After obtaining bachelor’s degrees in both Mathematics and Mathematics Education, I plan to further my education by obtaining a master’s degree in Mathematics. I also plan to continue to find research opportunities in efforts to expand my knowledge. I plan to be able to use the degrees and research opportunities to build a strong career in a Mathematics oriented field.

Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science
http://nia.ecsu.edu/ureomps2010/
Elizabeth City State University
Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909

Dalesha Cartman, Marvin Elder (Members)
Dr. Yolanda McMillian (Mentor)
[Team Web Page]

The Results of Data Collected from Surveys to Predict the Effectiveness of Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science Program (2009) and Virtual Conferences (2010)

Abstract

The Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science (URE OMPS) program is set up to promote the professional development of undergraduate students through their participation in ocean, marine and polar science research. Each student was assigned to a specific research team, where they worked closely with the assigned faculty.

An additional component of the program was the opportunity for students to participate in virtual seminars. These seminars allowed the students to become more familiar with topics such as global warming and ice sheets, and it also allowed students to interact with the nation’s most prominent scientists.

The primary focus of the research project was threefold. First, research was conducted on the role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). During the research of the IRB, mock IRB approval applications were submitted for review. These actions had to be taken before any research could begin.

Second, the focus of the research project was to assess the hypothesized success of both the URE OMPS program and the virtual seminars through a comprehensive data analysis of questionnaire responses using experimental statistics.

Third, the design of experimental questionnaires was explored. Demographic, Likert Scale, open- and closed-ended survey questions were all used for questionnaires that were administered after the virtual seminars. Calculations of the statistical measures were done using the two sample test for observational data using the statistical software packages Excel-StatPlus and Minitab.