iUTAH Team - Undergraduate iFellows

 

Adam Whalen

University of Utah

 

Mentors:

Faculty: Sara Yeo, UU          

Graduate: Meaghan McKasy, UU

 

Research Focus:

Research Focus Area 2

 

Major:

Communication HBS

 

Biography:

Adam Whalen is a senior at the University of Utah, where he is double majoring in Strategic Communication and Political Science with an emphasis in Public Policy. He is primarily interested in survey research, secondary analyses, and quantitatively studying attitudes and opinions on a societal level. Apart from attending graduate school during Fall of 2017, Adam ultimately hopes to apply his research skills and academic knowledge in the political / governmental sphere to enact change on a macro level. 

 

iFellow Presentation:

 

 

 

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 16-20, 2016

My first week as an iFellow only left me wanting more. After a fantastic Orientation, where I got to meet my cohort and learn more about the iUTAH project more broadly, I was able to sit down with my mentors Meaghan and Sara to discuss what I will be researching this summer! As a group, we will collect comparable data to the household and iPad surveys conducted by previous iUTAH and iFellow groups. We will then compare them against similar surveys conducted across the country. This will involve utilizing SPSS, a statistical analysis software, as well as topic conceptualization to draw conclusions about where public opinions on Utah’s water situation fits into the broader picture.

 

Overall I am very happy to be an iFellow, and I simply cannot wait to see what the following weeks have in store for me, my cohort, and all of our research projects!

 

 

 

Week 2: May 23-27, 2016

Whereas last Friday my overall place in the iUTAH project was murky, this week it became much clearer.

 

I kicked off the week by having another amazing cohort session, this time up at Utah State University. While I could have done without the long drive, the speakers and information presented made it more than worth it. I paid acute attention to Jeff Horsburgh (USU) presentation on proper data management as it relates directly to my research. Scott Bates (USU) opened my eyes to the intricacies and nuances of giving a poster presentation. After a comical “improvisation for scientists” session aimed at enhancing our professional interpersonal communication skills, I said farewell to my iFellow’s until June 13th when we will meet up again, this time down south at Brigham Young University.

 

As for the rest of my week, it saw me officially kicking off the meat of my research. I had an incredibly productive meeting with my mentors, Meaghan and Sara, and finally got set-up in an office space that I can (somewhat) call my own, it is shared with two other people after all. Apart from further familiarizing myself with the iUTAH survey data, something I began last week, I gathered countless pieces of secondary evidence on a number of water issues. These secondary data sets will serve as comparisons to the aforementioned iUTAH surveys that were conducted last year. While I may not have any exciting conclusions to draw just yet about where Utah compares to the nation and possibly even other states, I will say that I’m well on my way to finding them!

 

With a great deal of hard work, and copious amounts of coffee, I’m more confident than ever that my research is on the right track.

 

Week 3: May 30-June 3, 2016

With no cohort session this week, I took a much-needed day off before launching full force into my secondary data collection. Most of my time was spent sifting through numerous databases collecting anything and everything that might deliver insight into state and national water attitudes. As I gathered and analyzed these sources, I found myself feeling as if I was studying something truly impactful for Utah’s water future, and possibly the nation as well. Furthermore I found myself making mental comparisons between the data sets, even without any initial coding. Next week I hope to take much of what I’ve found and begin analyzing it within SPSS.

 

Outside of my research, I had a very helpful meeting with my mentors where we revised our Curriculum Vitae’s (CV), what is essentially an academic resume. This was a fantastic way to reflect on where I’ve been in my academic career and gave me the opportunity to look back through my awards, honors, and distinctions. Working on my CV allowed me to think toward the future as well, and what place research might have in my career. For me, this CV demonstrates the diverse opportunities the iFellow program offers its researchers. Beyond the logistics of my work, these career-oriented workshop sessions I have with my mentors are both helpful and enjoyable.

 

Even though there is no Cohort session next Monday, I look forward to another week of exciting research with my mentors.

 

 

 

Week 4: June 6-10, 2016

After another week of research, I feel as if my project is finally beginning to shift gears. While my time thus far has been spent scouring academic databases, this week I broke out SPSS and began preliminary coding. Even though the secondary data collection is integral to a project such as this, it is nice to finally begin working on something else. This all started with a quick refresher on the software Wednesday with my mentors. It has been close to a year since I have coded and processed survey data, so practicing commands and proper scripting was jarring at first. My mentors were exceptionally patient through my struggles with the program. My next challenge will be taking the raw data I have collected and cleaning it up, thereby allowing for me to compare it to the iUTAH data sets.

 

This week also marked the first conceptualizations of my forthcoming research poster. I have begun toying with how I want to present my research aesthetically. At the last cohort session, Scott Bates gave us some fantastic tips on how to make an intriguing poster. I have been taking his ideas and fusing them with my own artistic inclinations. Considering my background in advertising, I’ve been using some of the aesthetic principles I have learned and applying them to this poster. I must say I am excited to share my thoughts with the other iFellows. Furthermore, I crafted an initial draft of my introduction and methods portion for our cohort session on Monday. While it certainly was a unique beast to tackle, I used parts of my prospectus which was, in essence, a poster-esque summation of my research.

