Undergraduate Research in Dance

A Guide for Students

Lynnette Young Overby, Jenny Olin Shanahan, Gregory Young

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351052962
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Danza

Undergraduate Research in Dance: A Guide for Students supplies tools for scaffolding research skills alongside examples of undergraduate research in dance scholarship. Dance can be studied as an expressive embodied art form with physical, cognitive, and affective domains, and as an integral part of society, history, and vast areas of interdisciplinary content. To this end, the guidance provided by this book will equip future dance professionals with the means to move the field of dance forward.

Chapters 1–9 guide students through the fundamentals of research methods, providing a foundation to help students get started in understanding research protocols and processes. Students will learn skills such as how to choose a research topic, refine research questions, conduct literature reviews, cite sources, synthesize and analyze data, develop conclusions and results, and present their findings. Chapters 10–19 detail forms of undergraduate research in a rich diversity of fields within dance that are taught in many collegiate dance programs including dance therapy, history, science, psychology, education, and technology, in addition to public scholarship, choreography, and interdisciplinary topics. The book also includes a final chapter which provides annotated online resources, and many of its chapters are supported by examples of abstracts of capstone projects, senior theses, and conference presentations by undergraduate researchers across the United States.

Suitable for both professors and students, Undergraduate Research in Dance is an ideal reference book for any course that has a significant opportunity for the creation of new knowledge, or as an essential interdisciplinary connection between dance and other disciplines.

1

Overview

Lynnette Young Overby and Gregory Young

Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.

(Graham, n.d.)

Summary

This chapter outlines the undergraduate research (UR) environment and where dance fits into it, focusing on the benefits of reframing some of the excellent creative work already being done in colleges and universities. Within that context ideas are shared as to the importance of UR, desired learning outcomes, how knowledge and art are created, and how to get the most out of this book. Students from freshman through senior year will begin to understand how their learning can be linked to the discovery of knowledge, while they become more engaged in the process. This interactive pedagogy is much more interesting than traditional classroom lecture-style learning, and the use of the term “research” is certainly not limited to the sciences and/or related fields.

Introduction

Over the last 40 years in the United States, UR activity in colleges and universities has been increasing dramatically, led initially by science professors needing help in laboratories. Thanks to national organizations such as the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), these activities have been spreading rapidly into all disciplines. In fact, even though CUR was started by chemists at primarily undergraduate institutions in 1978 as a way of collaborating with undergraduates in their research labs, the biggest division of CUR at the present time is arts and humanities. NCUR began in 1987 as a celebration of UR in all disciplines open to all colleges and universities, and currently registers about 3,500 student presenters and 500 faculty mentors annually. In 2011 the first British Conference on Undergraduate Research (BCUR) was held, and it continues annually with the recent addition of Posters in Parliament, modeled after Posters on the Hill in the United States. The first Australian Conference on Undergraduate Research (ACUR) was held in 2012, and it too has Posters in Parliament now. The first World Congress for Undergraduate Researchers (WorldCUR) was held in Qatar in November 2016 (Council on Undergraduate Research, 2016).

UR is a high-impact practice that benefits students across demographic groups and disciplines, especially underrepresented minority students. Yet many UR opportunities are highly selective and still predominantly in the lab sciences; much less so in disciplines such as dance, where creative activity abounds but research and scholarship have not been the main focus, at least with undergraduates. URSCA refers to “undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities,” and is seen by many as being more inclusive. Faculty and students in the arts are becoming more accustomed to viewing what they do through the lens of UR. Participating in URSCA in the dance curriculum is key to accessing its profound benefits, including increased retention and graduation rates, cognitive and emotional development, acquisition of highly valued skills, and preparation for post-baccalaureate opportunities.

Undergraduates who engage in research and creative scholarship demonstrate significant gains in the very learning outcomes most highly valued not only by their professors, but also by their future employers: creative and critical thinking, problem-solving and analysis, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and oral and written communication. Participation in the high-impact practice of UR transforms students, during their college careers—with deeper engagement and marked academic gains—and well into their post-baccalaureate careers.

