Critical Thinking

NACE Definition: Identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Determining knowledge gap from literature reviews
• Determining methods to conduct research
• Analyzing data
• Collecting or generating data
• Acknowledging research project limitations
• Problem solving
• Summarizing and interpreting data
• Presenting at a conference
• Providing research group updates
• Writing research papers, reports, or abstracts
• Providing or receiving feedback on research components
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience

Undergraduate Research Examples

• While reviewing literature, a student identifies a gap in how previous studies measured a variable and proposes a modification to the research design.
• After analyzing results, a student explains not only what the data shows, but what it does not show and the study’s limitations.
• A student compares two statistical approaches and justifies their final methodological choice to the research team.

Leadership

NACE Definition: Recognize and capitalize on personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Peer mentoring
• Leading a research team
• Participating in team-based research
• Presenting a team-based research project
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience

Undergraduate Research Examples

• A junior student trains a new lab member on equipment protocols and explains not just how to perform procedures, but why they matter.
• A student identifies a teammate’s strength in coding and suggests they lead the data visualization portion of the project.
• After a project setback, a student proposes a revised timeline and coordinates tasks among team members.

Professionalism

NACE Definition: Knowing work environments differ greatly, understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Identifying as a disciplinary professional
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Presenting at or attending a conference
• Peer mentoring
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience

Undergraduate Research Examples

• A student communicates proactively when they will miss a lab meeting and proposes an alternative plan to complete their responsibilities.
• A student balances research deadlines with coursework and develops a system to manage competing priorities.
• A researcher represents the lab at the Fall Undergraduate Research Expo and answers questions from visitors about the team’s research.

Teamwork

NACE Definition: Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.

LEAD Collaboration Sub-Competencies: Appropriate & Productive Relationships; Cultural Awareness; Helping Others & Working Together; Organizational Behavior; Service.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Participating in team-based research
• Presenting a team-based research project
• Developing research within a discipline
• Providing constructive feedback to others
• Participating in a mentoring relationship
• Peer mentoring others
• Providing research group updates
• Providing or receiving feedback on research components
• Considering multiple viewpoints and perspectives of a problem/topic
• Following ethical and sound research practices

Undergraduate Research Examples

• A student collaborates with peers from different majors to integrate engineering and biological perspectives into one shared project.
• After a disagreement about methods, a student helps the team reach consensus by summarizing both perspectives and proposing a compromise.
• A student integrates feedback from multiple team members into a cohesive final poster design to meet the deadlines of the negotiated task distribution timeline.

Technology

NACE Definition: Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Disciplinary technology and instrumentation
• Collaborating remotely
• Determining methods to conduct research
• Analyzing data
• Collecting or generating data
• Creating a conference presentation
• Visualizing data
• Discipline-specific technology, software, or processes used during the project

Undergraduate Research Examples

• A student uses R or Python to clean and visualize messy data, creating figures that clarify trends for the team.
• A student creates an interactive data visualization for a conference presentation.
• A student learns to operate specialized lab instrumentation and independently runs data collection sessions.

Self-Awareness

LEAD Sub-Competencies: Continuous Learning; Initiative & Follow Through; Personal Responsibility; Resiliency; Self-Understanding.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Conducting literature reviews
• Seeking out advice from mentors
• Receiving feedback on research component
• Completing Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), CITI, safety, and research integrity trainings
• Self-motivation to conduct research
• Establishing and meeting research component deadlines
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience
• Seeking out advice from mentors
• Building self-efficacy
• Fostering an attitude that you can be successful
• Recognizing that research is cyclical
• Conducting mentorship update meetings

Undergraduate Research Examples

• When an experiment fails repeatedly, a student acknowledges frustration but persists, adjusting the protocol and seeking advice rather than abandoning the project.
• Through a mid-semester mentorship meeting, a student realizes they are most energized by the data analysis phase of research and begins exploring data-focused career paths.
• After missing an internal deadline, a student takes responsibility, communicates transparently, and proposes a revised completion plan.

Ways of Thinking

LEAD Sub-Competencies: Decision-Making & Problem-Solving; Ethics; Idea Generation; Reflection & Analytical Reasoning; Systems Thinking & Planning.

Activities to Demonstrate within Undergraduate Research

• Participating in the research planning process
• Connecting to large societal goals through presentations
• Establishing connections to career goals and plans
• Determining knowledge gap from literature reviews
• Determining methods to conduct research
• Analyzing data
• Collecting or generating data
• Critical thinking
• Presenting at a conference
• Providing research group updates
• Writing research papers, reports, or abstracts
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience
• Completing Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), CITI, safety, and research integrity trainings
• Following ethical and sound research practices
• Conducting literature reviews
• Gathering information
• Determining methods to conduct research
• Conducting mentorship update meetings
• Providing or receiving feedback on research components

Undergraduate Research Examples

• After completing Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, a student raises a question about authorship order and initiates a conversation about fairness and transparency in publications.
• When a project timeline begins slipping, a student maps out the remaining tasks, identifies dependencies, and proposes a revised plan to meet the conference deadline.
• Reflecting on a failed experiment, a student identifies what assumptions guided their original approach and redesigns the procedure with those lessons in mind.

Career & Self-Development

NACE Definition: Proactively develop oneself and one’s career through continual personal and professional learning, awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses, navigation of career opportunities, and networking to build relationships within and without one’s organization.

• Identifying as a disciplinary professional
• Experiencing research failures or set-backs
• Reflecting on research experience
• Presenting at and attending conferences

Undergraduate Research Examples

• A student realizes after presenting at the Purdue Spring Undergraduate Research Conference that they enjoy translating complex ideas to broad audiences and begins exploring science communication careers.
• A student updates their résumé and LinkedIn profile to include specific research skills they developed in the lab and asks their mentor for feedback.
• A student conducts informational interviews with graduate students and industry collaborators connected to the lab to better understand possible career paths.