Middle Years Slump
Project Overview
A transdisciplinary team of undergraduates are in the process of studying the anecdotal evidence of a ‘slump’ in the sophomore/junior years of college. The IRB determined that this study’s findings will not be applicable outside of the Virginia Tech undergraduate body. A broad survey to measure burnout has been released and is accepting responses. During the Spring 2024 semester, the team hopes to analyze survey data and use that information to craft interview questions. The bulk of the semester will be spent conducting interviews and completing qualitative data analysis.
Objectives
- Complete data collection and analysis
- Draw a conclusion from the collected data
- Draft a conference paper discussing the slump
Major Tasks
The major tasks of the project are outlined below. These are nominal and are likely to change somewhat throughout the course of the year. These are meant to illustrate the general nature of the work that the position entails.
- Analyze survey data
- Create interview questions with survey results in mind
- Conduct at least 50 interviews
- Analyze interview answers
- Draft a paper
- Manage and report
Open Positions
Preferred Skills and Interests
- good communication, writing, and presentation skills
- literature research
- Social science
- Psychology
- Education, higher education
Preferred Academic Years
- Looking for first-year/Sophomore/Junior level students
Preferred Majors
- Education
- Human Development
- Psychology
- Engineering
How to Apply
This project is administered through the IDPro course in the ENGE department of Virginia Tech. Interested students should apply through the IDPRo interest form.
For more information on IDPro, please visit the IDPro website at – https://idproenge.wp.prod.es.cloud.vt.edu/
Please reach out to Dr. Gray (dagray3@vt.edu) if you have any questions or concerns.