Junior Paper (JP)

Let Research Help Guide Your Major Decisions

Posted on March 31, 2026March 31, 2026 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Stanley Stoutamire standing in front of the Anthropology Department Declaration Day Banner on Cannon Green in front of Morrison Hall. — *A photo from Declaration Day 2025*.

Princeton and research go together so well they can almost feel synonymous. From the first-year writing seminar to the Junior Paper two years later, core milestones in the Princeton experience are research experiences. Every step of the academic journey undergraduates undergo feels as though it’s building up to the ever-looming thesis. However, nestled between Writing Sem and the JP is sophomore year, when students pursuing AB degrees declare their major. It’s a time to explore diverse courses and meet new faculty, an opportunity to engage with Princeton as the liberal arts institution it is. Often in the process it can be easy to forget about the role research plays in the experience of a major. As someone who needed until Declaration Day to decide his major, considering potential future experiences with research was crucial in my decision to declare Anthropology on the Medical track. With Dec. Day on the horizon again, I wanted to share some of the thinking that was useful for my decision-making process.

Navigating Research with Disability: An Interview with ODS

Posted on March 24, 2026March 20, 2026 by Alison Fortenberry

A photo of the AccessAbility Center in Frist Campus Center, with text reading "AccessAbility Center: Beyond Limits." — *The Office of Disability Services’ AccessAbility Center in Frist Campus Center. Photo Credit: Denise Applewhite.*

I have a physical disability, and when I entered Princeton, independent research was something that really daunted me. I have been surprised to find that independent research has been very accessible to me because of the flexibility and control it has given me over my work. Two years ago, I started an archival research project right after a surgery, which put increased limits on my ability. Since the project was self-managed, I was able to schedule archival research appointments around physical therapy appointments. I also received simple accommodations in the archive, like archivists moving boxes for me to support my limitations post-surgery.

That said, disability is diverse, as are research methodologies. Accommodations and approaches to research look different based on the kind of disability you have and the kinds of questions you want to answer. I spoke with Asha Nambiar, the director of Princeton’s Office of Disability Services (ODS), to gather advice on getting involved with research as a student with a disability.

“With Focus Comes Depth, and with Depth Comes Complexity”

Posted on March 19, 2026March 5, 2026 by Gabriel Ascoli

A statue of a man sitting on a rock, thinking — *Le Penseur* (The Thinker) Statue, by Auguste Rodin (1904)

As I wrapped up the first of my two independent junior research papers and began brainstorming for the second (and much larger) one, I hit a familiar wall: too much possibility, with no clear direction.

This next paper is supposed to be around 30 pages. The topic is broad. My notes are abundant and scattered. Every passage and source I consider seems to open a new direction I could take. In theory, this is a researcher’s dream – I have abundant evidence, rich material, and intellectual freedom. In practice though, it can feel paralyzing. What is even relevant? How do I start this? What am I actually trying to say?

My high school English teacher gave me the most useful writing advice I’ve ever heard: “With focus comes depth, and with depth comes complexity.”

Dealing with Feedback

Posted on March 12, 2026March 31, 2026 by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.

Aaron Burr Hall Entrance — Entrance to Aaron Burr Hall, home to the anthropology department and my JP adviser. Photo credit: AccessAbleUSA

Whether it’s long hours alone in a lab or late nights in Firestone, research can feel like a uniquely isolating experience. The process of compiling existing knowledge and producing new knowledge invites us to dive deep into ongoing conversations that exist within our fields. These deep dives into the procedures, frameworks, and models that define research projects require a degree of focus that can narrow our view. One of the few moments in any research journey that disrupts this individual flow is the feedback process. That moment, when we are reminded that research is explicitly collaborative, is always critical and often dreaded. Having received my fair share of feedback over the years, I’ve learned just how important each step of the feedback process is. This goes beyond just receiving feedback, but instead really considering the importance of preparing for feedback too.

Of Mistakes and Bullies in the Lab

Posted on March 10, 2026March 5, 2026 by Haya Elamir

This is Dr Kang discussing something with an unidentified lab member. The ambience is meant to depict the kinds of conversations you have with supervisors about data and any mistakes you made during procedures. — *Lab members being lab members (Kang Lab)*. *Photo credit: Matt Raspanti, Office of Communications*.

