Student Research Assistants Research Articles

The Language Science Station at Planet Word: a language research and engagement laboratory at a language museum

Abstract The Language Science Station (LSS) is a research and engagement laboratory operating at the Planet Word museum in Washington, DC, representing a unique partnership between language researchers and a museum dedicated to language. The LSS invites Planet Word guests – ranging from local to international visitors – to participate in research studies and engage in educational activities with student language scientists from diverse academic backgrounds. In doing so, we broaden participation in the language sciences among both the researchers and the participant population. This paper outlines the goals, values, and structure of the LSS, highlighting our dual emphases on research and engagement. We focus on several aspects of the project. These include our novel multi-university researcher-museum partnership, the different considerations that we find are necessary for conducting research in a museum setting compared to the laboratory, and our training of researchers and student research assistants. The paper also provides reflections from students on their interactions with museum visitors. We share our experiences with the broader scholarly community in an effort to lower barriers for other behavioral scientists interested in combining research and engagement in public venues.

Students-as-partner experience

This article offers a case study of a student-faculty partnership. Focusing on the perspectives of two student research assistants and a faculty member, the authors utilize current literature on student-faculty partnerships to support their perspectives. This case study adds to the body of research suggesting student-faculty partnerships enrich and mutually benefit those involved. This article explores the working partnership of the consultation team and their work as part of a large collaborative project amongst post-secondary institutions and community-based organizations. Over the course of 3 years, success was evidenced by the outcomes of this project. The team has led workshops on the subject matter, and, additionally, contributed to the co-creation of a workbook/e-course on mitigating vicarious trauma for English language learning teachers. The research team published two subject-related articles. This article explores the facets that impacted the quality of the partnership.

What matters to graduate students? Experiences at a statistical consulting center from pre‐ to post‐COVID‐19 pandemic

The COVID‐19 pandemic led to unprecedented changes in all levels of society, including the statistical consulting field. This paper focuses on the experiences of graduate student consultants and clients at our statistical consulting center (SCC) that operates all year independent of semesters. During the lockdown period, work continued without interruption and was conducted remotely, but there was a temporary reduction in utilization. Advice on statistical methods, help with data analysis and educational offerings are the main appeals to utilize SCC services. We describe our mentoring approach for graduate student research assistants (RAs) and how pandemic changes affected RAs and clients. Based on experiences during the pandemic, we offer practical suggestions for SCCs' approaches to research support, work characteristics and collaborations to improve the experiences of graduate students, both as consultants and clients. Most collaboration meetings are now virtual by request from clients. Telecommuting supports flexible personal schedules and needs. Online educational offerings provide easier access for participants and more opportunities for a wider range of topics and presenters. However, mentoring sessions for RAs are best conducted in‐person, and every effort should be made to encourage in‐person interactions and collaborations between staff members to advance the effectiveness of post‐pandemic SCCs.

A MODEL FOR DISSEMINATING EVIDENCE-BASED RESIDENT-TO-RESIDENT AGGRESSION INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

Abstract In elder mistreatment research, a key problem is the failure to disseminate interventions to broad audiences. This gap prevents most interventions from benefitting victims and improving their quality of life. Interventions are often not disseminated because of a lack funding, staffing, and support from provider organizations. We report on a novel, low-cost dissemination model to circumvent these barriers and expand program reach. The program, Improving Resident Relationships in Long Term Care (IRRL), trains staff to recognize resident-to-resident aggression (RRA) and to learn how to manage it. The training consists of two sessions, (1) recognition and (2) management. A dissemination model was created that included systematic marketing, outreach, and organizational sponsorship. We describe the model, which is replicable for a variety of dissemination efforts: 1) creating an easily accessible manual, supporting documents, and evaluation materials; 2) designing a user-friendly website for distribution; 3) identifying provider associations for program marketing; 4) developing partnerships with LTC organizations for dissemination; 5) providing national informational webinars; 6) offering webinar participants subsequent train-the-trainer sessions and coaching. This plan is feasible with limited expenditures and can be accomplished via the use of student research assistants. Using this model, the IRRL program has gained organizational support and has employed web-based training to reach over 300 providers. The dissemination of the IRRL program offers a potential method for intervention delivery with limited funding. Implications for future dissemination research are discussed.

