Grounded theory is based on pragmatism and symbolic interactionism. Pragmatism was proposed by William James and Charles Sanders Peirce, including postulates such as: i) we do not perceive the world and things directly; there is always sign mediation; ii) the sign influences actions and is external to individuals; iii) the meaning of something can be explained by its experiential effects. Subsequently, John Dewey indicated that pragmatism enables prediction through systematic recording of observations, and George H. Mead indicated that language, thought, and action are determined by social interaction, emphasizing the importance of the social context^20,21.

The ideas of James and Mead served as the foundation for Herbert Blumer's symbolic interactionism. Interactionism is characterized by the following premises: i) society, reality, and the self arise from sign-mediated interaction; ii) action is determined by meanings rather than stimuli; iii) its core is meanings. Regarding the latter, the three basic postulates of interactionism are: i) subjects act toward phenomena based on the meanings those events hold for human beings; ii) meaning emerges from social interactions; and iii) meanings can be transformed as the person experiences and interprets the phenomenon^20,21.

Despite the above, Charmaz and Clarke have pointed out that the grounded theory of Glaser and Strauss did not explain these epistemological foundations and was closer to positivism, whereas their own is grounded in social constructivism^20,21.

In 2025, when this research was conducted, Colombia had 23 undergraduate programs in N&D across 12 departments in the country, of which 34.8% (n = 8) were public institutions. All directors of these programs were invited so that the institution they coordinated could participate in the study; this invitation requested that it be extended to all faculty members. Seven institutions agreed to participate and provided contact information for eligible faculty members. Thirteen coordinators and faculty members from research tracks in the seven participating universities were included, selected via theoretical sampling by saturation of pre-established and emerging categories (Table 2).

General project information was presented to institutional administrators who agreed to participate, followed by the signing of informed consent and scheduling of interview times. In-depth interviews began with a personal presentation to create an atmosphere of trust, after which three initial topics of interest were introduced with the following questions: i) Could you describe how research is applied in your program's courses? ii) How do you promote research in your undergraduate program? iii) Could you share some experiences from your department? Based on participants' responses, follow-up questions were asked to explore emerging themes and clarify initial answers, to understand the structure, functioning, and objectives of the research units. Upon completion, a summary of key elements was prepared, research objectives and ethical elements (confidentiality, risk-benefit assessment, etc.) were reiterated, and participants were invited to a follow-up interview to validate analyses or adjust axial and selective categorization.

Interviews were complemented by field notes in which researchers recorded the following types of entries: i) methodological notes to refine topics, questions, and follow-up questions in subsequent interviews; ii) theoretical notes to expand key concepts for data analysis; iii) descriptive notes regarding interactions with interviewees and non-verbal language; iv) interpretive notes or reflections occurring during or immediately after the interview; and v) reflexive notes to make explicit the role and effect of the researchers during data collection (treating the researcher's experience as an object of reflection). In addition to seven interviews with program directors, five additional interviews and four focus groups were conducted with faculty members from each participating university.

Thoroughness in data collection was guaranteed through category saturation; reflexivity was applied in field notes and categorical analysis; investigator triangulation was conducted by comparing coding, categorization, and interpretations between both researchers; and theoretical triangulation was performed by comparing categories with previous studies. Rigor criteria of credibility (trust with participants), auditability (triangulation, participant validation, reflexivity), and transferability (among nutrition undergraduate programs) were followed²².

Audio recording and transcription of interviews were performed, followed by coding with pre-established and emerging concepts, open categorization to identify descriptive categories, axial categorization for analytical ones (categories and subcategories), and selective categorization to establish categorical relationships and proceed with conceptual ordering. The analysis culminated in the development of a substantive theory regarding the meanings and determinants of formative research¹⁹.

The study adhered to ethical requirements defined in the Declaration of Helsinki and Resolution 8430 of 1993 of the Ministry of Health of Colombia. Confidentiality was guaranteed and participant identity was protected; all interviewees and group participants approved their participation by signing an informed consent form detailing: study title and objectives, risks and benefits, procedures (interview, duration, number of subjects), right to withdraw, voluntariness, privacy protection, funding, confidentiality, and research team contact information. The project was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Faculty of Dentistry at Universidad de Antioquia, under Minute No. 191-2024, dated May 24, 2024.

In the interpretations of research within N&D undergraduate programs, some formal definitions closely aligned with graduate programs were identified, alongside others that prioritize formative or pedagogical elements suitable for undergraduate students. That is, some interviewees expressed conceptions in which research methods are viewed as an end in themselves, while others described conceptions of research as a means to optimize teaching-learning processes.

When defining research as an end, a series of courses and methodological resources included in N&D undergraduate programs are described, aimed at enabling students to define a research question within a theoretical framework, rigorously formulate research objectives, apply methods specific to an epistemological paradigm or tradition, and produce a research output aligned with parameters of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia - MinCiencias (such as a scientific paper or research project). The following quotes illustrate this conception:

"It encompasses all student activities, supported by faculty from all areas—human nutrition and food, public health, food service management—working together to produce a final research output". (H_9).

