CHAPTER 2-THE WORK
12-12-2022
THE CONVERSATION ON DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH
Having the chance to create your research has a significant number of advantages. The essential value of having your analysis is that you have a general interest in the topic that you are studying. Additionally, creating your design will be handy when applying for elite programs and internships. However, all that greatness only happens with the intense work we have to do behind the scenes. After figuring out the topic we want to study, the next step is to bring our ideas to life. We accomplish this by looking at previous articles and journals. When looking at reports and journals, we see how authors and researchers designed their studies. Looking at peer-reviewed documents is helpful, especially when you have a topic with limited articles and a small number of studies. That is the case when planning to create my fundamental research design. I mentioned in my last article that it took a lot of work to find someone as my McNair advisor who is familiar with understanding how music can affect human psychological emotions. After looking at reports and journals for my annotated bibliography, I understood that my topic would be more demanding than I initially thought. Luckily, I am fortunate enough to have someone like Dr. Jeffery Goodman, the department chair and professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC), to assist me with the study.
PICTURE OF DR. JEFFREY GOODMAN, DEPARTMENT CHAIR AND PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE. UWEC photo
When meeting with Dr. Goodman, I continue to gain more knowledge on how I can analyze the relationship between psychology and music. Specifically, one idea that we are currently looking into is exploring how music videos with activism-based messages affect humans' psychological emotions. So far, we plan to divide our research into two parts. The first part of the research will compare how patients react when watching a video that focuses on being against the Vietnam War and speaking out against racism. The second part of the research will display how patients would react when watching two music videos that focus on combating racism. The questions that Dr. Goodman and I plan to use are still in the works as we sketch out the details we want to add to our analysis.
THE APPLICATION SKILLS I NEED FOR RESEARCH
As I mentioned in the previous article, I am currently studying neuroscience with a minor in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC). The UWEC requires all psychology major and minor students to take a course called "Methods of Research in Psychology (PSYCH 271)." The objective of this course is easy to understand due to the self-expatiation of the class title. In PSYCH 271, students learn new skills and techniques for designing research studies. Dr. Christine Calderon Vriesema is one of the psychology professors at UWEC that teaches PSYCH 271.
PICTURE OF DR. CHRISTINE CALDERON VRIESEMA, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE. UWEC photo
Not only do I get the pleasure of having Dr. Calderon Vriesema as my professor for PSYCH 271, but I also get to have a connection with a professor that also did the Ronald E. McNair program when she was an undergraduate student. Having Dr. Calderon Vriesema as an additional resource for the McNair program will help me in numerous ways. I get the opportunity to increase my knowledge of how to conduct research in psychology by taking PSYCH 271. Not only did I get to increase my knowledge in analytical studies, but I also had the opportunity to apply the skills in a real-life application setting. Throughout the fall semester of 2022, my group and I did some observational fieldwork for our research project. Having the experience of doing variations of research helps me understand the tasks that I need to be aware of when I do my analytical studies for the McNair program. Furthermore, I must have a sufficient understanding of the technical concepts of research as these are the exact skills that Dr. Goodman and I will use regarding our studies on the psychological effects of activism-based music videos.