Initial Publication Date: May 11, 2026
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Using E-Student OA during Independent Research

The reflective prompting and self-evaluation from EvaluateUR-Student Open Access can help you get the most from your summer or academic year independent research experience.

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Welcome! Whether you just signed up to use EvaluateUR-Student Open Access during your independent research experience, or you are considering whether it is right for you, this page will provide information on how the program works and what the experience looks like.

All you need to do to get started is register for the program and follow the instructions in the emails you receive. Everything else here is a sneak-preview of what to expect.

Weekly Emails

During your independent research experience, you will complete periodic self-assessments and engage in reflection cued by prompts sent in weekly emails. Make sure you set up your email so that these messages don't get caught by spam filters! See our web page on ensuring email delivery—specifically the instructions for individuals.

Here's what you can expect on a weekly basis. Keep in mind this will be dependent on how long your research experience is. For example, if your experience isn't a full semester in length, the total number of emails will be pared down and timing adjusted. If you are starting after your research experience has already begun, you will receive slightly different catch-up emails to begin.

Remember that you are the driver of this experience, and you can choose to follow the suggestions for each week as you see fit. You will see the greatest benefit to yourself if you stick to the suggested activities!

Show the outline of weekly emails

Timing Theme

~3 days before start Orient, watch the two videos, pick a journal, write first entry

Day 1 Make a copy of the workbook, choose components, initial self-assessment

Week 2 Set up your first conversation with a research mentor

Week 3 Name two outcome components you're actually using

Week 4 An honest "how is it going" check-in

Week 5 Mid-program self-assessment, compare to Checkpoint 1

Week 6 One skill practiced, one still building, one thing learned that isn't a skill

Week 7 Translate two outcomes into "resume version"

Week 8 Find a second sounding board

Week 9 Re-ask what you want out of this experience

Week 10 Three one-paragraph descriptions of your research

~2 days before end Final self-assessment, look across all three columns

~1 week after end Take-aways and what to keep doing

Timing	Theme
~3 days before start	Orient, watch the two videos, pick a journal, write first entry
Day 1	Make a copy of the workbook, choose components, initial self-assessment
Week 2	Set up your first conversation with a research mentor
Week 3	Name two outcome components you're actually using
Week 4	An honest "how is it going" check-in
Week 5	Mid-program self-assessment, compare to Checkpoint 1
Week 6	One skill practiced, one still building, one thing learned that isn't a skill
Week 7	Translate two outcomes into "resume version"
Week 8	Find a second sounding board
Week 9	Re-ask what you want out of this experience
Week 10	Three one-paragraph descriptions of your research
~2 days before end	Final self-assessment, look across all three columns
~1 week after end	Take-aways and what to keep doing

Self-Assessment

In the self-assessments, you will rate yourself on multiple components across several dates or milestones to see how your skills develop over the course of your research experience. For a full-semester research experience, the standard number of self-assessments is three—an initial, middle, and final assessment. You can do more or less self-assessment as needed or desired. For example, if your experience is short, you might choose to do only initial and final assessments. If your experience is 15 weeks or longer, adding another self-assessment (for a total of 4) is recommended. The fillable assessments below can be edited to suit your needs.

It is recommended that you use one of the fillable assessments below to track your progress:

Google Sheet Self-Assessment (make a copy and save to your Google Drive)
Word Document Self-Assessment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 26kB May5 26)
Excel Spreadsheet Self-Assessment (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 22kB May5 26)

The self-assessments use the following 5-point rating scale:

Show rating scale

5 - Always. This means exactly what it says – that you always display the outcome being assessed. For example, one component of the outcome category called "Autonomy" is the behavior described as "Uses time well to ensure that work gets accomplished." If you think you always use your time well, you would assign yourself a score of 5 on this outcome.

4 - Usually. In the example above, if you almost always use your time well – that is, you do this more often than not but you don't always do it – you would give yourself a score of 4.

3 - Often. While you frequently do use your time well, there are also times when you don't do so. Thus, while it's not your usual behavior, you nevertheless do it fairly often. That assessment deserves a score of 3.

2 - Seldom. While you may use your time well once in a while, you do so only rarely, so this is an area where you could stand to do more. That's a good indication that your assessment score should be 2.

1 - Not yet. Maybe you intend to use your time to better advantage but realize that doing so is not your strong suit just yet and that your time discipline could use some work. An assessment score of 1 is an important step towards identifying an outcome that you might want to identify as a learning goal.

Things to keep in mind when completing the self-assessment:

These are not grades—low scores are not a bad thing. Low scores reflect areas for growth. If this is one of your first research experiences, it is expected that you will be learning many new skills. Additionally, if you score yourself artificially high, then you won't get as good of a picture of how you have grown over the course of the experience.
Only score what is relevant to you and your research experience. If a particular category or component isn't relevant, skip it!
Late start? Don't worry about trying to "remember" where you started when the experience began. Score based on where you are now, and proceed as normal.

Outcome Categories and Components

The components and outcome categories are skills and groupings of skills (respectively) that are critical to being a successful researcher. Using the rating scale above, you will evaluate how often you use, do, or exhibit these skills. You can review the full set of outcome categories and components below.