Engaging reference student assistants through a community of practice: A case study

Within library and academic spaces, communities of practice are employed to cultivate professional and academic skills, develop professional identities, and provide a supportive community. Using the example of a small cohort of student research assistants at a mid-sized public comprehensive university, this paper reflects on the intersections of communities of practice and peer-learning and discusses strategies for cultivating a community of practice with student assistants providing peer research support. This paper further explores student employment in academic libraries as a High Impact Practice with an emphasis on using the community of practice to integrate the characteristics of High Impact Practices into a student employment program.

RE-EXAMINING PATIENT-CENTERED CARE THROUGH DESIGN PROCESS

Abstract Service design is the adoption of design process to healthcare and other service sectors. This was a transdisciplinary research project in which investigators were faculty members from Graphic Design and Health Administration. In addition, two student research assistants were recruited from undergraduate Graphic Design and Health Science majors. The objective of service design is to involve consumers, designers, and businesspeople in an integrative process, which can be applied to post-acute rehabilitation hospital settings focusing specifically on the experience of those who are 65 and older. The aim of this pilot study was to explore “designing with people rather than just for them”, an approach to improve the patient experience. Our first step involved on-site interviews. The patient narratives raised challenges and positive aspects of their interactions with the facility. On our initial site visit, we interviewed five members of clinicians and administrative staff. During the two follow-up visits, our student research assistants interviewed seven patients. Based on our staff member interview findings, we developed a revised set of questions for patients. The questionnaire was divided into three sections related to appointments: pre-arrival, during the visit, and after their appointments. Interview results were summarized in a visual data format and collaborative recommendations were made during the final presentation such as interior layout, wayfinding, online portal and their functionalities. Our findings also confirmed that the interior signage created confusion, promoting frequent questions to staff. These results will engage stakeholders and contribute to a co-designing process that will ultimately improve the patient journey.

Building on Community Research Partnerships and Training Students in a Multi-Phase Community-Based Participatory Research Study With Young Women of Cambodian Heritage in Massachusetts.

Refugees bring significant economic and cultural benefits to communities and yet face elevated risk of chronic disease and barriers to good health in the U.S. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) can benefit refugee communities and provide training/mentoring opportunities for students. The Cambodian Women's Health Study was a four-phase, multi-year CBPR university-community collaboration with the Massachusetts Cambodian community that focused on health, nutrition, pregnancy, and food security among primarily young women of Cambodian heritage ages 15-30 years old. Phase 1 was a focus group discussion (FGD, n = 4) and cross-sectional survey (n = 56) with pregnant women. Phase 2 was a cross-sectional survey (n = 107) with nonpregnant women. Phase 3 was a series of FGD (seven FGD, n = 38) with women. Phase 4 was a student-led translational nutrition intervention (three classes) with women (n = 11) and men (n = 10). The study design included compensation and support for the community partner and included structured mentoring of students (six graduates, eight undergraduates) in CBPR methods, adult learning, and cultural humility. Benefits to the community agency included enhanced research capacity, including supervising student research assistants, and robust compensation. Benefits to students included intensive mentoring and training. Successes included cost-effectiveness and strong recruitment and experiences with participants. Challenges included issues with student-led recruitment and organization that required additional mentoring and reflection. To work toward socially just and equitable research and interventions, CBPR collaborative efforts should include intentional meaningful compensation and community capacity-building as well as structured mentoring and training for student researchers and should build on existing work and relationships within communities.

