Publications from long-established field stations provide a record of the past that may help a field station reassess its mission. Research publications and student papers typically represent the core body of knowledge about a field station and provide information that is crucial to sustainably managing the site, baseline data for detecting and monitoring change, and an integrated, local perspective on the history of ecological research. Student papers additionally provide a window on the academic history of a field station and its parent institution. At Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve we are investigating whether our archive of publications can help guide our effort to achieve greater integration among our research, education, and conservation missions. As one example, we have asked whether an historical analysis of student papers and research publications can help us provide undergraduate education that "goes deeper rather than broader" without increasing the overall land-use impact of our education programs.
Results/Conclusions
We have assembled a database of more than 1100 dissertations, theses, student papers, and peer-reviewed publications, nearly one report per acre of the preserve. The dissertations date from 1896, the journal publications from 1910 (or earlier), and the student papers from 1941. The archive of student papers is probably least complete because prior to formal designation of the preserve in 1973, there was no centralized repository for undergraduate papers. Nonetheless, more than 400 student papers are included. The database reveals a period of especially intense and innovative research by undergraduates who were enrolled in a quarter-long immersion course that emphasized independent field projects grounded in natural history observations. Following that period, studies by undergraduates tended to bifurcate into brief, less rigorous investigations or extended studies that produced senior theses. The latter yielded very high quality reports that sometimes reappeared in the database as peer-reviewed publications, but thesis research is open only to students whose careful, early planning enables them to commit to and complete a year-long study. The publications database suggests that reestablishment of intermediate research experiences at Jasper Ridge, such as intensive, one-quarter field courses, could provide a substantial, valuable, and manageable way to expand undergraduate research.
