Successful and sustainable undergraduate research in data science

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences hold many potential benefits. Students can learn about new areas opening up previously unknown paths in academia and industry. The hands-on experience often provides a deeper understanding of what science, research, and data analysis is and, importantly, is not. While numerous studies have provided information about the benefits and challenges of undergraduate research, many still find it difficult to start an undergraduate research group. Here, we provide a roadmap and resources to help faculty of all levels create and sustain an undergraduate research group in quantitative areas such as statistics, informatics, and data science. While we focus on undergraduate research in data science, many of the recommendations may be generally useful to research mentoring of all levels and other domains.