Students in a First Year Research Experience [FYRE] class, conducted group projects focused on “Communicating Research to public audiences”. Specifically, the projects examine how research opportunities have been impacted by the pandemic, and how to best leverage the online environment to create mutually beneficial relationships between researchers and the general public and to expand their outreach and ability to share their knowledge more widely with the rest of humanity. Our group interviewed faculty and staff from the Office of Admissions, the Farmer School of Business, and the University Libraries Office at Miami University. The interviews focused on the effects of virtual platforms and programming on their attempts to connect their communities with the research being conducted at Miami University. The interviews were then transcribed and annotated to find themes across the data, followed by constructing research narratives to summarize the opinions and experiences of participants. The data analysis revealed that there were many downsides of virtual platforms including the prevalent “Zoom fatigue,” a condition we are all-too-familiar with. To remedy this, a key solution participants offered was to individualize content, both with regards to interest and to schedule, such as offering a mixture of live and on-demand content. Involvement in this research project has proved relevant to our intended careers by showing us the challenges and possibilities of virtual communication in a COVID impacted environment.
Authors: Luke Lunday, Evan Gates, Jonathan Ackley
Faculty Advisor: Joyce Fernandes, Biology
Graduate Student Advisor: Ally Tamez, Educational Leadership
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