Project Mentor
Dr. Peter Chen
Department: Geography
Research Project Overview:
Food activities are key to human health. In this project, the SHARE apprentice is expected to assist with in-depth interviews to solicit people’s food activities and experiences in Hartford, CT. The interview participants will be asked about their regular food shopping trips, if there have been any changes to their store patronage in the past, and if so, for what reasons. Questions relating to human health and discomforting factors in food activities (e.g., implicit bias) will follow. About 30 interviews are expected, and each interview will be about 30 minutes by in-person meeting or online meeting. The SHARE apprentice will also learn and submit an IRB application, which is a requirement of human subject research.
The apprentice will have the opportunity to join an interdisciplinary team in geography and public health, and will work with both professors and Ph.D. students in these fields. As a result of the SHARE project, the apprentice is expected to develop his/her own research project using the collected data, present the project at the undergraduate research symposium, and potentially write a research article.
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
Research apprentice will help with recruiting potential participants in Hartford, conducting in-person or online interviews, transcribing the interviews, and cleaning/coding interview data. Through the experience, the apprentice will learn field study methods, interview skills, IRB applications, subject recruiting and compensation, and fundamental quantitative analyses (e.g., statistical analysis and GIS mapping).
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
The apprentice will commit about 1-2 hours to a bi-weekly online meeting during the summer.
There will also be about 1 week (6-8 hours daily) heavily devoted to field interviews. The interviews will take place near Hartford. This participation is not a requirement for the project – but it would be of great value for the student to gain hands-on research experience. Students without transportation or not living near Hartford in the summer are still encouraged to apply for this opportunity, where necessary accommodation (e.g., transportation, involvement in other parts of the project) will be made.
At other times, the research activities and communications will be online. It is expected that the average work load is about 5-7 hours per week or about 92 hours over the course of the summer.
Preferred Qualifications:
It is expected that the prospective student is interested in social science studies (including but not limited to sociology, geography, public health, politics, business, and psychology) and has an interest in a research career. Students with good communication skills and writing skills are preferred. Having experience with low-income groups and minority groups, such as having visited a food pantry or having lived in a minority neighborhood, is a plus.
To Apply:
The application is closed.