Chapter 6: Research & Assessment
Definition:
Utilizing research and data to better understand and explain the world around you.
Introduction (Why is it important?):
These skills help you to better understand and explain the world around you.
Learning Objectives
Understand the five sub sets of research and data assessment. The five sub sets of research and data assessment are:
Master key concepts related to research and assessment.
Participate in the collection of data related to research or assessment.
Participate in the analysis of data related to research or assessment.
Summarize, report and/or present your research or assessment.
Skills Development:
While working on campus, you will learn that confidentiality is extremely important. This is a strong skill to learn for any career path. Being able to keep information secure and private is a valuable learning experience. FERPA and HIPAA (health care fields) are two of the most common legislative acts around confidentiality, privacy and security.
Ethics are basically guidelines/rules/ for your moral compass on decision making, in regards to individual or group behavior, etc. Therefore, ethics can be found everywhere! While in school and working on campus, you may find yourself with ethical decisions to make. This can be anywhere from plagiarism, academic integrity, data management while at work, confidentiality, and much more. There are many ethical decision making models out there – speak to your supervisor and/or professors to learn more when you are faced with making an ethical decision.
Many on-campus student positions will involve conducting internet searches and data entry. You may be handling confidential student information or research with a professor. All of these things involve ethics and research practices. What expectations does your supervisor have for you when handling this kind of information? Being able to ????????
Organizational abilities with data is important! You must be organized and efficient in dealing with any data sets – especially numbers. This is where most people make mistakes – by transcribing numbers incorrectly. Make sure you develop a system that keeps you accurate and on point!
Taking a class on computer skills is important. We often think we know it all with technology because we have always used it and we know how to “google” anything! But, learning how to work Excel and Access can save you lots of time and energy when working in research and on the job! UNM offers many classes to help you with these tools. Consider taking one – or asking your supervisor for more training.
With every job – there comes problems. From assisting guests/students to finding a mistake in a grant, student employees are often tasked with researching the issue and helping to solve a complex problem. We often get flustered when faced with a problem…but don’t get flustered- seek assistance with the problem. If it is something that requires thought – then do just that…think it through. Here are some basic steps for thinking through a problem:
- Write the problem down? What exactly are you troubled about?
- What options do you have? Brainstorm them out! You may want to consult at this time with a co-worker of your supervisor for assistance.
- Evaluate those options. This sometimes is the pro- and con- list that you make. Some can do it in their heads - others may need to write them out!
- Who will this effect? Who are the stakeholders for this solution?
- Select the "best option". What can you do?
So, how does this relate to your student employment job?
Here is an example from student employee jobs here on campus:
| Student Job on Campus | Research and Assessment Skills Developed |
|---|---|
| Career Services – Graphic Design student position | Students will explore how we market and attract others through our graphic designs. Using information gathered through our surveys, we can look at how we are effectively advertising/marketing our workshops, services and events. |
Here are how your academic classes can also help you learn effective professionalism skills:
| Classes | Research and Assessment Skills Developed |
|---|---|
| Eng 110, 112, 113 and 120 | Writing, researching, interviewing and reporting – all of these are developed through the class assignments. |
| Math 121, 129, 145 | Learning to understand numbers and their relationships. Writing reports and gathering information through data. |
| UHON 202 (Math in the World) | Understanding mathematical reasoning – systems of numbers, logic and being able to express what they mean in a concise way through assignments. |