The Misalignment of the FT50 with the Achievement of the UN’s SDGs: A Call for Responsible Research Assessment by Business Schools

Publication in the list of 50 journals endorsed by the Financial Times (i.e., the FT50) has become ‘institutionalized’ as a primary measure of research quality and prestige by business schools and faculty. This study investigated the extent to which this closed publication system is (mis)aligned with societal imperatives, in particular the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research methods included both inductive and deductive analysis. Undergraduate and graduate student research assistants, enrolled in business-related programs, read all 4522 articles published by FT50 journals in 2019 and assessed their relevance to explicit and implicit concepts in the SDG framework. Additionally, potential biases that might stifle research innovation in support of the SDGs were explored. Findings included that 90% of articles were found to have no ‘explicit’ relationship to the SDGs, while only 17% were interpreted as having an implicit relationship. SDG-related articles were disproportionately from one journal-the Journal of Business Ethics (48.1%). There was also an over-representation of observed white male primary authors, who used North American (NA) data sets from NA institutions. A logistic regression model determined that the predicted probability of an SDG-related article increased with observed female primary authors, who used non-NA data sets and institutions. The next steps include comparing this methodological approach with machine learning techniques to find a more efficient and robust method for analyzing an article’s SDG content. Business Schools with sustainability as a core value are encouraged to move beyond FT50 publications for assessing research quality, including for tenure and promotion purposes, and place more focus on assessing research relevance and impact.

Gluteal muscle fatty infiltration, fall risk, and mobility limitation in older women with urinary incontinence: a pilot study.

Gluteal muscle quality influences risk of falling and mobility limitation. We sought (1) to compare gluteal muscle fatty infiltration (FI) between groups of older women with urinary incontinence (UI) at risk for falling (at-risk group) and not at risk for falling (not-at-risk group), and (2) to determine correlation of gluteal FI with Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) performance. Prospective pilot study of gluteal FI on pelvis MRI for 19 women with UI, aged ≥ 70years. A musculoskeletal radiologist selected axial T1-weighted MR images; then, two blinded medical student research assistants analyzed gluteal FI by quantitative fuzzy C-means segmentation. TUG and SPPB tests were performed. TUG ≥ 12s defined participants as at risk for falling. Descriptive, correlation, and reliability analyses were performed. Mean age, 76.3 ± 4.8years; no difference for age or body mass index (BMI) between the at-risk (n = 5) versus not-at-risk (n = 14) groups. SPPB score (p = 0.013) was lower for the at-risk group (6.4 ± 3.1) than for the not-at-risk group (10.2 ± 1.9). Fuzzy C-means FI-%-estimate differed between the at-risk group and the not-at-risk group for bilateral gluteus medius/minimus (33.2% ± 15.6% versus 19.5% ± 4.1%, p = 0.037) and bilateral gluteus maximus (33.6% ± 15.6% versus 19.7% ± 6.9%, p = 0.047). Fuzzy C-means FI-%-estimate for bilateral gluteus maximus had significant (p < 0.050) moderate correlation with age (rho = - 0.64), BMI (rho = 0.65), and TUG performance (rho = 0.52). Fuzzy C-means FI-%-estimates showed excellent inter-observer and intra-observer reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ≥ 0.892). Older women with UI at risk for falling have greater levels of gluteal FI and mobility limitation as compared to those not at risk for falling.

Development of a translation device for axiological-semantic density in political news articles: wording and charging

Abstract The concept of axiological-semantic density from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) is extremely helpful in analysing political knowledge-building, as it describes the strength of relations between various people, political stances and moral judgements, enabling these to be positioned in relation to each other. We present a multi-level translation device designed to identify strengths of axiological-semantic density in political news articles from the Daily Sun, South Africa’s most popular tabloid newspaper. This translation device was devised through analysis of selected texts from a corpus of 516 articles published between January and June 2015. It was developed through a collaborative process involving the first author and a team of student research assistants. The final translation device has five tools, of which two, the wording and charging tools, are described in this article, and then illustrated using an example analysis of a Daily Sun political news article. Both tools reveal insights into South African political discourses and ways in which axiological-semantic density can be enacted in future research. Making axiological-semantic density visible using such a translation device also has practical applications in assisting readers to understand the ways in which publications such as the Daily Sun position political parties, enabling them to engage more constructively in discussions on the country’s future.

