Importing the Laboratory Model to the Social Sciences: Prospects for Improving Mentoring of Undergraduate Researchers.

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been identified as High-Impact Practices that increase understanding of complex concepts, foster independent inquiry, and improve educational outcomes, such as student retention and graduation rates. This article argues that in order to make the URE truly "high-impact," the laboratory model from the sciences can be used by social science faculty members in a variety of institutional settings to foster mentorship at multiple levels. The theoretical is combined with the practical, offering suggestions for best practices based on the author's experience setting up a undergraduate laboratory in International Relations at a research-oriented institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]