Research Opportunities and Resources

Opportunities at Appalachian

The opportunities for research at Appalachian are infinite. You need only have the desire and a faculty advisor to mentor you. However, several research opportunities have been defined by our faculty and by several local non-profit organizations:

Community Research Opportunities

Please visit http://volunteer.appstate.edu/ to see a complete list of Community Partners, many of whom have potential research projects.

We encourage you to contact the ACT office and ask to meet with the Director of Civic Engagement (Brian MacHarg) to discuss Community Based Research options. Often, projects are custom designed based on student interest and community needs at the present moment.

The ACT Office is located on the 1st floor of the Student Union. 828-262-2545.

Resources

If you are interested in participating in research and/or creative endeavors within your discipline, it will be important for you to identify a faculty member in which you will work with on the project.  All student research is faculty mentored.  The relationship you create with this faculty member may be one of the most important ones to your academic career.  The link to the document below provides some steps you can follow to begin this process.    

Just how do students find a mentor on our campus?  In the link to the document below, students who have successfully found a mentor and worked with a faculty member on a research or creative endeavor explained how they found a mentor as well as provided advice about the process. 

What are faculty looking for in students who are interested in the research process?  In the link to the document below, faculty provide information about what they are looking for in students.  

An abstract is a summary of your research, project or creative endeavor.  Below are some basic guidelines with examples that may help guide you through developing your abstract.

The University Writing Center is also available to assist students in writing abstracts for conference presentations or class assignments.  Please visit their site to schedule an appointment at http://writingcenter.appstate.edu/appointment-information.

Below is the link to additional resources regarding writing related to more academic writing including writing abstracts, thesis, or laboratory reports, etc).

The abstracts in the link below are from faculty and student presentations that were made at various conferences locally and nationally. Search through these examples for an abstract in your discipline to help you build your abstract.

Research Protections

For students or faculty working with human subjects or animals, or will use recombinant DNA or radiation, or need information concerning export control regulations please check the website below for forms, news and other important information.

For students or faculty interested in learning more about research integrity, view the website link below.  This link provides "real life" scenarios on research misconduct and is a great learning tool.

Office of Human Research Protections definitions of expedited review categories.