Show outcome categories and components

Outcome Categories EvaluateUR Outcome Components

Communication Uses and understands professional and discipline-specific language.

Expresses ideas orally in an organized, clear, and concise manner.

Writes clearly and concisely using correct grammar, spelling, syntax, and sentence structure.

Creativity Shows ability to approach problems from different perspectives.

Uses information in ways that demonstrate intellectual resourcefulness.

Effectively connects multiple ideas/approaches.

Autonomy Demonstrates an ability to work independently and identify when guidance is needed.

Accepts constructive criticism and uses feedback effectively.

Uses time well to ensure work gets accomplished.

Ability to Deal with Obstacles Is not discouraged by setbacks or unforeseen events and perseveres when challenges are encountered.

Shows flexibility and a willingness to take risks and try again.

Trouble-shoots problems and searches for ways to do things more effectively.

Intellectual Development Recognizes that problems are often more complicated than they first appear.

Approaches problems with an understanding that there can be more than one right explanation or even none at all.

Displays insight into the limits of their knowledge and an appreciation for what isn't known.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Maintains a posture of open-minded skepticism when considering potential solutions to problems.

Looks for the root causes of problems and develops or recognizes the most appropriate corrective actions.

Recognizes flaws, assumptions and missing elements in arguments.

Practice & Process of Inquiry Demonstrates ability to formulate questions and hypotheses within the discipline.

Demonstrates ability to properly identify and/or generate reliable data.

Shows understanding of how knowledge is generated, validated and communicated within the discipline.

Nature of Disciplinary Knowledge Shows understanding of the criteria for determining what is valued as a contribution in the discipline.

Shows awareness of important contributions in the discipline and who was responsible for those contributions.

Reads and applies information obtained from professional journals and other sources.

Project Knowledge and Skills Displays knowledge of key facts and concepts.

Displays a grasp of relevant methods and is clear about how these methods apply to the research project.

Demonstrates an appropriate mastery of skills needed to conduct the project.

Ethical Conduct Understands that altering or fabricating data is highly unethical.

Realizes that distorting or misstating research findings is unethical and may harm others who rely on your professional integrity.

Recognizes the imperative of giving credit to sources used in research and to those who may have provided helpful advice or assistance.

Outcome Categories	EvaluateUR Outcome Components
Communication	Uses and understands professional and discipline-specific language.
Expresses ideas orally in an organized, clear, and concise manner.
Writes clearly and concisely using correct grammar, spelling, syntax, and sentence structure.
Creativity	Shows ability to approach problems from different perspectives.
Uses information in ways that demonstrate intellectual resourcefulness.
Effectively connects multiple ideas/approaches.
Autonomy	Demonstrates an ability to work independently and identify when guidance is needed.
Accepts constructive criticism and uses feedback effectively.
Uses time well to ensure work gets accomplished.
Ability to Deal with Obstacles	Is not discouraged by setbacks or unforeseen events and perseveres when challenges are encountered.
Shows flexibility and a willingness to take risks and try again.
Trouble-shoots problems and searches for ways to do things more effectively.
Intellectual Development	Recognizes that problems are often more complicated than they first appear.
Approaches problems with an understanding that there can be more than one right explanation or even none at all.
Displays insight into the limits of their knowledge and an appreciation for what isn't known.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving	Maintains a posture of open-minded skepticism when considering potential solutions to problems.
Looks for the root causes of problems and develops or recognizes the most appropriate corrective actions.
Recognizes flaws, assumptions and missing elements in arguments.
Practice & Process of Inquiry	Demonstrates ability to formulate questions and hypotheses within the discipline.
Demonstrates ability to properly identify and/or generate reliable data.
Shows understanding of how knowledge is generated, validated and communicated within the discipline.
Nature of Disciplinary Knowledge	Shows understanding of the criteria for determining what is valued as a contribution in the discipline.
Shows awareness of important contributions in the discipline and who was responsible for those contributions.
Reads and applies information obtained from professional journals and other sources.
Project Knowledge and Skills	Displays knowledge of key facts and concepts.
Displays a grasp of relevant methods and is clear about how these methods apply to the research project.
Demonstrates an appropriate mastery of skills needed to conduct the project.
Ethical Conduct	Understands that altering or fabricating data is highly unethical.
Realizes that distorting or misstating research findings is unethical and may harm others who rely on your professional integrity.
Recognizes the imperative of giving credit to sources used in research and to those who may have provided helpful advice or assistance.

Reflection

The weekly emails will encourage you to reflect on your research experience using different prompts. Additionally, certain checkpoints associated with self-assessments will include more extensive instructions for reflection. Expect to see questions like:

What's one small change you could try this week?
What would help you the most right now — and what would it take to ask for it?
What's been the most useful thing about this experience so far?
What are you getting out of this experience that you didn't expect?

We recommend actually writing down your reflections and responses to these prompts. You can use pencil and paper, a word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word or Google Docs), or a journaling/notes app for your phone or computer.

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