Falling Through the Cracks: Graduate Students’ Experiences of Mentoring Absence

Theory about how mentorship is supposed to work, its goals, and what “makes it work” is abundant. It is rarer to encounter empirical information about processes and implications when mentoring is a problem. Graduate students experience significant psychological, physical, financial, and relational challenges and likely have expectations about the ameliorating effects of mentorship. Limited qualitative literature has described graduate students’ perceptions about problems with mentorship and students’ outcomes. The descriptive qualitative study used secondary analysis to describe students’ perceptions of problematic mentorship. Graduate student research assistants conducted 12 recorded focus group interviews and transcribed them. The authors used inductive content analysis to develop themes. Fifty-four participants were recruited, including masters’ (n=19), PhD (n=34), and a graduate student not enrolled in a specific faculty (n=1). The students represented multiple disciplines. The major theme identified was “falling through the cracks.” The subthemes included missing mentorship, students’ difficulties accessing mentorship, university structures undermining mentoring, and damage to mentees. Falling through the cracks highlights students’ struggles with accessing mentorship, effects of missing mentorship, and students’ solutions for modifying structural features that inhibit mentoring. Quantitative work could compare psychological outcomes associated with present and missing mentoring.

Feasibility and acceptability of monitoring personal air pollution exposure with sensors for asthma self-management

BackgroundExposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases the risk of asthma exacerbations, and thus, monitoring personal exposure to PM2.5 may aid in disease self-management. Low-cost, portable air pollution sensors offer a convenient way to measure personal pollution exposure directly and may improve personalized monitoring compared with traditional methods that rely on stationary monitoring stations. We aimed to understand whether adults with asthma would be willing to use personal sensors to monitor their exposure to air pollution and to assess the feasibility of using sensors to measure real-time PM2.5 exposure.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 adults with asthma to understand their willingness to use a personal pollution sensor and their privacy preferences with regard to sensor data. Student research assistants used HabitatMap AirBeam devices to take PM2.5 measurements at 1-s intervals while walking in Philadelphia neighborhoods in May–August 2018. AirBeam PM2.5 measurements were compared to concurrent measurements taken by three nearby regulatory monitors.ResultsAll interview participants stated that they would use a personal air pollution sensor, though the consensus was that devices should be small (watch- or palm-sized) and light. Patients were generally unconcerned about privacy or sharing their GPS location, with only two stating they would not share their GPS location under any circumstances. PM2.5 measurements were taken using AirBeam sensors on 34 walks that extended through five Philadelphia neighborhoods. The range of sensor PM2.5 measurements was 0.6–97.6 μg/mL (mean 6.8 μg/mL), compared to 0–22.6 μg/mL (mean 9.0 μg/mL) measured by nearby regulatory monitors. Compared to stationary measurements, which were only available as 1-h integrated averages at discrete monitoring sites, sensor measurements permitted characterization of fine-scale fluctuations in PM2.5 levels over time and space.ConclusionsPatients were generally interested in using sensors to monitor their personal exposure to PM2.5 and willing to share personal sensor data with health care providers and researchers. Compared to traditional methods of personal exposure assessment, sensors captured personalized air quality information at higher spatiotemporal resolution. Improvements to currently available sensors, including more reliable Bluetooth connectivity, increased portability, and longer battery life would facilitate their use in a general patient population.

Using a hybrid card sorting-affinity diagramming method to teach content analysis

In this teaching experience report, we describe a research experience for undergraduates (REUs) designed to cognitively support the work of two student research assistants (RAs) from a two-year college (2YC) on a funded project that involved analyzing user-generated content for an mHealth app. First, we suggest partnerships between two- and four-year institutions as a move toward REU equity because students from 2YCs are not typically afforded these opportunities. We then review the role of research in undergraduate learning and posit the importance of scaffolding to sequence cognitive leaps. Finally, we present the cognitive scaffolding we created and connect it to our hybrid card sorting-affinity diagramming content analysis method.

Patient Perspectives of Rural Kansas Maternity Care.

