Students in a First Year Research Experience (FYRE) class conducted group projects focused on communicating research to public audiences. The main focus of our study was to examine how research findings can be communicated within virtual environments, such as the one that has been imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the research questions we asked: How has ongoing research at Miami University been impacted by COVID-19, and how is research being communicated in online platforms because of it? This qualitative study was done by interviewing six faculty members leading research labs and three graduate students assisting in these labs. These interviews’ audio transcriptions were annotated for similar themes in both the positive effects, negative issues, and solutions to negative effects the faculty members and graduate students have encountered throughout the pandemic and their transition to conducting research in a virtual environment. The primary results of this study concluded that faculty members should focus on more specific areas of their labs, rather than spreading themselves too thin with their time and resources given these new, virtual environments. It’s been most beneficial to focus on the work of the graduate students rather than the lab’s work as a whole. Research presentations must also be adapted to grab the attention of the audience and be accustomed to wider audiences. Graduate students can make the best out of their time in these virtual environments by attending as many events as possible and by contacting other attendees afterwards to still build their network.These findings are beneficial to our future careers as we consider involvement in research, as they show how to adapt to challenging circumstances and how to design research experiments to receive the best, most accurate responses. Additionally, these findings are relevant for all students to consider effective ways of communicating with others across multiple disciplines in online environments.
Authors: Taylor Neff, Sophia Ogot, Avery Walton
Faculty Advisor: Joyce Fernandes, Biology
Graduate Student Advisor: Ally Tamez, Educational Leadership
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