"These are strategies translated into research-focused activities. It starts with a research question and from there steps are proposed. Research is not just for those who want to become researchers; research methodology is cross-cutting across all areas using specialized literature". (M_5).

Among those who conceive research as a means to optimize teaching-learning processes, emphasis is placed on guiding N&D students to learn the scientific method and apply it to everyday problems, whether in clinical nutrition, public nutrition, or another field. This group assumes that all areas of food and nutrition demand the application of various research competencies—such as observation, recording, contrast, analysis, and synthesis—which are used implicitly or explicitly in professional practice, interprofessional work, integration into healthcare teams, etc. The following statements reflect properties of this subcategory:

"Research is an opportunity for students to acquire skills and competencies allowing them to address needs. It is also a tool enabling them to develop capacity for observation, comparison, analysis, and interpretation". (M_11).

"It means teaching autonomous skills for seeking quality information through research methodology. The method is cross-cutting across all nutrition practice: critical reading, answering practice-based questions technically. Therefore, they need to know research methods to support their decisions [clinical or public health] with high-quality scientific evidence". (M_3).

Regardless of the initial conception of undergraduate research, all interviewees agreed on the importance of allocating a high percentage of credits to research tracks or components, as these are key to helping students improve the grasp of their disciplinary knowledge and act with rigor regarding specific objects of study in this profession. Interviewees emphasized that research is cross-cutting across all areas of nutrition; unfortunately, this often seems to be a late discovery made during professional practice. Hence, there is a need to improve research courses and their integration with all curricular subjects from early stages of the program.

Program coordinators described this as follows:

"Health professionals face increasingly diverse situations, not all of which are written in a textbook or article. So, if we don't connect the method to nutrition problems, formative research gets lost, and students see it simply as filler. Many students say, 'Oh no, I don't like that research stuff.' So, I feel they still don't see it in a practical way". (H_1).

"It must be emphasized that research is embedded in everything they are undertaking—what will constitute their professional, clinical, or care-oriented practice—and later they will also have the capacity to investigate reality". (M_2).

Consistent with the previous subcategory, the meanings of research in undergraduate N&D highlight its cross-cutting and longitudinal nature, referring to the importance of connecting the research component with all other subjects in an academic semester, as well as its development across all academic levels. This subcategory underscores the need to approach research competencies as a core training area with its own pedagogical foundation, while simultaneously developing it as a pedagogical and didactic strategy across all other subjects and units in the programs.

As a specific core area with its own pedagogical basis, interviewees described research in their programs within the curricular structure, which includes conventional courses on epistemology, research methodology, statistics, and epidemiology. As a didactic strategy across all units, it was noted that research has not yet been fully integrated into core subjects in clinical nutrition, public health nutrition, and other areas, representing one of the main challenges.

The cross-cutting nature of research in N&D was also described through two types of relationships: reciprocity or consubstantiality. In the former, it is highlighted how research can be incorporated into other subjects, while disciplinary subjects can simultaneously improve research instruction. In the latter—which presents the greater challenge—it is argued that in professional practice, research competencies are intrinsic to the work of the Dietitian-Nutritionist and should therefore be subsumed within disciplinary contents. However, it is recognized as difficult to avoid fragmented teaching in curricula lacking a competency-based approach, or in current times characterized by the fragmentation inherent to specialized knowledge.

"We should start developing many nutrition activities and methodologies by making their scientific rigor more explicit, because I think it is clear to all of us as faculty that research is precisely the way to generate new knowledge, and we can take great advantage of information from our disciplinary courses". (H_1).

"Research has been very separated in our curricula, but its cross-cutting nature is evident. Internally, we need mechanisms to truly feel it is cross-cutting and articulated with everything we do across all areas of nutrition. Faculty members themselves need to thoroughly understand this conceptualization of research and how we can work with it to promote it more horizontally across all courses". (H_1).

The meanings of research also refer to its importance in bridging and integrating professional knowledge and practice, as previously described, as well as connecting with professional identity ("being"). Research competencies not only enhance the understanding of N&D study objects and professional performance, but also foster capacities such as teamwork, personal reflection, oral and written communication, situational and critical analysis, flexibility, adaptability, achievement orientation, and problem solving, encompassing both hard skills (technical/specific) and soft skills (personality traits and interpersonal characteristics guiding social interactions). Additional properties of this subcategory are captured in the following quote:

"As professors, we always tell students that theory is one thing and practice is another. Yes, we express it nicely, but we are failing to say: 'Look, if practice is different and we are discovering or learning other things there, let's bring that into the educational process right from the start of the program'". (H_1).

The final subcategory highlights research as a central component of comprehensive education, as it fosters personal growth, commitment to social needs, and the social projection of the professional being, knowing, and doing of DNs. In this subcategory, the comprehensiveness promoted by research in N&D undergraduate programs manifests in several ways: i) integration of competencies of being, knowing, and doing; ii) intersectionality of hard and soft skills; iii) excellence in scientific, technical, social, and human terms; iv) horizontal (between semesters) and vertical (within a semester) integration of curricular areas; and v) consistency between theory and practice. One representation of this comprehensiveness is captured in the following testimonial:

"Our students specialize their interests very early in their training. They pick the area they like best and see no other path. So, those who say 'I like clinical nutrition' publish research there, while ignoring other areas. We have insisted that undergraduate education must prepare a well-rounded professional capable of performing across any field of nutrition". (H_1).

