ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the current literature on undergraduate research, with specific emphasis on how undergraduate research is applied in the liberal arts context. It focuses on the benefits of collaborative online learning and the use of digital tools for undergraduate research projects. The chapter surveys some of the more creative approaches to course-embedded undergraduate research in online education and provides a case study of consortium’s collaborative online learning course, in which traditional undergraduate research is combined with experience in the digital liberal arts. Scholarship on teaching and learning that focuses on undergraduate research addresses the value of the experiences for students as they develop research skills and a sense of intellectual independence. The potential for expanding theme-based undergraduate research opportunities in the area of digital scholarship is enormous, especially at small to medium-sized colleges that can leverage their membership in consortia to advance interinstitutional learning opportunities.
