Thinking Like Engineers, Writing as Researchers: Research Literacy and Identity in an Interdisciplinary Course

This qualitative case study examines how engineering students develop research literacy in an interdisciplinary elective at a technical university in Türkiye. Twenty-four third- and fourth-year students worked in six project groups; data include semi-structured interviews with twelve participants and project artefacts such as drafts, feedback, and revision notes. Thematic analysis focuses on topic selection, collaboration, and methodological writing tasks. Findings indicate that writing assignments encouraged students to move from compiling information to designing small-scale inquiries, and that topic choice shaped how they defined valid evidence. The study shows how early experiences with research-based writing can support more flexible reasoning and emerging forms of researcher identity in engineering education.