Research Research Research!

Hello All! This past year I took my first night class at Lincoln Center. It was a really fun experience to take the ram van into Manhattan each week. I loved going into the city for a little bit and then heading to class. The class I took was urban psychology. Not only did I enjoy the material and the experience, but early in the course my professor, Dr. Takooshian, offered us a chance to do research with him about attitudes of Fordham students toward the University. Two girls in my class and I immediately claimed the opportunity!

In the following weeks we had meetings with Dr. Takooshian discussing our survey research. Through collaboration and discussion, my peers and I decided that we wanted to survey and compare each of Fordham's three campuses. We had a basic survey that had already been established and validated, but we added a few of our personal questions to help answer things we were curious about. After much work, we had our final survey!! The next step was distribution. We went around each campus asking for volunteers to take our questionnaire. We surveyed roughly 40 students from each campus, 20 being day students while the other half were evening students. This was the first time I had ever been to the Westchester Campus! It was such a great experience. As soon as we got there we were given a tour and had chairs and a table provided for us. Everyone was extremely nice and helpful. After a long few days of asking people to take surveys, we had finally collected all the data we needed. We then entered our data into SPSS, a statistical analysis program, with the help from Dr. Takooshian. We performed a few tests and manipulated the data to tell us about trends in attitudes toward other students, professors, facilities, among other things.

None of our work would have been possible without the help, guidance, and support from Dr. Takooshian. As if he had not done enough, he even gave us the opportunity to present our findings at the 38th Hunter Psychology Conference! We were the youngest researchers and the only ones that had never presented before. We practiced for days! We split everything into sections amongst the three of us. I was never so nervous, but once I was in front of the crowd it was great. Honestly, the presentation was the culmination of all of our hard work; it gave me such a sense of accomplishment. The research we did last semester was a great experience, but it was only a stepping stone toward further work. I plan on studying abroad this coming Spring and I have already discussed the option of continuing our work while abroad with Dr. Takooshian. Research was a really great learning experience that was a lot of hard work, but well worth the effort!