IntroductionPregnant women in rural areas face a unique set of challenges due to geographic maldistribution of obstetric services. The perspectives of rural Kansas women were sought regarding experience of birth and satisfaction with maternity care.MethodsMedical student research assistants facilitated discussion groups and structured interviews in rural Kansas communities distributed throughout the state with women who had an uncomplicated delivery in the last 24 months. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling from clinic medical records and appointments over a two-to-three-week period. Guiding questions were used to facilitate discussion. Survey instruments were used to gather information about satisfaction with maternity care. Data for qualitative and quantitative analysis was aggregated using Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes.ResultsFourteen groups with 47 total participants completed the survey and discussion. Participants came from large rural, small rural, and isolated areas in Kansas as described by RUCA Code Four Category Classification. Survey results indicated that satisfaction with maternity care in participants’ home county was significantly higher in small rural and isolated compared to large Rural RUCAs. Qualitative analysis results showed positive experiences related to doctor characteristics, relationship with doctor, doctor’s involvement with care, alternative labor options, and distance convenience. Negative experiences were related to doctor bedside manner, doctor not there until delivery, and staff related complaints.ConclusionsKansas women in small rural and isolated RUCA codes appeared to be more satisfied with care.

Patient Perspectives of Rural Kansas Maternity Care

Introduction. Pregnant women in rural areas face a unique set of challenges due to geographic maldistribution of obstetric services. The perspectives of rural Kansas women were sought regarding experience of birth and satisfaction with maternity care. Methods. Medical student research assistants facilitated discussion groups in rural Kansas communities with women who had given birth in the last 24 months. Guiding questions were used to facilitate discussion. Survey instruments were used to gather information about satisfaction with maternity care. Data for qualitative and quantitative analysis was aggregated using Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes. Results. 14 groups with 47 total participants completed the survey and discussion. Participants were representative of a variety of Large Rural, Small Rural, and Isolated areas in Kansas as described by RUCA Code Four Category Classification. Survey results indicate that satisfaction with maternity care in participants’ home county was significantly higher in Small Rural and Isolated compared to Large Rural RUCA. Qualitative analysis results show positive experiences related to: doctor characteristics, relationship with doctor, doctor’s involvement with care, alternative labor options, and distance convenience. Negative experiences were related to: doctor bedside manner, doctor not there until delivery, and staff related complaints. Conclusions. Women in Small Rural and Isolated RUCA codes appear to be more satisfied with care contrary to previous study findings.

Reference Revamp: A 1-2 Model for Training and Tiered Services

The UCLA Science Libraries improved upon our single service points by creating a team-based, tiered research assistance model to foster student employee skill development. This model was further developed to expand training for public services staff, enabling librarians and student research assistants to move beyond desk-based services. This multi-phased approach involved restructured training and the development of collaborative, tiered services. Librarians utilized train-the-trainer sessions, detailed documentation toolkits, and a robust outreach plan to ensure success. After initial implementation of this new model, librarians observed above average use of the service and excellent user feedback. Its versatility has also played a direct role in the successful transition from physical to virtual services in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The open page: A case study of partnership as open pedagogy

This case study draws on the concept of open pedagogy (Paquette, 1979; DeRosa &amp; Jhangiani, 2018) to frame a student-faculty partnership project focused on creating videos about education technology. Four student research assistants were full partners and creators within this project, developing models and parameters for future contributions by both faculty members and fellow students. All partners contributed as creators, collaborators, and coordinators for aspects of the project. The case study explores how open pedagogy can be a meaningful foundation for Students-as-Partners (SaP) collaborations.

Conducting Research in Non-Traditional Settings: Research Assistant Experiences in a Gay Bathhouse

Research conducted in traditional and non-traditional settings remains essential to understanding behaviors and attitudes among diverse populations. The effective preparation of research assistants is essential in order to conduct ethical research and ensure safety for the participants and those conducting the research. One such example pertains to examining the behavior of men who have sex with men (e.g., gay, bisexual, other MSM) within bathhouse settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among six graduate students and alumni examining their overall interest in conducting research as well as their thoughts and feelings prior to, during, and after collecting data at a gay male bathhouse, and the overall impact upon their professional growth and development. Thematic findings centered around conducting research within a bathhouse setting, navigating personal feelings and reactions, and strengthening connections between personal and professional selves, among others. Implications for effectively training and preparing student research assistants to conduct data collection with unique and non-traditional settings will be examined.

