Abstract
The universities in Pakistan with the support of Higher Education Commission (HEC) are expending considerable effort for promoting research based endeavour. However, there is little focus on improving Undergraduate Research (UGR) in universities despite that it represents a period of peak learning for students and offers diverse opportunities for universities linkages with local industries. The universities in Pakistan are geared around teaching with little focus on improving UGR. This research aimed at exploring research preferences of undergraduate students with the purpose of presenting a framework for improving UGR in universities in Pakistan. Data were collected through a questionnaire from 2068 students randomly selected from four large universities in Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The sample consists of undergraduate students from all disciplines, age and gender. The data were converted into percentages and cross tabs using SPSS to explore relationship between different variables. Identifying students’ research preferences will help in planning UGR in universities besides increasing engagement with local industries.
