I am on my second to last semester at UW-Eau Claire and with the McNair program, and I’m feeling optimistic about completing the last leg of my undergraduate journey. I am working on my research project with my mentor (Dr. Muehlenkamp) and have been fully funded through the ORSP grant. I am hoping to get into UW Stout for graduate school but have looked at other options (such as St. Thomas University or online programs) as well. I am still undecided as to whether I would like to pursue a master’s degree or a Doctorate, but I know that I would like to focus on clinical mental health therapy, or family/relationship therapy. Through McNair, I recently had an opportunity to attend a national research conference in Washington D.C., which was an incredible experience. I enjoy engaging in activities like this, as it allows me to learn for the sake of learning, not for achievement or for a grade. This enables me to be more present and focused on the entirety of the presentation, rather than taking notes that I think I may be “quizzed on” later. My favorite presenter was Dr. Graham, whose talk was entitled “I’d Rather Die Dancing Than at My Desk”. Dr. Graham discussed maintaining one’s personal identity outside of academia, while battling distractions such as excessive social media use and procrastination.
Research updates
In my research, I have worked with my mentor Dr.Muehlenkamp to apply for and receive ORSP funding. I have also begun CITI training, which allows me to apply for IRB approval to work with human subjects. I am working with Dr. Muehlenkamp to identify the best assessment tools for ADHD and ASD to create my survey. Once my survey is created and I have received IRB approval, we will administer the survey via flyers around Eau Claire containing a QR code. This QR code, once scanned, will lead participants directly to the survey. I chose this method because most of my research will take place during the summer months, so I don’t believe that I would get a high response rate if I administered it to UW-Eau Claire students. Once the survey is complete (after a yet undetermined amount of time has passed following administration) I will collect and analyze my data regarding symptom overlap of ASD and ADHD in adult populations between males and females. We are planning to use factor analysis to do this. I will then analyze my results and write up possible explanations for these results. I will be disseminating my research results at the CERCA conference at UW-Eau Claire.
Comentaris