Week 4: Data Collection

Welcome back to my blog. I spent the majority of this week developing and executing my methods. This included planning survey distribution, developing my subject-specific memory assessment, and reaching out to college professors. But first, I will briefly recap week 3. Last week, I completed the first drafts of my introduction and literature review; in fact, I incorporated many of the research gaps into my survey, including questions about the effectiveness of recovery sleep and the perceived effects of sleep deprivation across subjects. 

This week, I began distributing my surveys online to receive responses from older populations (18-25). Furthermore, I began researching college professors in the fields of psychology and neuroscience to request that they distribute my survey to college students, and I am hoping to send out emails next week. I am currently working on getting approval to survey minors. If you are over the age of 18, interested in my topic, and would like to participate in my research study, please complete this survey: https://forms.gle/7Q8kaS8CVJ6CrK9Y7. It would also be greatly appreciated if you could share this survey with anybody aged 18 and over. 

In conjunction with my survey, I began designing a short digital memory assessment aimed at measuring recall levels across subjects. This assessment will take place over two days and will require a total participation time of 15 minutes. I created separate question sets for middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students in order to address knowledge gaps. Some sample topics tested include: photosynthesis, kinematics, and derivatives. Specifically, I took questions from AP Exams, NY State standardized tests, and the SAT.

In week 5, I will begin administering my memory tests and continue collecting survey responses specifically targeting middle schoolers and High schoolers. I hope to see you next week!