For years, students who were looking for work off campus could scroll through an online database provided by Binghamton University. But until this semester, there was no database for academic research opportunities located on campus.

Students can now find research availability on the Campus Research Opportunity Postings (CROP) website, which lists paid and for-credit research positions in projects conducted by BU faculty and advanced graduate students across campus. The site was launched by the Undergraduate Research Center on Oct. 24.

Faculty and graduate students post research opportunities by submitting an online form, which asks for details of the study, appropriate majors, coursework requirements and contact information. Once the studies are posted, interested students can contact faculty members directly.

Janice McDonald, the director of the Undergraduate Research Center and the Office of External Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards, said that the website will be helpful for students who may not know where to start looking for research in their department.

“Sometimes it’s easier to find research positions in the sciences where you can do research in a faculty member’s lab,” McDonald said. “But if you’re in one of the humanities disciplines or in the social sciences it can be more difficult to get this type of experience. We see this as a way for students to get to know what it’s like to do research, to know what tasks are needed.”

Prior to CROP, students who wanted to do research had to search for opportunities in their department or ask professors they’ve taken classes with, according to Ashley Serbonich, the assistant to the director.

“Nothing existed on campus in a formal way, to match students and faculty,” Serbonich said. “Students could go directly to faculty and ask them for any opportunities they might have, but it was as the student approached them as opposed to students being able to see what was available.”

Kristin Sotak, a fourth-year doctoral student studying leadership and organizational behavior, said that she posted an opportunity for 15 students for a study about leadership and motivation but received over 50 emails about it.

“It’s a quick, efficient system,” Sotak said. “It’s a great chance for students to get involved but not only that, for graduate students and faculty to find great students.”

While the website helps with the process of finding research, some students such as Steven Molinari, a senior majoring in political science, said that the site could attract students who were not truly devoted to the studies.

“If you really want to do research with a professor, you’ll email them, go up and talk to them,” Molinari said. “You might get some unwanted people who are not actually looking to do research but just looking to put it on a resume.”

As of Sunday, there were five postings in fields such as economics, mechanical engineering, psychology and German, but according to Serbonich, students can expect to find 10-15 postings on CROP at any time as older opportunities become filled and new ones are added.

McDonald encouraged students to continually check the site to see the latest research opportunities around campus.

“It won’t be a static resource,” McDonald said. “It will be one that will change and develop and there will be more things added to it all the time.”