Before coming to Minnesota State University, Mankato and joining the Honors Program, I was very intimidated by the word ‘research.’ I believe this fear was fueled by not truly knowing and understanding the concept of research due to a lack of exposure and experience. When I discovered the Honors Program wanted me to eventually perform my own research, I was overwhelmed and apprehensive for I didn’t know how this would be possible. However, by being exposed to research through several experiences and learning that it can take many different forms, my fear slowly diminished. I have grown to appreciate and enjoy the research process and will apply what I have learned to continue utilizing and performing evidence-based research while in physical therapy school and as a professional.
My research journey started with a composition course in which I had to write anargumentative research paper on a topic of my choice. Preparing and composing this paper required learning how to access, organize, and utilize the work of others in an effective and ethical manner. I developed my own strategies to evaluate and synthesize information efficiently, such as taking notes on the main message of each article and its stance on the topic, to reach my final goal of raising awareness through evidence and my own experiences and beliefs. I learned this is not always an easy process, for an abundant amount of information exists, especially on the Internet, and it can be difficult to decide which sources are best to implement in order to reach one’s conclusions. This experience created a strong understanding and foundation of information literacy and synthesis that would significantly help me during my future research encounters.
Since my emphasis of study requires science-heavy prerequisites, I had the opportunity to be immersed in research through performing different laboratory experiences. In one biology course, I studied and composed lab reports on two different topics: osmosis and genetically modified organisms. Because these are scientific papers that involved an experiment, I had to formulate a concise, well-written hypothesis based on the scholarly work of others. This required practicing my information synthesis skills to ensure my hypothesis was established with sound evidence and reasoning. Through this experience I learned that failure is often a component of research, for there were times procedures had to be repeated due to human error or the results of a test were not as originally predicted. Although this can be frustrating at times, I realized the importance of honesty and integrity when conducting research, which was a valuable lesson to learn for subsequent research projects.
After having grown in my skills of gathering reliable sources and implementing them into my own projects, I began to further develop my research competence by conducting my own original “miniature” study. I completed this project in a biology course in which we were to design our own case study and use proper experimental procedures to gather data and analyze results. I worked with a partner to investigate the energy levels of individuals exercising at the gym at two different times of the day. Planning our experiment consisted of a lot of brainstorming and creativity to form the materials and methods component, which helped signify the importance of being prepared and organized in order to conduct successful research. Although the results of the study were inconclusive, it was a great first field experience that increased my knowledge of research and understanding of what this process looks like in practice.
Finally, I continued to grow in this competency by conducting my own original research project titled: “The Fear of Falling and Restriction of Activity in Older Adults.” This study consisted of both a questionnaire and in-person interview to assess older adults fear of falling and whether (and even how) this leads to the restriction of activities. Because of my interest in physical rehabilitation, I decided this would be an intriguing topic to investigate since many older adults experience falling and the complications, such as broken bones, that can result. There was a great amount of hard work put into planning the project and recruiting participants, and the most fun and exciting part of this research experience for me was collecting the data and getting to talk to the older adults about a topic in which I was deeply invested. Although there were several instances where conversations got off track and more time than expected was spent on collecting the data, I learned so much about the research process and how rewarding it can be to have results on a project that demanded a lot of time and effort. To share my findings, I gave an oral presentation at the local Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) in which I realized the significance of communicating results to increase awareness and knowledge of a particular topic. Completing this project and presenting it to others solidified my knowledge and comprehension of research and how important it is to the advancement of society.
I am thankful for the experiences that have helped me understand and appreciate the concept of research. I learned many lessons along the way and have seen significant growth in who I am as a researcher and contributor to new knowledge. I believe these were all great experiences to kick start my research journey, and I am excited to see what other research I become involved in during my time as a graduate student at the University of South Dakota and a professional in the field of physical therapy.