This award will establish a Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The program is designed to provide undergraduate sociology majors attending academic institutions in the Northern Great Plains region with a ten-week research experience in sociology. The primary objective of the 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 minority students (racial, ethnic, women, and the physically disabled). Using the facilities of the Bureau of Sociological Research and under the guidance of faculty directors, students will initiate and carry out research projects from formulating the problem to writing a final report. Students will participate in morning seminars where they will learn research methods and share their ongoing experiences with each other. Under the supervision of faculty members and a Graduate Research Assistant, afternoons will be spent engaging in individual projects and learning to use appropriate research technologies. A recruiting plan that takes advantages of an existing statewide network of sociologists at Nebraska colleges, and which will be expanded to included the entire Northern Great Plains region, will be used to locate and recruit qualified students to ensure success of the REU summer program.
