Indepedent Study at the Undergratuate level

[Woravut]

Recently, I have learned that students majoring in English at some (at least two, that I am aware of) universities are required to conduct an independent study as part of requirement for graduation. They have one year to do a small research study under a supervision of an advisor.

Personally, I am a bit worried about the misconception of how research is conducted and reported, and a little bit worried about the number of low research getting into the research literature in the field (in Thailand). Also, I'm not clear about the value of doing that.

What do you think could be good points and (unanticipated) drawbacks?