Research is an extremely broad term that describes the process of finding new information and contributing to the knowledge base of the topic in question. One thing about research that I discovered is that as broad as research is in terms of the fields that it can be done in, specific research projects can be extremely nuanced and require understanding of a great amount of detail. While some things about research may seem insurmountable or exceedingly difficult to understand, there is always a way to understand these topics. My largest piece of advice for undergraduate students that are intimidated by a particular research topic is to be open minded and to ask questions. Asking questions does not make a person seem “dumb,” but instead, shows that a person is willing to learn and is interested in the topic at hand. Being inquisitive is extremely valuable and best benefits students. Additionally, there is nothing wrong with asking a question on a topic that you are not familiar with. In fact, the person that is being asked (whether it be a professor, seasoned researcher, or an experienced graduate student) would be ecstatic that you care and are looking for more information on a topic that they are experts on. 

My understanding of research has definitely changed over the semester. For one, throughout the course of this project, I have seen the extent to which research evolves over time. In other words, the expectations that I had at the start of the project did not manifest exactly how I thought I would, in a good way. One example of this is the development of the parameters that I am examining for my research project. My research project is qualitative in nature and involves clinical data. I am studying patient-provider communication regarding gestational weight gain at initial prenatal care visits. I set some descriptors of various aspects of patient-provider communication, such as different topics/words used during the prenatal care visits (for instance, diet and weight) or even patient/provider tone. I carefully read transcripts of prenatal care visits and assigned various phrases throughout the transcript to the previously determined descriptors in order to gain an understanding of the frequency with which various obstetric care providers address certain topics. The initial list of parameters that I set with one of my peer researchers was changed numerous times as my peer researcher and I read the initial set of transcripts: this is because new scenarios were found. Every time the list of descriptors were changed, I would have to go back and ensure that each transcript was accurately coded for in terms of topics covered and communication styles used. This was definitely a major instance in which my research project evolved over time. 

Now that the CURF has come to an end, I plan to keep expanding on the work that I have done this semester and continue to evaluate transcripts for descriptors. I also plan to try and submit research abstracts to symposiums and conferences at Pitt as well as around the country. All in all, completing the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I am beyond grateful that I have had this opportunity. I am convinced that it will help me reach my goals. Thank you all for reading this post!