This award provides continuing support to the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates SITE designed to give undergraduate sociology and social science majors attending academic institutions in the Northern Great Plains region a ten-week research experience in sociology. The primary objective of this program is to provide a high-quality research experience to students who have limited access to research facilities and training at the schools they are attending and to students who are underrepresented in science careers (women, racial and ethnic minorities, and the disabled). Using the research facilities of the Bureau of Sociological Research and under the close guidance of faculty supervisors, students will initiate and carry out research projects from formulating a problem to writing a final report. Students will participate in morning seminars where they will learn research methods and share their on-going experiences with each other. Under the supervision of faculty and a Research Assistant, afternoons will be spent engaging in individual projects and learning to use appropriate research technologies. The papers written for the course will be presented at the annual Nebraska Undergraduate Sociology Symposium held each fall and submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society. A recruiting plan that takes advantage of an existing regional network of colleges and universities will be used to locate and recruit qualified students from the Northern Great Plains region.
