7. REU_Eval_Participants_Survey_T2_Apr2023

Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites and Supplements Evaluation

7. REU_Eval_Participants_Survey_T2_Apr2023

OMB: 3145-0266

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REU Program Survey_2

Updated on 8/31/23

Page 55 of 55

REU Program Survey #2

Thank you for taking part in the Computing Research Association's REU Program Survey #2! The survey should take no more than 25 minutes of your time to complete. This survey works best with Google Chrome.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0266. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 25 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding the burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation Alexandria, VA 22314.

CONSENT FORM

Did you complete a survey at the beginning of your REU?

Yes [Go to Q5]
No [Go to Q2]
I don’t know [Go to Q2]

NEW/I DON’T KNOW RESPONDENTS ONLY (Q2 – Q4)

In what year were you born?

[List of years]

[If minimum age not met, exit survey]

Before we continue, please click here to read the consent form. [Consent form linked in-text]

Now that you have read the consent form and we have verified your age, please indicate whether or not you wish to complete the survey. If you have any questions about this research, the study, or your participation, please email cerp@cra.org.

Yes, I have read the consent form and wish to complete the survey.
No, I have read the consent form and DO NOT wish to complete the survey. [If selected, exit survey]

CONTACT INFORMATION

First name: ________________
Last name: ________________
NSF ID: ________________
Primary email: ________________
Alternate email: _______________
[if Q1 = “no” or “I don’t know”] State or US Territory of your permanent residence: [pulldown]
1. In what US Territory is your permanent residence? _____________
[if Q1 = “no” or “I don’t know”] Type of REU you are participating in:

REU Site (typically involves working with a group of 10 or so undergraduates at a university other than one’s undergraduate institution)
REU Supplement (typically working individually or with one other student on a PI’s funded project, usually at one’s undergraduate institution)
Don’t know

[Answer Q12 – Q16 only if Q1 = “no” or “I don’t know”]

FOR RESPONDENTS WITHOUT T1 OR WHO DID NOT KNOW IF THEY COMPLETED A T1

Which of the following reasons best explain your motivations to participate in this NSF REU? Please choose up to 3 responses.

To increase my competitiveness for graduate school
To learn more about what graduate school might be like
To have something to do outside of my coursework
To build work experience and my resume/CV
To participate in something prestigious
To expand on what I had been learning about in my classes
To develop or improve my technical skills
The research project(s) seemed interesting
To learn more about a specific research area of interest to me
To learn more about what being a researcher is like
To build my confidence as a researcher
To better understand the connection between research and real-world applications
To build connections and/or collaborate with other student researchers
To build connections and/or collaborate with particular faculty
To have a paid opportunity
To help pay for my living expenses while in college
Other; please specify: _______

How did you learn about the REU you participated in? Select all that apply.

My advisor or other mentor told me about it
A peer told me about it who was also looking into REU opportunities
A former REU participant told me about it
I saw an announcement in a mailing list
I learned about it as a participant of a mentoring program
I was familiar with the faculty member’s work, so I looked for REU openings with that faculty member
I was familiar with the institution, so I looked for REU openings there
I have worked with the faculty member before, and the faculty member wanted me to continue our research
I knew the faculty member, so I reached out about opportunities
I searched the list of REU opportunities on the NSF website
I used another search engine to find REU opportunities relevant to me
I don’t remember
Other, please specify: ______

Where did you participate in this REU?

At my current college or university
At another college or university

Was this a continuing REU that you have worked on in previous semesters/terms?

No [Skip to Q17]
Yes

How many semesters/quarters had you already participated in this REU?

[dropdown numbers]

REU PARTICIPATION

We would like to learn more about the REU you have been participating in.

Have you completed your participation in this REU? Note: If you will finish within the next week, please choose "Yes" below.

Yes
No; Please estimate how many more weeks you will be participating in this REU: ___ weeks

Did you have a choice of research projects to work on during your REU experience?

Did you work on your own research project?

Yes, I worked on my own project
No, I worked on an existing project led by another researcher at the site

What was your research area for this REU?

