Research Essay FYEX Class After finishing my research essay I learned that research is a big part of learning new information and that it is used in all fields of study. Especially in my field of study, psychology, research is very important to be successful. I learned about the research opportunities that are provided on campus at Minnesota State University, Mankato and how they can be beneficial to me and my future. fyex_research_essay.docx
Art as Politics Term Paper "Abstract Expressionism": Research Paper This term paper helped me develop my research skills by branching out to use my resources at the campus library and learning new information on a topic that I wasn't familiar with. In this paper I gave credit where credit was due and presented information about an art movement in the 1940s that has influenced the way we see art today. art_as_politics_term_paper__abstract_expressionism.docx.crdownload
Research Events URC (Undergraduate Research Center); At this event I learned about how research is beneficial to me and my educational career. I was informed on how to get involved with undergraduate research by finding a professor to work with that has the same interests in research as I do. As well as, applying for grants to obtain money to help pay for my research experience. This event took place in my First Year Seminar Honors class, we were able to ask questions and I was very interested in how to start the process of undergraduate research. So, I was told about the application process and how to find a staff member that had the same interest as me. I was very excited to contribute to the class and the discussion about how to better prepare ourselves for our future research.
Research Team I worked for a research team lead by Dr. Panahon in the School Psychology Department. I data collected at Eagle Lake Elementary School for a reseach project that dealt with creative writing for third graders. We did a series of baseline and intervention tests to see if a series of things would effect how much writing the kids would produce. Below are an example of the creative writing probes and instrtuctions for each time I collected data. training_materials_-_for_merge.docx
2018-2019
Research Methods and Design Psych 211W In the fall semester I was a student in this class that worked with research and data collection basics. We learned about how to conduct our own research study or how we would start. I looked at previous research studies and we determined what was good research and what was not. I also learned how to critique research and what limitations might stand in the way of providing accurate data. I used this later on in a project for class where I found research articles and read through them, found their main points, and then what the researcher could have done to eliminate their limitations. Exploring other peoples research can give background information about a certain subject as well as give ideas for future research. I also learned how to use a new data software called SPSS to get all of the information needed to conclude the results of the study and determine relationships and their strengths between two variables. Now with all of this information that I have learned from this course it helped prepared me to conduct my own research or at least help conduct research. This will also help me be skeptical of future research and evaluate the information.
Research Team This year I worked on a research team lead by Dr. Panahon and Dr. Petersen-Brown in the School Psychology Department. I developed a lot of research competencies. For conducting this research I looked upon previous research on the subject and had to analyze the research to figure out if it had enough credability to look upon for help and back up the research that I was conducting. I also learned how to properly write a research paper and poster to be able to present the information at two conferences, the Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) and the National Convention of Undergraduate Research (NCUR). The research I conducted was about improving spelling habits of elementary students with either an iPad intervention versus and Analog intervention (worksheet intervention). For both of the conventions that I presented at I had to submit an abstract. I have never wrote an abstract before but I had a lot of help from my graduate students which was very helpful. It was very challenging for me writing the abstract but after many drafts and all of the help I was able to execute it. I ended up recieving the foundation reward from the Undergraduate Research Center. This whole process of writing and conducting research has helped me open doors of experience that can help me conduct future research, get into graduate school, and potential help me get a future job. This experience has taught me so much.