Where dance fits into the UR movement

As learning in college becomes more active, and students desire greater input into their own education, UR and creative activities become more significant and more interesting. Since search engines such as Google can help students find a plethora of content, and YouTube provides a great array of dance and instruction at our fingertips, learning how to actually create knowledge, how to tap into our creativity, and how to advance the discipline of dance, should take center stage, so to speak.

There are many different terms for UR, including “inquiry,” “scholarship,” “creative activity,” and “creative scholarship.” These terms are used interchangeably; although scholars in various disciplines often have preferences for the ways they describe their work. Many people involved in CUR, especially in its arts and humanities division, use URSCA. Whether you prefer one term over another, or your university has a program that uses certain terms, the term itself does not matter as much as what is it indicates: scholarly work that is faculty-mentored, original, disciplinarily appropriate, and disseminated (Osborn & Karukstis, 2009). We generally avoid some of the science terms such as “hypothesis,” and “methodology” when writing about original choreography, for example, and could substitute the terms such as “background research,” and “choreographic forms.” Students in dance or any other field also benefit from the cross-pollination that occurs when considering how UR is practiced in disciplines that are quite different from their own, and when they explore the different terminology.

How can students do something original when professors, scholars, composers, theorists, and other dance practitioners have already done so much research? One way is to take an interdisciplinary approach, viewing dance from the perspective of another discipline. For example, there has been little research published on the correlations between dance and economics. Dance and the brain offers topics that are ripe for discovery, especially with new advances in medical technology that allow even undergraduates the opportunity to view brain wave activity while students are dancing or watching dance. Several chapters in this book provide examples of interdisciplinary projects.

Students do not have to follow an interdisciplinary path because there are many standard activities in undergraduate dance programs that students and professors have been engaged in for decades that have not generally been regarded as UR. For example, every semester or year, dance concerts that take place where student, faculty, and guest choreographers share their work. Opportunities exist for explorations of dance history, science, psychology—the list of possible topics is extensive. Some suggestions are indicated in each of the chapters. Since universities and colleges are now stressing the importance of UR campus wide, and students in most disciplines are doing it as a regular part of their education and presenting their findings publicly, dance students would benefit from joining in. Campus-wide celebrations of UR with oral and poster sessions are becoming common on college campuses, but are still dominated by the sciences. These symposia could be enhanced with greater contributions from the arts, including a variety of dance projects. And directors of such events are often open to the idea of using special venues for dance-related projects and allowing different methods of delivery.

Why UR is important

An undergraduate dance curriculum would not be complete without a substantial exploration into the discovery of knowledge, whether that exploration is focused on any one of a variety of topics, such as: the way new dance is created; the effectiveness of different pedagogies; historical revelations or re-discoveries; or innovative techniques, analyses, or practices. Such a study is often undertaken in the latter part of the curriculum, but ideally one should be exposed to the act of discovery and creation as often as possible throughout the program.

When students are asked about their vision for how they would like to learn, many say they want it to be exciting, applicable, social, and interactive. Doing group projects, working alongside professors, having input instead of passively listening, and helping to chart their own pathways, can all be components of UR in dance.

When employers are asked what skills they want future employees to have, many list teamwork, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, as well as written and oral communication. All of these can be strengthened by a real academic experience in UR and creative activity.

Can UR benefit the student and the professor?

More and more, universities are emphasizing the integration of scholarship and teaching, linking student learning with the discovery of knowledge, and making active learning a hallmark experience of an undergraduate degree. One of the best ways to accomplish all of these is to have a professor carve out a small piece of his/her own larger research project, and assign it to a student. Examples abound in chemistry, where researchers can be much more productive in the laboratory with the help of undergraduate researchers, and the students learn the complex process of original research in their field. In the arts and humanities, and particularly in dance, professors often view their research/creativity as individual creative pursuits, and published articles and dance projects are usually listed with only one author/choreographer. However, with a little creativity, win-win situations can be created that increase productivity for the professors and that provide first-hand experience on the front lines of the creation of art or original research for the students.