The meanings held by interviewees regarding research in N&D undergraduate programs transition through various stages or phases. Some remain strictly within curricular boundaries (courses forming the research core), others address the challenge of making reciprocal or consubstantial relationships between research and disciplinary courses explicit, and others emphasize that undergraduate programs should not train researchers, as this belongs to graduate studies. Regardless of these variations among analyzed programs, key determinants influencing the meanings of research in N&D were highlighted. In the view of interviewees, these order into macro-, meso-, and micro-social elements of DN education, or are categorized into external university factors, program-specific factors, and student-centered factors, analyzed in the following subcategories.

In this subcategory, interviewees indicated that despite the potential of undergraduate research, structural determinants inhibit its development, reducing undergraduate research training to traditional models centered on research methodology courses with limited connection to comprehensive learning. These determinants include limitations within the Colombian educational and science/technology systems, where public funding for undergraduate research is minimal, traditional instruction dominates with little room for constructivist or critical approaches aligned with research meanings, funding is prioritized for master's and doctoral programs, and barriers or lack of incentives impede inter-institutional agreements that could promote broader research visions.

"There is really no funding for research conducted by students, except when an institutional project is formulated and student involvement is included; however, students act mostly as assistants while the professor handles actual research tasks. Additionally, faculty are not assigned dedicated non-teaching time for this in the program". (M_2).

This subcategory serves as a primary determinant of research meanings in N&D undergraduate programs, as faculty combine multiple challenges: instructors from different generations with varying visions of research; mixing of individuals with undergraduate degrees in N&D and other fields; diverse graduate backgrounds, sometimes creating tension (e.g., ongoing divides between qualitative and quantitative approaches); varying professional experience in nutrition; differing levels of pedagogical training; and varied research designs.

"Many of us faculty members were practicing professionals who suddenly became instructors... we lacked formal training in teaching, which impacts quality. I have always insisted that to be a good professor, one must have professional experience. We must ensure our faculty have practical experience, ideally combined with experience in formative research processes". (H_1).

"A instructor who was an excellent student goes through a research master's or doctoral program and then comes to teach research. But how do they teach it? From a theoretical standpoint. They haven't applied it or connected it to practical nutrition because they lack field experience. There must be a combination of practical experience and understanding field realities; otherwise, when teaching, examples and real experiences are missing to strengthen the teaching-learning process". (H_1).

"Advising senior thesis projects in the final semester is currently handled by three faculty members: one focused on the nutrition specialization, one on statistics, and another supporting writing and methodology. We occasionally invite other colleagues to reinforce specific topics, but this was only possible because we requested additional teaching hours for the process". (M_2).

This subcategory emerged with a dual significance: as a core element within the meanings of research and as one of its determinants. As a meaning of research, it connects to comprehensive education, research competencies, and assimilation of disciplinary knowledge. As a determinant, interdisciplinarity is highlighted as essential for addressing research problems rigorously, recognizing disciplinary boundaries, optimizing interprofessional work, and contributing to solutions in professional practice, while fostering awareness of nutrition's contributions across fields.

"If you have a clear understanding of your object of study, it is easier to identify its limits and know when other disciplines are needed. Teamwork must be part of this training process, because research is sometimes mistakenly viewed as an isolated effort". (H_1).

"Nutrition faculty, particularly in sports nutrition, work directly with sports leagues, where student practicals take place, fostering valuable synergies between professionals". (M_2).

"In some settings, we are fortunate to collaborate with medical residents in pediatrics, obstetrics, and other specialties, creating an enriching environment for dietitians". (M_4).

This subcategory intersects with all previously analyzed dimensions, as pedagogical and didactic practices depend on national and institutional policies, faculty profiles, and undergraduate research meanings. Consequently, pedagogical reflection is needed to define the scope of undergraduate research and establish consistent methods. Interviewees highlighted positive experiences from their faculties, including: i) integrative seminars involving multiple faculty members, research groups, and N&D domains; ii) continuous advising by multidisciplinary faculty teams (clinical nutrition, public health, food service, epidemiology, qualitative methods); iii) inter-institutional agreements for early and professional practica, particularly in healthcare institutions providing valuable data for N&D students; iv) research incubators (semilleros), ideally combining health disciplines; v) collaboration with graduate students and research groups; and vi) formal recognition of time allocated by faculty and students to extracurricular research activities.

It was not possible to determine why some invited higher education institutions did not participate in this study; thus, a potential self-selection bias exists toward programs with stronger research cultures. Consequently, categorical systems in programs with less developed research tracks may not be fully represented. Nevertheless, the findings remain relevant to university teaching broadly, beyond the context of nutrition and dietetics in Colombia.