1. What are you most excited about as you start your Laidlaw research summer?
As I begin my Laidlaw research summer, I’m most excited to become an expert in my field of interest and gain domain-specific knowledge. I’ve always idolized others who can speak passionately for hours about their own highly technical projects, both in a way thats understandable for the layman, but still demonstrates their expertise. In the process of starting my Literature review, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information and terminology relevant to my field; even as I explained my project to family and friends, there were still areas I was hesitant to touch on out of fear for misconstruing information.
As I’ve reviewed research papers and public health statements, I'm putting the pieces together and simplifying previously complex concepts, which has improved my confidence. While the learning curve has definitely been steep, I feel the traction my project is gaining as I finally ground it in background research.
2. This week, the discussions we held about research cut across the disciplines. How does the interdisciplinary nature of this program, the fact that students are focusing on such a diverse range of projects, help you think about your project and/or your academic interests more broadly?
In terms of how I’ve approached my project, I believe our discussion on interdisciplinary research has truly shaped the scope of my project. Since my project deals with skin-lightening products, I first imagined my project as restricted to fields relating to public health, environmental sciences, and chemistry. However, especially as we began our discussion on the different databases pertaining to each field, I realized that my project is also heavily centered around consumer marketing and psychology. In doing so, I feel that our discussion opened my eyes to the depth to which my project extends.
Additionally, looking forward to courses and my own general interests, I feel more inclined to take business and economics courses, as this project has opened my eyes to how intertwined consumer decision-making is with general public health. As I continue to hear about others' projects and from the librarians, I am excited to see the new connections I’ll make to further strengthen my project.
3. As you begin your individual research projects this week, do you anticipate any challenges in getting started? If so, what are they?
At the beginning of the first week of my research project, I’ve definitely run into a few challenges. While I feel that I’ve laid out a good road plan for how to complete my project in these 6 weeks, getting started with each stage definitely feels like a little bit of a roadblock. Especially this first week, starting my literature review from scratch was rather overwhelming as I knew where to start, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure I was funneling my time into the most effective yet thorough process.
While I am still trudging through my literature review this week and next and continue to come up against mental roadblocks, I’ve definitely found it helpful to consult YouTube videos and online resources, which have helped me even further break down the steps of my literature review. Additionally, it's been refreshing to talk to some of my fellow Laidlaw peers who have encountered similar struggles in their literature review/introduction stage and hear about their own experiences and solutions.
4. Optional! This week you moved into a new dorm room and met new friends, mentors, and research collaborators. Take a photograph of something (or someone) new and post!
I had dinner at a Thai restaurant called Pranakhon! It was super yum, and my favorite/new dish was these curry pancakes I attached. They were made out of roti, which is commonly found in Indian cooking, so it was a nice mix of something new but simultaneously familiar.