Following my last post yesterday, the REU interns took a pre-assessment for the REU program. I think this assessment could have been improved by the REU program coordinators creating a focus group of previous REU interns to evaluate proper questions for the assessment. I also think the survey project could use a larger staff.

The Craft of Research class on Thursday was beneficial to me because I learned about good and bad research. This was particularly helpful because I learned that bad research exists in the academic community. If I become immersed in any type of writing, I tend to agree with everything a persuasive author is saying. Two years ago, I read Hobbes and briefly started to agree with absolutism, until I returned to my US government mindset. I tend to respect most academics, as they are experts in topics I know very little about, but some professors do conduct bad research. This Craft of Research class taught me some indicators that would help me identify bad research and to form analysis of particular issues that are presented accurately.

Today has been an informative day thus far. I began the day by reading on the Meyers-Briggs assessment. The reading argued that the Meyers-Briggs test was popular yet not founded by evidence in the psychology academic community. We took the test, and to be honest, I’m not sure why we did. The test was not proven by researchers, but our program’s purpose is promoting research. For the team work assessment following, we were encouraged to look past the results of the test, so I am confused on why we sought the test’s results. As for the test itself, I received the same result as I did a few years ago. At the time, I personally had fallen into the trap of believing the test results to be true, because they captured some aspect of how I act. I know now that the test itself does not show the whole picture of a person’s personality.

The ISU library research class was highly informative. I conducted a literary review before, and now I greatly appreciate knowing all of the resources that are available to students. I think that I can thoroughly research this summer by supplementing the ISU databases with the University of Houston databases. I appreciate being a university student and having these resources available to me.

The VR technology tour expanded my appreciation to be researching at the VRAC this summer. I grew up in Maui, Hawaii, which had few computer science educational resources. My father, an Applied Business in Technology professor, has some of the most advanced devices at the only University/Community College on the island. VRAC has resources far beyond those offered on Maui. I was able to interactively experience VR/AR, 3D printing, and the C6. The resources at VRAC reaches far above any expectations I could have had of this facility. I feel fortunate to be researching here this summer.