iUTAH Team - Undergraduate iFellows
Matthew Johnson
Weber State University
Mentors:
Faculty: Doug Jackson-Smith, USU
Graduate: Ann Armstrong, US
Research Focus:
Research Focus Area 2
Major:
Applied Environmental Geoscience
Biography:
Matthew R Johnson majors in Applied Environmental Geoscience at Weber State University. He has completed two years at Weber and is the Vice President of the Weber chapter of the honor society Sigma Gamma Epsilon. Matt has a strong interest in environmental science, and hopes to study Hydrogeology at a graduate school.
iFellow Presentation
Landscaping Preferences in Utah
Presented by: Matthew Johnson
July 2015
Weekly Recap:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11
Week 1: May 18-22, 2015
Week one has been exciting and productive. Collaborating with Dr. Jackson-Smith and our great crew of researchers has been fun and enlightening. We have made a lot of progress collecting data and we began discussing topics for research questions. I am learning a lot about how social science methods can help us understand water use behavior and decisions. Having such a good team will make this summer one to remember.
Collecting data at the Natural Grocers yesterday. From left to right: Joydino, Viviane, Jordan, Matt.
Week 2: May 25-29, 2015
Week two was vey productive. Our team formed research questions and topics, and began literature review. As the weather cleared up at the end of the week we began more data collection in the Salt Lake City area.
Week 3: June 1-5, 2015
My team and I have had a productive week in the West Valley City area collecting data. It has been interesting meeting and conversing with people about water issues in their different communities as well as listening to their different perspectives and experiences. We had a big collection effort this week and the sun has been draining, but having such a great team helps keep the process refreshed and helps everything run smoothly. I am excited to get back up to Logan and look at the data with new eyes and a more specific research topic.
View just West of Weber State campus after returning home from collecting survey data in the Salt Lake City area on Saturday
Week 4: June 8-12, 2015
I have spent a lot of time refining (and changing) my research focus topic this week. I am researching what effects and drives landscaping preferences in the state of Utah. So far, I have found a fair amount of interesting literature on the subject. I am excited to see how patterns in the data we collected might compare. This summer is flying by too fast!
Week 5: June 15-19, 2015
It has been an exciting week full of fieldwork! Our team used GPS units to identify points of public access along waterways in Logan and Salt Lake City. The information will be used in GIS and compared with study neighborhoods in the same areas.
Identifying public access points on the Logan River
Week 6: June 22-26, 2015
We began this week with statistical analysis of our survey data. I used SPSS to run frequency distributions and cross tabulations on survey questions that involved my research question. It has been a valuable experience going through the research process step by step. I have spent what time I have available this week on my rough draft poster presentation at the cohort on Monday. I am anxious to hear what input everyone has on my poster so far.
Week 7: June 29-July 3, 2015
I presented a rough draft of my poster on Monday along with the other iFellows. It was really nice to hear everyone's feedback and get an idea of what my poster still needed and the areas to focus on. Our team spent a lot of time this week going over the suggestions and providing further feedback on each other's projects. I have also did a write-up of the research I have done over the summer.
Week 8: July 6-10, 2015
We spent the beginning of the week on research write-ups and polishing up our posters. Then we began data collection in the Ogden area.
“The Stump” statue in North Ogden
Week 9: July 13-17, 2015
It was an exciting week gearing up for the symposium! We put the finishing touches on our posters. I headed to Centerville on Thursday to administer the iPad survey with a team of four at a Walmart. Then Friday morning bright and early we headed to Midway for the symposium. It was really humbling to be around so many great minds and learn about others' research. It was especially fulfilling to share my research and receive input.
Andre, Doug, Matt, and Viviane after the symposium
Week 10: July 20-24, 2015
This week I took part in the all-hands data collection in the Red Butte Creek Catchment. I was able to learn from three different groups collecting water samples, taking vegetation transects, and studying stream ecology. It was such a great experience learning field methods in each discipline. It was also great to hike around in such an untouched area. A big thank you to everyone involved!
Week 11: July 27-31, 2015
This week has been a great ending to a great summer. Presenting our research on Wednesday was the culmination of everything I have learned as an iFellow. Everyone did a great job on their presentations. I really enjoyed hearing what all the iFellows were up to all summer in greater detail. I am so grateful to be a part of the iUTAH family and look forward to being involved in the future.