84 Students Get Involved: A Novel Approach to Process Improvement Evaluation in Acute Care

Our objective is to describe a model for process improvement evaluation that utilizes trained undergraduate student research assistants to collect provider-patient encounter data in the acute care environment. Process evaluation is imperative when making changes in a complex environment. This is especially true when the overall goal is to improve process efficiency and outcomes for critically ill and injured patients. The department of emergency medicine at the University of New Mexico uses an iterative approach to evaluate protocol changes in its Emergency Department Resuscitation Unit (EDRU), a nine-bed acute care unit internal to our emergency department. The collection of provider-patient encounter data by our student research assistants provides department leadership with evidence for assessing implementation problems and evaluating outcomes for protocol and practice changes. As part of a multi-semester course entitled Research in Acute Care, students collect data on provider-patient encounters in the EDRU on a secure electronic tool. Findings from the data collection are compiled and regularly presented to a workgroup of EM clinical faculty who in turn make recommendations on protocol revisions and continued education and training for personnel in the EDRU. In 2018, student research assistants spent over 1500 hours in the EDRU. This resulted in the collection of data on 1327 provider-patient encounters, including 26 instances of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), 418 of high acuity trauma, 112 strokes, and 164 cases of sepsis. During this same time period, the workgroup met 9 times to review findings from this and other data collections. The program has resulted in recommendations for additional training activities, identification and solutions for protocol related tools and missing equipment in the EDRU, and the identification of areas for research on patient-provider encounters. Our dynamic program is capable of meeting many of the department’s process improvement data gathering needs. The program provides invaluable experience in emergency medicine to future health care professionals through clinical environment exposure and first-hand experience in quality improvement research. We will continue to adapt our data collection program as existing protocols are revised and new protocols are implemented. We hope to expand our program and its data collection capabilities through increasing student coverage in the EDRU and possibly expanding to other units in the emergency department.

Revisiting the Correct Information Unit: Measuring Informativeness in Unstructured Conversations in People With Aphasia.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether the correct information unit (CIU) can be reliably applied to unstructured conversational discourse in people with aphasia (PWA). The CIU was developed by Nicholas and Brookshire (1993) to measure word-level informativeness in structured monologue-level discourse and is widely used by clinicians and researchers for this purpose. A case study (Oelschlaeger & Thorne, 1999) investigating the use of the CIU in conversation has suggested potential issues with interrater reliability (IRR), which has discouraged application of the CIU to this discourse context. However, no further research has been conducted to replicate or extend this finding. Given a clinical and research need for reliable linguistic measures appropriate for use in unstructured conversation, revisiting the reliability, stability, and suitability of the CIU is indicated. Method The CIU protocol developed by Nicholas and Brookshire (1993) was modified according to the needs of conversational discourse, resulting in the CIU in conversation (CIUconv) protocol. Two speech-language pathology graduate student research assistants completed training on use of the CIUconv with the 1st author. Sixteen conversations held by 8 PWA (i.e., 2 conversations each) were used as language samples to determine IRR of percent CIU (%CIU) in conversation through use of the CIUconv. Test-retest stability of %CIU as applied per this protocol was then assessed across the 2 conversations collected for each PWA. Results Use of the CIUconv resulted in excellent IRR of %CIU for each research assistant and the 1st author. Likewise, test-retest stability for the measure was excellent. Results were evaluated at both the group and individual levels. Conclusions %CIU demonstrated excellent interrater and test-retest reliability when applied to unstructured conversation using the CIUconv procedure, which was developed to account for expected linguistic characteristics of conversation. These findings suggest that %CIU may be a feasible, reliable measure of informativeness in unstructured conversation in PWA when the CIUconv is used by trained raters.