Throughout the chapters there will be examples and abstracts created by undergraduate dance minor students as part of several UR opportunities at the University of Delaware. I (Overby) have personally benefited by having the assistance of students to pursue several research/creative activity projects. From photo-voice projects, where undergraduate students have served as interviewers, to ArtsBridge scholars, where students have conducted quasi-experimental studies to determine the effectiveness of arts integration, to arts-based research projects that provide audiences with insight into a social issue, the benefits have been win-win for me and for the student researcher. Results have included contributions to a book series (Dance: Current Selected Research), journal articles in Journal of Dance Education, and many national and international presentations, where I share authorship and presentation space with my undergraduate students.

How to use this text

A brief glance at the table of contents reveals that this text does not necessarily have to be read in order from the first chapter to the last, but rather it is intended as a guide to be consulted throughout the different facets of student research projects. There is no one perfect way to progress through an UR experience in dance, especially because there are so many different areas to explore. Choreography, for example, will be quite a different experience than a quantitative research study in dance education. So with the guidance of the instructor, use the tools in the first half of the book as needed for your research/creativity, and read about a wide variety of student examples in the areas that interest you in the second half of the book. Be sure to glance through the online resources and delve more deeply into those sites and files that interest you. It might also be helpful to create your own set of online resources and have it handy for future reference.

Conclusion

This text can be used by dance majors and minors from their first semester until they begin their capstone course as a tool to build awareness about the broad field of dance. In the capstone course it can serve not only as the course textbook, but also as a more specific guide for the whole process of choosing a topic and seeing it through to completion. Completing successful UR projects in dance and disseminating the results at conferences and in publications will promote this activity and serve as a model for other students in the future.

Questions for discussion

1. What is the difference between creativity in science and creativity in dance?
2. How do the terms “inquiry,” “creativity,” “scholarship,” and “research” differ?
3. Why do employers prefer students who have done UR?
4. Do all professors do research, and how much do they need to do?

References

Council on Undergraduate Research. (2016). Council on Undergraduate Research: Learning through research. Retrieved from https://www.cur.org

Graham, M. (n.d.). Martha Graham Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/martha_graham_379056?src=t_dance

Osborn, J. M., & Karukstis, K. K. (2009). The benefits of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity. In M. Boyd, & J. Wesemann (Eds.), Broadening Participation in Undergraduate Research: Fostering Excellence and Enhancing the Impact (pp. 41–53). Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research.

2

Literature reviews

Jenny Olin Shanahan

Summary

A literature review is an organized, informed discussion of published works that are significant to the subject of study. It conveys the relationship between the present study and what has already been published in the field. By reviewing the literature, scholars join important conversations in the discipline, with critical understanding of what others have said, how the voices in the conversation relate to one another, and where they might add insight.

Purpose and format of a literature review

Conducting research on dance and reporting on its results is a professional way of joining a vibrant, ongoing conversation about the field. Contributing to that interesting conversation entails understanding what others have said, how the voices in the conversation relate to one another, and where further insight might be added. To contribute meaningfully to the conversation scholars need to study published material (the “literature”) related to the topic. Much like other reviews, a literature review is an analysis of that published material.

A literature review provides context for your research study by explaining what is already known and what needs further exploration. In doing so, it establishes your credibility as a researcher, demonstrating that your project or study did not emerge from “out of the blue,” but from thoughtful consideration of what has been published already and how your work fits into that framework. The literature review should accomplish three main objectives:

• Briefly summarize the salient points of the most important publications on the topic of study;
• Explain the relationships among those published works (e.g., how a major study changed the field, why some scholars came to differing conclusions on a key question, how the introduction of a new factor or variable in one study led to surprising results);
• Identify gaps in the literature—the questions or issues that have not yet been examined.

That third objective, identifying gaps in the research literature, is critical to showing the need for your study. The literature review shows that you have read and analyzed important sources on the topic, and at least one significant question has not been addressed or has not been definitively answered. That is the gap your study seeks to fill.

Literature review vs. annotated bibliography

The format or structure of a literature review is different from that of an annotated bibliography, which summarizes or describes one source after another in a few sentences each. If your professor assigns an annotated bibliography as well as a literature review for your research, you would complete the annotated bibliography first, as it represents your first pass through the relevant literature. Al...