Project Opportunities
Discipline: Mathematics
Project Leader: Dr. Alexei Rybkin
E-mail: arybkin@alaska.edu
Description:
The UAF REU program allows undergraduate students to enrich their mathematical foundation through research. This eight-week long summer program strives to take in-school studies and apply them to real world aspects, creating a bridge from the classroom to everyday occurrences. Students within the program are encouraged to work with one another sharing their knowledge and learning together.
More information:
Discipline: Remote sensing and environmental science
Project Leader: Dr. Richard Collins
E-mail: rlcollins@alaska.edu
Description:
The lidar research program at the Geophysical Institute, http://www.gi.alaska.edu/splidar, has an undergraduate research assistantship available for a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The undergraduate research assistant will make lidar (laser radar) observations at the Lidar Research Laboratory at Poker Flat Research Range (LRL-PFRR) as part of a team of student and faculty researchers. These measurements are conducted in the evening and nighttime at LRL-PFRR. Transportation is provided. The position provides hands-on experience in laser science and engineering, remote sensing, and environmental sciences.
Discipline: Sociology
Project Leader: Dr. Kara Dillard
E-mail: kndillard@alaska.edu
Description:
How do citizens make decisions in a political system that is more and more exclusionary? This research situated in the broadly defined participatory democracy and deliberative democracy literatures, investigates the ways citizens talk when deliberating politically sensitive topics.
This project will empirically examine the role of the group leader/public issues facilitator in small, citizen-oriented public policymaking groups. We will look at the transcripts of 14 small group public deliberations and compare the types of talk, discursive strategies and moves facilitators use when managing difficult dialogues and how citizen-participants in those deliberations respond.
Students will learn how to draft an annotated bibliography, use academic literature to create a codebook for interpreting qualitative data, and critically read, evaluate, and code focus group transcripts. Students will also enter and manipulate data in a quantitative data program such as SPSS.
REQUIRED SKILLS:
- Taken at least one social science based research methods course (in any discipline, but preferably from the Sociology, Political Science, or Communication departments).
- Strong critical thinking and interpretative skills.
- Ability to work independently and in concert with faculty and other students.
- Knowledge of SPSS and/or Atlas.ti preferred, but not required.
- Qualitative research methodology coursework preferred, but not required.
REQUIRED TIME:
Approximately 1-10 hours/week each week of the semester. Student will meet with faculty for at least one hour each week to discuss project updates. The remaining work can be done at the student’s discretion.
ACADEMIC CREDIT:
Student should register for URSA F388 Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship I (2-6 credits). Possibility of independent study credit with Sociology department during Fall 2012 semester.