Summer 2023 Student Research Projects

The most important skill I had to learn during the Summer Research Program was programming in Stata. Though the initial learning curve was difficult, the software provided huge value by simplifying the data collection process. I used Stata and Excel in tandem for the formulation of large datasets. The data collection process also deepened my perspective by materializing the issues I had only been conceptually exposed to in my coursework, such as incumbency advantage and the unchallenged reign of the two party system in America. Viewing the "real" effects of these problems on the electoral process encourages me to pursue further study and further investigation.

I enjoyed the close level of collaboration with my advisor.

In terms of technical skills, this research experience was a great way for me to practice data manipulation skills in excel. I also gained a basic understanding of how to code using STATA. I went from having no prior coding experience to being able to do simple data wrangling in STATA. This experience gave me a new appreciation for coding as a form of problem solving. Having to teach myself the language, I often had to think critically about what exactly I was trying to accomplish with my code and how I could do it. This took a good amount of research and creativity.

More importantly, I recognized the immense complexity of this and every significant policy issue. I realized that it can be very difficult to analyze trends across all states because of subtle differences between each state. For example, two states with the same election laws might have very different levels of political competitiveness due to differences in culture, size, and voting behavior. I had heard many times before that the social sciences lacked concreteness, but this research experience allowed me to truly understand the implications of that statement. Before this experience, I naively thought that any policy issue has a correct and impartial solution, and that I could discover this solution through research. However, I now realize that there often is no one correct policy solution. It is usually even unclear what the best solution is. I now believe that the policy process depends not on discovering the best solution, but on accumulating support for your preferred policy solution. This recognition will help to guide my future interests and career pursuit.

I enjoyed the weekly presentations and forums by SRP professors. As a student-athlete who needed to run in the mornings, I also enjoyed the flexible work hours.

During the summer research program, I learned a lot more about R Studio and how to use it to run statistical models, while also gaining confidence in my ability to know and plan next steps even when I run into dead ends. Our project also helped me appreciate my father a lot more as I've been very lucky to have such an involved and present father, and sometimes I feel like I take it for granted. I am hoping to take the research knowledge and skills I've acquired to the next level in the school year!

I actually quite liked the presentations at the end! It was so fun and interesting to see what students from other majors/fields studied during their time, and it's exceptionally intriguing to see how different the research process is for others! I would've never known!

I gained more resources on how to research congressional policies. I learned how to use Congressional Record Databases efficiently and I learned how to manage large volumes of data. In my research paper my appendix is about 120 pages. I learned how to manage that and turn it into visual representations.

I loved the lunches! The presentations were always very interesting. I also loved how they provided us with lunch.

I learned more than I even thought was possible to learn about authoritarian governments and democratization. I gained a much better understanding of how these governments are structured, how they can survive, and the many variables that impact that process. Additionally, I got experience in working through many different types of research which helped me build critical thinking skills and broadened my perspective on what research in political science looks like.

In terms of practical skills, I learned a lot about how to create academic taxonomies, how to organize long-term research projects, how to establish a knowledge base, and how to conduct a thorough literature review.

My favorite part of the program is the small size of the research groups. It enabled me to really get to know my professor and learn a lot more from him than I would be able to in a larger setting. The smaller setting also made the project feel more like something we were all working on together, rather than some ethereal creation of the professor that we were supposed to work mindlessly on, which enabled us to have a lot more critical dialogue and thinking about the project itself.

I was introduced to R Studio this summer and after a lot of practice I was able use R to develop my skills in statistical analysis. In the lab we were able to study a variety of different biopyschological impacts on the different cohorts of mother-father-child triads. I was able to expand my critical thinking skills throughout the summer as I was challenged with different lab tasks and research assignments.

I really enjoyed getting to spend my summer being introduced to the world of research and loved seeing the presentations at the end of the summer.

I learned more about the anthropogenic effects that are causing our environment to change so rapidly. In addition, I have more skills using more lab equipment such as a Micormill and also lab techniques.

The flexibility of working with my professor.

First and foremost, I learned about working together in a team and the responsibilities of working with autonomous people for research.  I gained invaluable interpersonal skills including cooperation, coordination, and kindness over the summer in the lab along with learning about the community from many different perspectives. Secondly, the Summer Research Program taught me countless field and technical skills that I have come to master. Despite being a neuroscience student, the experience of actually using neural imaging equipment and understanding the analyzation of the data seemed foreign to me when I first started in May. However, after many research talks and much hands-on experience, I feel so much more enabled as a student to continue my career and follow my passions with more knowledge than I ever knew I could acquire in a mere 8 weeks.

I think the best part of the program was the people and I met and the knowledge I learned along the way.

Through the Summer Research Program, I was afforded the opportunity to investigate a topic not often covered in undergraduate education. I gained expertise in utilizing MATLAB in order to manipulate various data structures in order to make sense of data. I also gained insight into the workings of surfaces in three dimensional space.