Kephart, K. L., Villa, E. Q., Gates, A. Q., & Roach, S. (2008). The affinity research group model: Creating and maintaining dynamic, productive and inclusive research groups. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 28(4), 13-24.

In this article, we introduce a model for undergraduate research, the Affinity Research Group (ARG)—a comprehensive model for creating and maintaining dynamic, productive, and inclusive research groups. An affinity research group is, first and foremost, a team effort in which faculty mentors and students enjoy an environment designed expressly to let each member flourish. Group members have or are developing an affinity for the particular research topic, hence the name of the model. Group members share, to greater or lesser extents, common research goals, as well as goals for academic and professional development. Affinity research groups are comprised of students and faculty mentors actively engaged in discovering and sharing ideas in a cooperative environment. The ARG model embodies a set of fundamental principles and effective practices for involving undergraduates in research groups. Application of the model entails the deliberate design of research groups whose members share a common purpose— an affinity—and it emphasizes the conscious development of students’ disciplinary knowledge, research abilities, and team skills, as well as their sense of professional identity.