In my previous post, I discussed my immersion experience in Argentina. During that time I participated in the McNair Summer Research Institute (SRI). The SRI consisted of two main components: a research internship conducted under the guidance of my research mentor, and various activities designed to prepare me for graduate school.
My Research in the SRI
This post centers around my research and the work I did during the summer. The core focus of my SRI experience was establishing the groundwork for my research project, tentatively titled: "Understanding How Students’ Experience abroad and/or in U.S. Territories Affects Their Conceptualization of Race, Class, and Gender in the U.S. and Abroad." This project aims to investigate how students' perspectives on race, class, and gender are influenced by their study abroad or immersion experiences in foreign countries or U.S. territories (such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) while enrolled at UWEC. We use these categories as they are used to analyze differences and power dynamics in relation to social positioning.
Our research poses the following questions:
1) Do students differentiate between the concepts of race, class, and gender in the United States and abroad?
2) Do study abroad and immersion programs enhance students' understanding of race, class, and gender issues in both the United States and abroad?
3) In what instances do students draw parallels between the United States' concepts of race, class, and gender and those of the study abroad country or territory?
To assess students' conceptualizations, our research will utilize a Qualtrics survey and recorded Zoom interviews.
Naturally, challenges were encountered along the way. In early May 2023, Dr. Barahona-López and I submitted our Internal Review Board (IRB) application for approval. The IRB is an administrative body responsible for safeguarding the rights and welfare of human research subjects involved in university studies. Its approval is necessary for research involving human participants. Given that we intended to distribute surveys and conduct interviews, obtaining IRB approval was essential. We aimed to secure approval before or during our Argentina immersion, allowing us to interview students amid the experience. However, the processing of our application took longer than anticipated, causing us to adjust our project timeline. Consequently, I focused more on literature review for most of the summer. We also shifted the data collection phase from June through early August to August through early September. However, this may be useful as students will start to check their emails more frequently as the semester approaches.
Throughout the SRI, I maintained a clear overview of my research progress through a monthly calendar of research objectives. This structure was great as it helped me stay on track and helped me work through the IRB delays. It was also easy to look at; I may use these when planning my semesters. While in Argentina, Dr. Barahona-López and I met to discuss weekly objectives and monthly goals. My tasks encompassed literature review, creating the Qualtrics survey, and attending to non-research SRI duties, such as refining my curriculum vitae and personal statement. These tasks made me realize that graduation and the graduate school application process are coming up very soon.
Cohort Summit and Beyond
On August 11th, all McNair scholars in my cohort delivered online presentations of their research for feedback and critique. This experience was nerve-wracking for me because I am still developing my presentation skills, and I tend to compare my progress to others'. Additionally, making my presentation made me think about where I was in my research at the beginning of the summer, where I’m currently at in my research, and where I want to be, come December. It does make me nervous because I feel like I don’t have the confidence to articulate my research cohesively without notes. So, I plan to work on practicing presenting to friends and family. My advisor reassured me that this experience is normal and that over time, presenting research becomes more comfortable. She emphasized that each individual's research journey in graduate school is unique, advising me to concentrate on self-improvement and manageable aspects.
Entering the fall semester, I will continue to collect survey responses and schedule interviews as participants engage with me. When time allows, I will begin transcribing interviews as they occur to streamline later tasks. Dr. Barahona-López and I will convene before the semester commences to outline specific research goals for an independent study. She acknowledges the substantial time commitment required for work, research, writing, and graduate school preparation. During this period, I will analyze and code the acquired data. By midterms, I anticipate revising and constructing a comprehensive paper, primed for presentation. As the semester concludes, Kati and I aim to have a presentation and poster prepared for submission to a sociology conference.