Developing research practice in the undergraduate popular music studies community

In June 2014, the University of Northampton hosted the PopLife Popular Music Studies conference. As part of the proceedings three BA Popular Music students from the University delivered papers, presenting them with the opportunity to engage with a wider research community. The success of the panel prompted Yoshe Watson, one of the students involved, to put forward the idea of an undergraduate PMS conference open to students from across the UK and beyond. This conference, U:Pop (www.u-pop.org), will be held in Northampton on the 30th May 2015, launching a broader international undergraduate research network that will connect students, academics and industry professionals. This paper will reflect both upon the U:Pop conference after the event and the opportunities and challenges of formulating the proposed research network to follow it. Whilst undergraduate research networks currently operate in other disciplines, particularly in the US, there are few platforms for undergraduate students working in PMS to develop independent research and scholarship outside of their immediate curriculum. Focusing on the recommendations of Healy and Jenkins’ (2009) HEA report into developing undergraduate research and inquiry, this paper will plot out the possible ways by which students can develop their scholarship, and engage with PMS research communities beyond their own institutions. Through opportunities to present and publish research, to engage with scholars in the field of PMS, to develop methodological and pedagogical skills and network both with academic and industrial partners, the research network will seek to meet a number of objectives relevant to the current academic research climate. It will create academic and industrial opportunities for students, foster the self-perception of undergraduates as active researchers who are a new generation of PMS scholars, and it will act as a pathway towards postgraduate study. The network will also foster cross-institutional collaboration, develop undergraduate research skills both within and without curricula, and, in light of the recent REF assessment, promote academic research that has real social impact. Finally the paper will ask how the PMS research community can facilitate such a network and foster sophisticated scholarship amongst undergraduate cohorts.