Linh Hoang

During the Spring of 2017, I joined Dr. Jeffrey Brown’s research team. I am part of the Ready to Learn project where we work with the YWCA in Mankato to help and improve their current program. As a team, we served as analytical support for the program. Prior to some changes we suggested, they suffered from an inconsistency of scores and lack of validity. While the study is ongoing, there has been a few things we have accomplished within the two years of me being on the project. We have created a policy procedure manual for the program was not in place previously. We are taking the different test scores the outreach workers recorded and digitalizing it. By doing so, the data is more organized and also makes it easier for us to run future statistical tests. Being on Dr. Brown’s research team has allowed me to complete Level 4 for Original Research and Levels 1-3 for Dissemination of results.

 

Last spring, I was able to present our research with my research partner, Quincey Krien, at both the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NASP) in Oklahoma and at the Undergraduate Research Symposium here at Minnesota State Mankato (Dissemination of results Level 1, 3). We were involved in the process, and it taught me a lot about the work that goes into presenting research at a conference. First, Quincy and I had drafted a grant proposal to have funding for our project. This involved a lot of back and forth between not only Quincy and me but also with Dr. Brown. There were specific requirements that went into the grant proposal, and if it did not meet them, our grant proposal would have been thrown out. Taking the information from our grant proposal, it was also what we used to plan our abstract for NASP (Dissemination of results level 2). Being able to present my research was a beneficial experience. One of the biggest things in which I learned was learning to communicate my findings with other people. In both conferences, there were people from many majors present. Thus, the information which I might have perceived as common knowledge for people within my major might not have been as easily understood by someone from a different major. It also put a lot of the knowledge I had regarding the study to the test. If someone had walked up to my poster and had asked a question, I had to plan a question on the spot using prior knowledge and the knowledge gained from my research project (Original Research level 4).

 

The skills I gained while I was on Dr. Brown’s team will be relevant as I continue to move forward. This experience taught me that with each different audience, there are adjustments that must be made to make sure they understand my research. When in the professional world, I might present to a wide range of people, and the ability to be flexible and adapt is important.

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Below is a link to the poster I presented: