Students will be able to analyze data quantitatively and develop testable models of that data.

Our project in Integrative Biology (BIOL 120) allowed us to collect simple quantitative data by measuring plant growth in various fertilizer treatments. This project showed me how to collect, keep track of, and document data. We then spent time in this course organizing our data to be easily interpreted and presented to others (BIOL 120 Project II Results). While simplistic in nature, it helped me to grasp the basics of experimental design. It also prepared me to think about how to incorporate and measure multiple variables in experimentation while maintaining validity through the inclusion of multiple trials.

We moved on to more complicated data collection in my Introduction to Ecology and Evolution course (BIOL 251). My research group decided to look at the effect of different leaf species on earthworm growth (BIOL 251 Project Presentation). With more variables and organisms to keep tabs on, it became a group effort to operationalize how we were all measuring earthworms to ensure consistency in our methods. Unlike our BIOL 120 project, we now conducted a statistical test in BIOL 251 and found that there was a statistical significance in the position of the worms, but not in the type of leaf they were consuming.

One of my final projects I completed in the biology program was a COVID-19-related research proposal developed according to my interest in the organismal sub-discipline of biology (BIOL 488 Research Proposal). I was really interested in learning how COVID-19 affects transmission and severity of infection in both the mother and infant, so I developed a research proposal that took existing literature in this topic and supported the need for an app to track symptoms in pregnant mothers and their children. At a time when this infection was novel, I wanted to design a methodology that would allow researchers to gather more information about COVID-19. I then went on to use my expertise in this area to work with people of other biological interests on a collaborative COVID-19 project.

The lab component of my biology courses enabled me to identify appropriate data collection and documentation in order to conduct my own research projects in the future.