UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #807

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Audrey Hendrix
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Ms.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): ahendrix@fsu.edu
Position Title: Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor Name: Dr. Sana Tibi
Faculty Advisor's FSU Email: sana.tibi@cci.fsu.edu
FSU College (if applicable): Communication and Information
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: School of Communication Science and Disorders
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/14661/AH_unconquered.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
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Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable): {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns: {Empty}
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?: {Empty}
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): {Empty}

Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Investigating the Complexity of School Vocabulary
Project Keywords: vocabulary, education, language, linguistic
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors

Project Location:: 201 W. Bloxham, Warren Building Tallahassee, FL 32306-1200. The Warren building is an FSU facility, but it is not on the main campus.
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: Yes
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 5-10
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: During business hours
Overall Research Project Description:
This project seeks to document and compare the complexity of the vocabulary used in school-age texts across subjects. Texts are anticipated to include both literature and textbooks across subjects. We are particularly interested in how word parts or morphemes (e.g., -ing, -ism, pre-) associated with academic language differ between subjects and grades. Because of recent developments in research tools, we expect to be able to analyze large amounts of text. This project is important because findings are expected to inform literacy instruction for students. The knowledge gained from this project may be particularly impactful for students from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds including students with learning disabilities.
UROP students will be helping with converting school texts into usable, digital formats for analysis. Students may also help convert raw digital text into analyzed data. Data collected in this project is expected to be published by the UROP mentor in top-tier journals and presented at national or international conferences. UROP students will be acknowledged for their contributions in publications and presentations.

Research Tasks:
Research tasks may include any of the following (further details below): Data formatting, data analysis, checking data quality, saving data output, and literature review.

Data formatting: Converting printed school texts into digital formats and/or standardizing digital data for purposes of analysis.
Data analysis: Utilizing web-based software to calculate count and frequency of relevant morphemes in submitted texts. This may also include copying relevant frequency counts and percentages in Excel spreadsheets in order to better classify morphemes.
Checking data quality: Proof-reading data output in Excel or Word
Saving data output: Saving the output of web-based or code-based software according to a standardized naming convention and filing location.
Literature review: Reading relevant research papers and searching for a few new papers for the purpose of creating the UROP poster

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Basic familiarity with Word (required, additional training provided)
Basic familiarity with Excel (required, additional training provided)
Ability to follow research protocols and ask questions if problems or uncertainty arise (required)
Good communication and documentation skills (required, additional training provided)
Attention to detail and commitment (required)
Basic knowledge of grammar (recommended)

Mentoring Philosophy:
I am a PhD student in the FSU School of Communication Science and Disorders. I am passionate about helping students with disabilities succeed academically by supporting their literacy knowledge. Since I began researching at FSU in my freshman year, I have supervised over 30 research assistants across three labs and presented findings at national and international conferences.
For any students interested in my project, I am committed to providing you with opportunities to learn research skills and identify your research strengths and weaknesses. With these opportunities, I will provide resources and guidance to help you learn from your experiences and become confident undergraduate researchers. I hope you will be able to walk away from your UROP experience able to identify your research interests and confidently pursue opportunities to explore these interests further. I would like to help you gain the experience and skills necessary to succeed in any research environment. In the past, I have supported my UROP students in exploring their research interests by connecting them with relevant studies and research tools. I have also supported one of my students in presenting her part in our research at an academic conference. I adopt a practice of acknowledging the contributions of my UROP students in my presentations and publications. As someone who owes my current successes to the opportunities and guidance I was given in earlier years, I am very excited for the opportunity to help you succeed in your research endeavors.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: {Empty}
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
Parking is provided free to FSU students at the Warren building.
This project is expected to have a major impact on teaching academic vocabulary across all subjects and especially help students who are from disadvantaged and diverse linguistic backgrounds.


Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: Yes
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
Link to Zoom Recording (requires you to log in to your FSU account): https://fsu.sharepoint.com/:v:/s/STUSchoolLanguageUROP2024-2025/ESZhw0pTXftLruc9zn3fawYB9MVzhYx38lrpcCJ4W-BQlg?e=7cJTQu

If you are interested in finding out more about this research opportunity or interviewing to be my UROP student, please sent me an email with the subject "Interested UROP Student" and I will respond as soon as possible.

Roundtable Info:
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UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes
Faculty Advisor Confirmation: Yes

Are you interested in attending in a UROP Research Mentor Workshop Series?: No
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Year: 2024
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