Everyone knows the old mantras: “don’t be too harsh on yourself” and “everyone makes mistakes.” When I joined a lab, though, not only were those mantras pushed to the back of my head, but they also collected dust and withered. In a lab setting, when you are aware of the money and effort other people have put into the research, and when you sometimes feel less skilled as an undergrad, your mistakes can feel like grave failures.

Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Sophomore Research Seminars

Posted on March 5, 2026March 5, 2026 by Alison Fortenberry

The exterior of the New South Building with fall foliage. — *New South, where many first-year writing seminars and sophomore research seminars take place.*

First-year writing seminars are a rite of passage for all Princeton students, introducing you to the research and writing skills you need to craft an independent research paper. But what comes next? For many undergraduates, sophomore year is a year-long pause before you actually get to apply those independent research skills in your JP. The Princeton Writing Program’s sophomore research seminars offer an alternative.

Growing Up in the Same Lab

Posted on March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by Angel Toasakul

Members of the Norman Lab taking a group picture together — *Norman Lab group picture*

After the first meeting of the semester with my adviser, whom I’ve been working with since my first-year spring, I looked at the list of papers I had to read for my junior independent work but chose to open the small birthday card my adviser gave me on behalf of the lab. Seeing everyone’s “Happy Birthday” made me feel, more than ever before, like I belonged.

And I was growing up.

I was energized, ready to take on a new responsibility. Since the conversation I had with my PI over the summer, I had been excited to get started. Coming into Princeton interested in memory and potential ways to manipulate unwanted or negative ones, getting to use eye trackers to exert top-down control over what people look at and induce forgetting by weakening the activation of the related pathways based on the eye gaze pattern seemed like a sci-fi movie coming to life. I couldn’t wait to feel ownership over my own project and contribute to the kind of work my lab cares so much about.

After two years, I started to feel like I was equipped to excel on all fronts at Princeton.

But reality… hit.

6 Tips to Prepare for Independent Work Over Break

Posted on December 16, 2025December 4, 2025 by Alison Fortenberry

Firestone Plaza at night — *I’ll be checking out books from Firestone Library before heading home for winter break*.

As another semester draws to a close and winter break looms, now is the perfect time to make a plan for independent work over break. The flexibility of break can give you the freedom to work on your own schedule, but it can also be challenging to keep making progress without the external structure of the semester. Here are a few things that I’m doing before leaving campus to help set me up for thesis writing over the break:

Digital Mapping in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Posted on December 4, 2025December 4, 2025 by Alison Fortenberry

A map of church members' residential address, racial demographic data in each census tract, and an outline of Philadelphia in 1960 — *This is one of the maps I generated for my project. It demonstrates that, in the 1960s, most church members lived in predominantly white areas and many lived outside of the city of Philadelphia.*

In my junior paper, I explored how the racial demographics of a Philadelphia church transformed from exclusively White to predominantly Black within a few short years. I started this project in the archive, looking for any documents that could point to when and how the church’s congregation began to transform. In minutes recorded of church meetings, I identified a period of white flight, where the neighborhood around the church became increasingly non-White, and, in response, many of the church’s White members relocated to the suburbs. I knew that I could describe this congregational migration in a written narrative, but I also wanted my readers to be able to visualize it, so I turned to digital mapping.

The Role of Struggle in Research

Posted on November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 by Gabriel Ascoli

*Roman copy of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by Lysippos (c. 330 BC).*

Aristotle’s Metaphysics begin with an oft-quoted adage: πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει (Aristotle, Metaphysics A.1 980a). “All humans, by their nature, strive to understand.”

With some spare time over fall break, I decided to brush up on my Greek philosophy. My upcoming junior independent work will focus on Lucretius’ philosophical poem De Rerum Natura, and he engages with so many ideas from ancient Greek thinkers – Epicurus, Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle, to name a few – I thought it prudent to be familiar with them. Given that the very purpose of their works is to explain their ideas, I didn’t expect to run into serious trouble as I began reading them. Instead, as I started making my way through Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Plato’s Timaeus, I found myself entangled with ideas of identity, causation, and substance. My overwhelming reaction was… “wait, what?”

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