ABSTRACT
The current climate, at both the national and the institutional levels, appears to be far more conducive to participation in undergraduate research by students in the natural sciences and engineering than by those in the humanities and social sciences. This chapter analyses the root causes of discrepancies in undergraduate research participation across the disciplines. In particular, differences in both the nature of the disciplines and the cultural norms that govern the conduct of research within them are explored. Drawing upon successful disciplinary and interdisciplinary models, strategies for broadening participation in undergraduate research are also discussed. In analyzing disciplinary task force reports issued at the close of the second millennium, Lattuca and Stark found a greater emphasis on undergraduate research in the natural sciences than in either the social sciences or the humanities. Under the leadership of CUR, the undergraduate research community has grown in disciplinary inclusivity, yet longstanding barriers to full participation remain.