Artificial Intelligence
Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality
Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Computing Education
Data Mining
Databases/Information Retrieval
Distributed Systems
Embedded Systems
Formal Methods/Verification
Graphics/Visualization
Hardware/Architecture
Human-Computer Interaction
High-Performance Computing
Informatics: Biomedical or Other Science
Information Science
Information Systems
Internet of Things
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Networks
Operating Systems
Operations Research
Programming Languages/Compilers
Robotics/Vision
Scientific/Numerical Computing
Security/Information Assurance
Social Computing/Social Informatics
Software Engineering
Theory and Algorithms
Other; please specify: _______________

Which of the following apply to this REU experience? Please select all that apply.

It was your first experience with research
It was your first formal REU experience
There was an orientation to introduce you to the program
You were part of a team of students
There were other undergraduate students from your department in your lab
There were undergraduate students from a different department at your school in your lab
There were undergraduate students from other schools in your lab
There were graduate students available for support
There were research staff available for support
There were administrative staff available for support
You had/have an opportunity to continue research with the REU faculty as an intern or in a paid position when the REU ended/ends
Other, please specify: ______

How much was your total stipend amount for this REU (in USD), not including other paid benefits?

Less than $1,000
$1,000 - $2,999
$3,000 - $4,999
$5,000 - $6,999
$7,000 - $8,999
$9,000 - $10,999
$11,000 - $12,999
$13,000 - $14,999
$15,000 or more
I did not receive a stipend [SKIP TO Q24]

How difficult or easy was it to cover your basic expenses with your REU stipend?

Very difficult
Somewhat difficult
Neither difficult nor easy
Somewhat easy
Very easy

To what extent did your REU give you the opportunity to do the following:

(Not at all; A little; A moderate amount; Quite a bit; A great deal; Don’t remember)

Define a research problem
Research literature relevant to the project
Generate hypotheses
Build a software or hardware artifact, or other computational product
Use scientific methods to test a hypothesis
Collaborate with colleagues
Collect data or conduct experiments
Analyze data with statistics or other tools
Interpret results
Work on open-ended theoretical/mathematical problems
Plan or develop follow-up work based on results
Prepare summaries of results for dissemination (in publications or presentations)
Present my work to other students, faculty or researchers (in a seminar, conference or other venue)
Mentor other students conducting research or lead a student research team

Did you participate in any of the following research activities during your REU? Check all that apply.

Training on research ethics or institutional review boards
Writing workshops or seminars (such as proposal or scientific writing)
Professional development workshops or seminars (for example, interpersonal and communication skills, preparation for graduate school or employment)
Formal lectures or seminars on topics related to the research project
Research-related field trip(s) (for example, to other labs, universities, industry)
None of the above

To what degree did you build the following skills during your REU?

(Not at all; Somewhat; Moderately; Quite a bit; A great deal; Don’t remember)

Programming
Other technical skills
Research design
Data collection and analysis
Scientific writing
Career development
Professional communication
Working effectively with a team

To what degree did you learn the following during your REU?

(Not at all; Somewhat; Moderately; Quite a bit; A great deal; Don’t remember)

How to apply to graduate school
What it’s like to be a graduate student
How to prepare a job application
What it’s like to have a research career

To what extent did your REU help you develop relationships with each of the following?
(Not at all; A little; A moderate amount; Quite a bit; Very much)

People with whom you can discuss professional development questions.
A strong network of peers to interact with at conferences.
A strong network of mentors to interact with at conferences.
People who would be excited to learn about your professional successes.
People with whom you can discuss issues you are having.
Mentors with whom you can seek advice and assistance in advancing your career.

Overall, how collaborative was your REU experience?

Not at all collaborative
A little collaborative
Moderately collaborative
Quite collaborative
Extremely collaborative

Overall, to what degree did you feel like you were competing with other undergraduates working on the same project or lab during the research process?

