Steven Rizzotto and his classmates are a few of the many ACU students who performed research this semester. However, they may be the only students to conduct their research in the United Supermarkets grocery store on Judge Ely Boulevard.
Rizzotto, junior marketing major from Sugar Land, conducted a study for a nonprofit organization on how different demographics, including United customers, respond to the organization’s name, “Christian Service Center.”
“The hardest thing was getting the surveys,” said Rizzotto. “Most of the time when people see you with a survey they won’t give you the time of day.”
However, as helpful as this research may be to the Christian Service Center, it does not qualify as true research as defined by the Office of Undergraduate Research. This different take on research may create challenges for students in the College of Business Administration as well as the research initiative tied to the regional accreditation body visit in spring 2011.
Six of the 80 students who submitted research projects to this year’s Undergraduate Research Festival were rejected because the studies were not primary research, said Dr. Gregory Powell, professor of chemistry and undergraduate research director. He said business majors’ company-specific research often do not meet the festival’s criteria.
“They have a different model they use there,” Powell said. “Most of the work they do wouldn’t be considered a contribution to the field.”
Despite that standard, the festival welcomed many projects from the non-sciences. Four Bible projects, seven English projects and two music projects have been accepted into the last two research festivals, and several have won awards.
But no marketing, business management or accounting students have ever presented at the research festival. This contrast is made starker when considering that the number of students in these majors during fall 2009 exceeded the numbers of Biblical studies majors by about 70 percent, English majors by about nearly 500 percent, and music majors by more than 850 percent.
Every department will experience an increased focus on research over the next five years through the Quality Enhancement Plan. This program will serve to increase every student’s “research literacy” in their field of study, said Dr. Phyllis Bolin, associate professor of mathematics and chair of the QEP development committee.
While every department will encourage more student research, the QEP takes into account each major’s differences in its broad definition of research, Bolin said. Marketing studies, product research and even auditing reports would be within the QEP’s perimeters of research.
“Every department, every major has ideas of ways their students can do research,” Bolin said. “At least be the way we’re defining it, we’d like all students to have the opportunity in a class setting to prepare, assess and create scholarly products.”
But Bolin also said the QEP will foster more student participation at research’s highest level, which would mean contributing to the field’s body of knowledge. Dr. Monty Lynn, associate dean and professor of management, said while many business professors mentor students in company-specific research, only a small percentage of them mentor students in primary research.
Powell said it is not that the College of Business does not conduct primary research but that many professors find it difficult to include students in their studies.
“There are a lot of professors doing this kind of research, but it’s not the kind that lends itself to student participation,” Powell said. “I hope there’re more students who are able to find projects that are potential contributions not just to business plans but to the field.”
Though it might not have contributed to the field of business, Rizzotto thought his marketing project prepared him for his career goals. As every marketing student is required to participate in company-specific studies, Rizzotto said he doesn’t believe COBA needs to increase research opportunities for its students.
“I feel like COBA does a really good job of pushing us out into the field,” Rizzotto said. “Working with an outside company has helped me understand what it’ll be like.”
