Subject Librarians: The Research Experts You Need to Know

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If you are a Princeton student, chances are you’ve spent some time at one or more of the University’s many libraries. You’ve probably also checked out books and may have relied on a librarian to help you navigate the ever-confusing maze of stacks. These are roles we typically associate with Princeton librarians, but they are by no means exhaustive representations of what these experts have to offer. What many students don’t know is that subject librarians are the hidden gems of Princeton academic resources. Librarians have helped me tackle difficult independent research projects, and you can take advantage of their incredible expertise too.

Use the search tool on the University’s website to find the subject librarian for your field of interest.

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Looking Back on Undergraduate Research: A Conversation with Adrian Tasistro-Hart ’17

Posted on by Alec Getraer

In a continuation of last year’s seasonal series, this winter, each PCUR will interview a Princeton alumnus from their home department about his/her experience writing a senior thesis. In Looking Back on Undergraduate Research: Alumni Perspectives, the alumni reveal how conducting independent research at Princeton influenced them academically, professionally and personally. Here, Alec shares his interview.

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Adrian Tasistro-Hart ’17

Adrian Tasistro-Hart graduated in 2017 with a degree in Geosciences. A PEI Environmental Scholar, Adrian focused on one independent research project spanning his Junior Papers and Senior Thesis, which he plans on submitting for publication. Adrian is currently working towards a masters degree in Geophysics at ETH in Zürich, continuing his research journey which began at Princeton. Here is what Adrian had to say about his experience with undergraduate research and the impact of his independent research experience:

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Unconventional Research: World Building in Creative Writing

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When one thinks about research, there are certain images that come to mind: a student hunched over an old book in an empty library, or a solitary scientist in a lab coat mixing chemicals or observing animals. Emily McLean ’20 has done her fair share of the first type, as a potential Anthropology major with a strong interest in American History.

Emily is also my suitemate, and one day I heard her talking about an unfamiliar, unexpected genre of research: the research required for successful world building–the creation of a believable reality–in creative writing. Continue reading Unconventional Research: World Building in Creative Writing

Discussing Undergraduate Research with Chloe Angyal ’09

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Chloe Angyal, Class of 2009

Chloe Angyal graduated from Princeton in 2009 with a degree in Sociology. Originally from Sydney, Australia, she’s now a journalist in New York City, working as the Deputy Opinion Editor at HuffPost where she writes about politics, popular culture, and gender. But before Chloe became who she is today, she had to write a senior thesis. Lucky for us, she had some time in her busy schedule to talk about her experience with independent research:

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Deluged in Data: Overcoming Obstacles in Data Collection

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Data collection isn’t always the most exciting stage of a research project, but the payoff can make everything worth it. I’m currently deep into the data analysis portion of my thesis, running up against my draft deadline on March 1, and the dreaded Woodrow Wilson School deadline of April 3. I’m writing about asylum approval rates in the European Union and the United States for unaccompanied child migrants, or unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in the legal parlance. If the same law is applied across all regions, in theory, there should not be substantial variation in asylum grant rates — but the research literature and my preliminary findings demonstrate otherwise. Pulling together the data to calculate these preliminary findings, though, was much more difficult than I had anticipated — and I had to make a tough call about my data collection as I wrote up these findings.  Continue reading Deluged in Data: Overcoming Obstacles in Data Collection

Independent Work Workshops at the Writing Center

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Get a jumpstart on independent work with the Writing Center!

Want an organized JP or Senior thesis? Doing a quantitative research project? Want funding to support your great ideas? Sign up for the workshops below!

— This week —

Back by popular demand!
Defining your Research Question: Quantitative Projects in STEM and the Social Sciences
Thursday, March 1, 4:30pm -5:30pm
Guyot 100
 
Are you writing a quantitative JP or struggling with the introduction or discussion of your thesis?  This workshop will help you frame your project’s direction and next steps by:
• defining and refining a specific, actionable research question
• learning how to leverage secondary sources in relation to your data
• identifying the role and impact of your project in your field

 

Sign up here!

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Learning a Language Off-Campus

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According to its website, Princeton offers courses in about twenty modern languages. Sounds pretty comprehensive – until you consider that the world has literally thousands of distinct living languages.

World languages by proportion of native speakers

As I start preparing for my independent work next year, I’m thinking a lot about language ability, especially as it relates to primary source access. For non-Anglophone historical research, facility in the region’s language/s is essential to original scholarship. Personally, I’m interested in Eastern European Jewish history. The good news: I only really need one language to study primary sources from this period. The bad news: it’s not one of the twenty offered on campus.

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Historical Research With Primary Sources

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“They had dynamite.” This transcript of a conversation with three NAACP leaders illustrates the very real threat of danger these activists faced during the Little Rock Public School Integration Crisis.

After much consideration, I have settled on concentrating in the History Department. Consequently, this semester finds me taking several courses with a historical bent. Thus far in these classes, I have been immersed in the theory and practice of historical research. Today, I’d like to share some of the highlights from my experiences in History 280: Approaches to American History. Continue reading Historical Research With Primary Sources

Last Chance to Apply for Princeton Research Day 2018!

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Are you looking for an opportunity to share your research with members of the University community? If so, Princeton Research Day (PRD) could be the perfect event for you. This annual initiative, which will take place this year on May 10th, brings together undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other non-faculty researchers to present their work. PRD offers researchers the chance to practice communicating their findings, attend professional development workshops on poster design and presentation skills, and connect with a diverse group of fellow researchers. PRD participants also have the opportunity to win one of several awards that recognize exceptional presentations.  Read about PRD in more detail on the event’s website and in past PCUR posts!

Don’t miss this opportunity to share your most exciting work with the Princeton community!

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Building a Cannon for a Class: The Unexpected Opportunity of Open-Ended Assignments

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Throughout my academic life, I have always struggled to find a topic for open-ended assignments. Of course, the further along in my academic trajectory I get, the less strict the guidelines for each assignment become—and the more I struggle to find myself a topic. Coming up with research topics is, of course, critical to any researcher or student’s success—particularly when the culmination of our work as Princeton students is a nearly completely open-ended assignment: the thesis or independent project that each of us completes to graduate. So, I have learned to embrace my discomfort and use each new prompt as a way to hone my skills at successfully choosing topics.

My Thermodynamics final project: a butane combustion cannon made from PVC pipe.

Continue reading Building a Cannon for a Class: The Unexpected Opportunity of Open-Ended Assignments