4 to 7 hours per week during the academic year (Fall 2023-Spring 2024). It can be part of a larger project, a pilot project, or be designed to provide preliminary data for future research or creative projects.  While some tasks performed by Emerging Scholars may be fairly basic, the idea is that the student is included in the intellectual work of research; Emerging Scholar positions should move students towards this level of intellectual engagement over the course of the year.

To submit a job description, fill out the Emerging Scholar Job Description Form (updated form for AY25 will be posted soon). Keep in mind that most Emerging Scholars will have no research experience prior to entering the program, so tasks should be at an entry-level and the description should be written in accessible language.

Tips

Based on previous experience, here are some tips for writing a good job description.  The goal is to make these job descriptions accessible and exciting to potential Emerging Scholars, yet at the same time we also want to make sure that the description is specific enough so the student understands the work that would be involved and would be a good fit for your position.

Use simple language: 

To appeal to the typical student applying for this program, write your job description as you would a TED talk: avoid jargon, keep it simple, and emphasize the broad appeal and value of your project.

Describe the nature of the work: 

Try to give the student a clear picture of the type of work that they would be doing in this position.  As much as possible, we want the student to understand what they are getting into to make sure this position is a good fit.  Provide specific details about the tasks that the student would do as well as the general dispositions that would make a student well-suited toward a position.  Examples include:

• Ceramics: "Tasks will begin with mixing clay and glazes, recording and organizing test results such as working properties, texture and color of materials. Depending on the method of production the student will learn various mold-making and casting processes, glazing and/or painting, kiln loading, and will be expected to assist in the packing and shipping of artwork to out-of-state exhibitions. Other tasks will include maintaining an organized workspace and assisting with moving and photographing work. Due to the nature of my work many tasks are repetitive and hands-on. You will get dirty."

• History: "The research assistant will find appropriate documents by combing online sites and going through the stacks in the library; copy or transcribe the documents, highlighting the best parts; take down all bibliographic information (including potential copyright issues); and file them, either through Dropbox or with a program called EndNote.  Applicants should be interested in history, curious, enjoy detective work, organized, an excellent reader, and detail oriented. Patience also helps, since the process is a little like digging for gold -- you don't always find it."

Clearly state deal-breakers: 

Make sure you clearly state any scheduling requirements or qualifications that would be a deal-breaker for a student to succeed in your position, such as that they need to be available for 3-hour blocks of time during the day; we don't want a student signing up for a position that won't work for them.  Keep in mind that typical students applying for this program have little background in your discipline, so try to keep the baseline qualifications to a minimum and include language that would make your project seem approachable to a first-year student.  One example:

Biology: "The ideal student for this project is excited to learn about evolutionary biology and animal behavior.  The student will need to have a set schedule each week, though the exact schedule is flexible. The student must be available during regular working hours for at least four two-hour blocks a week, but fewer, longer blocks are good as well.  The student must have attention to detail, be organized and be willing to ask questions.  The student will need to do some problem solving and troubleshooting because the experiments to be done have never done before.  The experiments are not technically difficult, but may require some thought, as well as trial and error, to be executed properly.  The student will need to be persistent and not easily discouraged.   This project does not require any field specific knowledge or experience.  All that is needed is a willingness to try."

Reading secondary sources:

• Starting and maintaining a Zotero/Endnote Library for the project or faculty member

  • Zotero/Endnote training through the library (contact: Paul Thomas, library specialist, paulthomas@ku.edu ) 

  • Begin Zotero/Endnote library from previously published papers by the faculty member

  • Conduct literature search and add to Zotero/Endnote

• Reading notes

  • Create and share a reading notes template that includes information that will be helpful for you to have at a quick glance.

  • Decide on organization system for reading notes (for example, uploading onto shared drive or into Endnote).

  • Have students start with your articles and pieces foundational to the project

  • Students can then search for their own articles and add to your database

• Have them use Google Scholar to build on the literature you’ve already gathered for a project

  • Google Scholar training video

  • Have them work with the “cited by” function to see what recent scholarship you may need to add to your project

  • Have the student complete reading notes for the articles or books they’ve found

Exploring a new area of research:

Have student explore an area of research new to you

• Explain general topic to student and give any papers or leads that you have to start with

• Have student do internet/database research to identify major researchers/papers/themes

• Have student meet with faculty from other departments/areas of expertise

• Have student write a memo giving a summary of this area of research

Humanities ideas:

• Digitize sources

  • Have students scan documents, images, etc.

  • Give directions on how to save, name, annotate, and/or organize images

• Archival work

• Indexing for a book

• Writing to ask for permission to reproduce images, etc.

Social Science ideas:

• Transcribe interviews, focus groups, etc.

  • Human subjects training

  • Transcription

  • Discussion with faculty member about the elements of a good interview/focus groups

  • Practice their own interview or focus group with graduate students or advanced undergraduates

• Code data

  • Talk through the research questions for the project

  • Share or have the student help develop a coding scheme (provide models)

  • Code

  • Share post coding analysis

  • Have students prepare analytic memos describing what they see in data post coding

Natural Science/Engineering ideas:

• Shadow, then assist graduate students with projects

• Begin with basic lab work, move to more involved work as student gains background knowledge

Public engagement:

• Context research for public engagement

  • Have students explore social media for how this type of research is presented publicly

  • Gather relevant articles/blogs/tweets/etc.

  • Develop a memo on public scholarship and engagement that is discipline specific

• Blogging for public engagement

  • Give student one of your recent papers and have them develop a blog post about how it moves practice or the discipline forward. Why might public officials or policy makers care? What is the broader impact of this work?

Other ideas:

• Have student attend relevant forums or workshops on campus and write a reflection paper about how the presentation relates to the your current research project

• Have student create an orientation guide for other undergraduate researchers who might work with you later on. Could include a glossary of key terms, list of important readings, expectations for communication within the research group, list of research-related opportunities, etc.

All KU faculty are eligible to mentor students through the Emerging Scholars Program, as are many KU employees who are actively conducting research through their role at KU (research scientists, academic staff, etc.). Research staff should get permission from their supervisor/PI before submitting a job description. We would like to have a diverse set of positions available (sciences, professional schools, arts, etc.) for students, so we encourage people from all departments to submit a job description.

Staff who are interested in serving as a research mentor should complete and submit a Research Mentor Designation form. 

Please email us at es@ku.edu if you have a question about your eligibility as a mentor. Though graduate students may end up working with students, they are not eligible to apply to be the primary mentor of an Emerging Scholar.

Once you are matched with a student, we ask that you orient the student to the project and provide training. While you may have a graduate student or research assistant working with the Emerging Scholar student on a day to day basis, the faculty member is expected to assume the primary responsibility for ensuring that the student has a high quality experience.

Mentoring an Emerging Scholar student includes:

• Schedule their time and provide around 4 to 7 hours of work each week

• Orient them to the research project, including any training related to safety, technology, and responsible conduct of research

• Provide background readings and discuss the development of the current project

• Include them in research group meetings, if applicable

• Meet with them on a weekly basis to discuss their progress and performance on the project

• Engage them in conversations about their current academic experiences and their career interests

• Communicate any concerns you have about your student with the Center so we can follow up and get them connected with resources

• Assist the Center in assessing student progress, as needed.