Research

A: Flintridge Sacred Heart's four-year Research Program was created to give students experience writing the types of papers they will be asked to write as soon as they enter their freshman year of college. We heard loud and clear from college-level instructors and librarians that freshmen were entering college without the mindset and skills required to carry out research papers. This capstone program represents our commitment to preparing our young women for university-level course work.

We start by cultivating curious minds. We encourage students to blend personal interests with academic ones as they explore the complex systems that make up our modern world.

We also emphasize core research skills, so students receive instruction in all grades on navigating academic databases, how to use predictive search methods to locate research material and the use of multiple electronic source documentation tools. 

A: It’s hard for the students, particularly after selecting a general topic, to narrow it down to a workable, debatable thesis after a long period of research. It’s a little uncomfortable for them as we’re flipping the process a little bit. We require that they wait a long time before claiming a thesis. They want to do that right upfront, so they can find resources that match their thesis statement. We require that they spend 8-10 weeks doing a deeper reading of the research material and create their thesis from what they find.

Our students are also in need of permission to take intellectual risks. It’s very scary for them to do that. They really want you to tell them the answer all the time. The Research Program gives them permission to take those risks; it actually requires them to do so.

A: There’s an expectation at the very early college level, the freshman course level, that they’ll be able to do a number of things independently. It’s our responsibility to prepare our students for that. We need to keep in mind exactly what a college will expect and know that professors do not deliver instructions on these skills. There’s not a lesson in place on how to use the database and how to use the library. It’s just an expectation.

There’s enough happening in their freshman year of college that’s stressful and learning how to do all of this here prepares them for a situation in college where these girls can be the ones on their dorm floor who say to their friends, “Oh, I know how to do that. Don’t worry. I’ll show you how.”

A: Through the research process, they learn how to properly identify information online and use it; they learn how to do smart searches; how to evaluate the credibility of a source; they’ll think about the information that they’re using and how they are using it. They also need to know how to document a source; when to know to abandon or discard it; when to know that an anticipated thesis statement is no longer valid—all of those things need to become more automatic for our students.