 

In preparation for the aforementioned cohort session, I plan on reading the weekly updates of other iFellows. It has been several weeks since I have seen them in person, so it should be fun to see how their research has been going.

 

Week 5: June 13-17, 2016

My week began with a cohort session down at BYU. This was my first time seeing the other iFellows in three weeks, which made for nice conversation on how our respective research was going. We began the day by reading each other’s introduction and methods portion of our posters, and the giving quick critiques in a “speed dating format”. Not only was this helpful for my own research, but it helped me see how other individuals were crafting their own posters. After that we made our way up the Provo canyon for some hands-on water sampling. I’m mostly locked up in an office for my research, so it was nice to get outside while still working on iUTAH projects. While the technical aspects of measuring E-Coli presence in the river were over my head, it was fun to see what other people are doing with their projects.

 

The remainder of the week was reserved for primarily more coding. I mainly clean the data, which involves isolating and identifying the variables that are relevant to my research. I hope to begin drawing up correlations and comparisons as soon as next week. Outside of the coding, I also worked on my poster presentation. Taking critiques from the other iFellows, I adjusted my introduction and methods section accordingly. Furthermore, I began to conceptualize what figures I will inevitably put on my poster. While I’ll have to wait and see what kind of data I end up with, there should be space for four to five figures on my poster.

 

Once again, there will be no cohort session next week so I will predominantly spend the time on my research. I hope to finish cleaning up my data and ultimately begin drawing up comparisons between data sets. It’s very exciting to see my research coming to fruition.

 

 

 

Week 6: June 20-24, 2016

Compared to my other weeks as an iFellow, this one was certainly less chaotic. Meaghan, my graduate mentor, was out on a much needed vacation in Puerto Rico. My research didn’t have any major breakthroughs either, as I continued with more coding. I began the week by cleaning up the remaining data sets I had collected earlier in the summer. This made the data suitable for comparison, and as such I began work on my cross tabulations. My initial results show some interesting differences between Utah’s attitudes toward water and the country as a whole. While I am not able to discuss any of those at length in these weekly updates, I can say that I am excited to share my findings more officially.

 

This week I also enjoyed a surprise or two in my Twitter feed. My fellow iFellows Mitch, Rebecca, Luis, and various others were tweeted out by iUTAH. Even though I regularly read up on everyone else’s research, it was still exciting to them pop up so unexpectedly. Of course I retweeted each post, but more importantly it prompted me to read up on everyone else’s weekly updates. One of the things I appreciate most about the iFellow experience is the diversity of exposure and experience. If it was not for this program, I would never be reading about the research experiences entirely out of my field of study. It is exciting, enlightening, and adds an extra level to my research that I do not feel I could get anywhere else.

 

Here in the next week or two I will have a fun video surprise for you detailing just what I mean when I say I “clean” my data. In the meantime, this picture of my coding screen will have to do!

 

 

 

 

Week 7: June 27-July 1, 2016

My week began with a cohort session at my home institution, the University of Utah. It took place at the Natural History Museum, where we were given a tour of not only the museum, but a special installation on Utah’s water and GAMUT (Gradients Along Mountain to Urban Transition) sites made possible by iUTAH. It was enjoyable to see all the museum had to offer particularly in the company of my other iFellows. We then made our way to several GAMUT sites in and around campus. A highlight of the session was our trip up into the Red Butte watershed. Dave Eiriksson, one of the GAMUT technicians, was kind enough to show us his stations and instrumentation used for his measurements. While the temperature left something to be desired, it was a memorable experience and one of my favorite cohort sessions of the experience thus far.

 

This week also found me making good progress in my research. I had a very productive meeting with my mentors in which we isolated drinking water as our primary variable of interest. Furthermore, we made plans for me to learn the basics of regression analyses which should aid in the overall quality of my study. My initial findings lead me to believe I am nearing the end of my iFellows research, but there is still much to come. Now that I have focused my research further, I will edit my abstract to reflect on its now more precise nature.

 

Next week I will be submitting a video on the basics of coding within IBM SPSS Statistics. It will be built as a “how-to” of sorts, with the ultimate goal being an introductory approach to the inner-workings of my research.

 

 

Week 8: July 4-8, 2016

This week I’m delighted to share with everyone a short video describing outlining my research process. Each week I have discussed the program I use, IBM SPSS Statistics, and the coding skills it requires. My video is an attempt to visually demonstrate the process. Functioning as a tutorial of sorts, I walk the viewer through a few simple commands and logistics of the program. All of this is done by way of a screen-capturing program which allows me to narrate each and every thing I’m doing on my computer screen.