I’ve been interested in Psychology
since high school, and I became interested in this project thanks to Dr.
Youmans. In order to gain more research experience, I became one of Dr.
Youman’s research assistants. In one of his weekly lab meetings, he suggested
that it would be a good idea for the undergraduates in the group to begin their
own research. I took his suggestion, and was explored current research in his
lab until I found a topic that interested me.
My study uses data, from a larger in
lab study, in an attempt to validate and examine differences between a
computerized and paper-based assessment of cognitive flexibility. On a weekly
basis, I improve my open source R-Studio statistical software skills, think of
ways of improving my experiment, and read papers relating to cognitive
flexibility. This week I discovered a better way of analyzing my data to
produce results that are more meaningful than my original correlation, and data
collection for the second part of my study will begin within the next two
weeks.
This project has helped me synthesize
massive amounts of information, and in doing so has helped me crystallize my
assertions. My long term goals include getting a job involving heuristic
evaluations of products, and being able to compile research will make my future
job much easier.