Not at all
A little
A moderate amount
Quite a bit
Very much
Not applicable – did not work with other students

You may have worked with more than one research advisor during your REU. How much did you work with each of the following different people during your REU?
(Not at all; A little; A moderate amount; Quite a bit; A great deal/// Not Applicable [option for all except “…the PI”])

Your faculty advisor/the PI
A co-PI
A postdoc
Graduate student
A staff member of your lab
Another person working on the REU project

Think about the research advisor with whom you spent the most time and select that person's position from the list below.

Your faculty advisor/the PI
A co-PI
Postdoc
Graduate student
Staff member of your lab
Other; please specify: _____________

Which of the following topics were included in the mentoring you received in your REU?

Applying to grad school (e.g., application process, preparing materials, etc.)
Life as a graduate student
Life in a research career
Work/life balance
Your future career interests
Overcoming personal and professional obstacles
Issues of underrepresentation in computing
My REU did not include a mentoring component
None of the above

Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each statement below about your primary mentor. My mentor…

(Not at all true; Slightly true; Moderately true; Quite true; Extremely true)

was accessible when I needed to speak with them
demonstrated professional integrity
demonstrated content expertise in my research area
was supportive and encouraging
provided constructive and useful critiques of my work
was helpful in directing and guiding me on research project issues
answered my questions satisfactorily (for example, timely, clearly, comprehensively)
acknowledged my contributions appropriately
challenged me to extend my abilities

How dissatisfied or satisfied were you with the following aspects of your REU?

(Very dissatisfied; Somewhat dissatisfied; Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied; Somewhat satisfied; Very satisfied// ** includes “Not applicable”)

Orientation activities**
Your access to the resources you needed to do your research
Support and guidance from faculty and mentors involved in the program.
Support and guidance from other students involved in the program**
Quality of the interactions with the research group**
Opportunities for professional development**
Group social activities**
Housing arrangements**
Stipend**
Communication about the program

How dissatisfied or satisfied were you with your REU experience overall?

(Very dissatisfied; Somewhat dissatisfied; Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied; Somewhat satisfied; Very satisfied)

If you had the opportunity to make changes to the REU program, what would you suggest?

Shape1

Finally, please use the space below to tell us anything else you would like to share about your REU experience and how it has affected you. This information will help guide future REU program policy.

Shape2

The following questions ask about your current perceptions of your skills, knowledge, and beliefs about yourself and your education and professional development.

RESEARCH SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

How would you rate your current skill level in each of the following:

[Poor/Fair/Good/Very good/Excellent]

Generating hypotheses
Using scientific methods to test a hypothesis
Collaborating with colleagues
Collecting data or conducting experiments
Analyzing data with statistics or other tools

How would you rate your current skill level in each of the following:

[Poor/Fair/Good/Very good/Excellent]

Summarizing published research results

Explaining research results
Writing or co-authoring a research paper or report
Presenting a research paper or report
Publishing a research paper or report

SKILLS PROFICIENCY

Please rate the degree of your proficiency (how skilled you are) in the following items:

[Highly deficient, deficient, average, proficient, highly proficient]

Mentoring others
Building/maintaining a professional network
Dealing with conflict
Providing constructive feedback

Please rate the degree of your proficiency (how skilled you are) in the following items:

[Highly deficient, deficient, average, proficient, highly proficient]

Time management
Speaking clearly and effectively
Presenting research
Planning and organizing projects
Writing scientific papers

Please rate the degree of your proficiency (how skilled you are) in the following items:

[Highly deficient, deficient, average, proficient, highly proficient]

Identifying career options
Preparing job application materials
Interviewing techniques
Preparing your CV/resume
Preparing graduate school application materials
Identifying graduate school options

Scientific Identity

The following questions ask how you think about yourself and your personal identity. We want to understand how much you think that being a scientist is part of who you are.

How true of you is the following statement:

[Not at all true; A little true; Moderately true; Quite true; Extremely true]

In general, being a scientist is an important part of my self-image.
I have a strong sense of belonging to the community of scientists.
Being a scientist is an important reflection of who I am.
I have come to think of myself as a “scientist.”
I am a scientist.

BELONGING

Please indicate the extent to which you disagree or agree with the following statements: