Orlando+Hernandez'+Research+Log

Orlando Hernandez' Portfolio Fall 2014 Research Log

So far, I attended the first Senior Project class just to meet the new professor. After seeing that everybody else for the most part will be beginning their thesis, I won't be going to class regularly since I am farther ahead. In the future, I might find it helpful to go to if I need inspiration and to see how everybody else is coming along. I have also sent in some pages to Brandon for feedback as well. I look forward to seeing the feedback I'm given so I can build upon my thesis and make it stronger. I've also thought about the direction I'd like to take it and I think that rather than build upon something that has had many scattered iterations at RPI like a residence hall sustainability competition, my plan is to organize something surrounding consumption and waste that is generated in the residence halls on closing days. The way I have it in my mind currently is that residents would be able to donate items to a central location on campus as opposed to throwing it away. The goods could then be distributed to various stakeholders in Troy that can use it and also have an added benefit of forging alliances with RPI and the City of Troy.
 * 2/8**

My goal and plan of action will be to update my IRB proposal. Once I have revised my IRB proposal, my hope is that it is approved so that I can begin to do interviews and make progress on my thesis. Once I get feedback from Brandon, I will also be able to move along on my thesis and get to a point where I can submit the first half for grading.

Today I met with Brandon in the library. We talked a lot about my IRB proposal and he helped me come up with substantial interview questions that would be of use to me in an interview. I was unable to meet with Dr. Barbara Lewis from the Center for Communication Practices because she was not there. I will email her to follow up and see if I can be assigned a Teaching Assistant for my thesis.
 * 2/11**

Dr. Lewis said that she was unable to meet with me on Friday so she asked if I could meet with her next week. I suggested anytime on Wednesday (2/18) before 4pm. I will await her reply but my hope is to have a TA assigned before our next meeting.
 * 2/12**

I revised my IRB proposal taking into consideration the feedback that the IRB gave me as well as Brandon. I submitted it again to Brandon to see if there was anything else he thought should be changed. Hopefully this time I will be able to get it approved so I can move forward with interviews.
 * 2/16**

I've received feedback from Brandon regarding my thesis. I've structured the thesis a bit differently and have put all of the personal exposition into a 'Preface' section.
 * 2/17**

I met with a TA from the Center for Communications Practice. I found this incredibly helpful because Jacqueline was able to better help guide me with the structure of my thesis. I'm currently working on incorporating the literature review of sustainability and some discussion about my method of participatory action research and why I chose to use it.
 * 2/18**

Now that my thesis is better structured, I've looked at Brandon's thesis to see how I should introduce the reader to the topics that I will discuss in my thesis.
 * 2/22**

I've been working on finishing up the literature review for sustainability. I found an assortment of articles that talked about different definitions of sustainability. I found it especially helpful to talk about the differences between weak sustainability and strong sustainability. I also realized that if I am going to talk about the Office of Residence Life and the residential experience at RPI, I need to talk about the CLASS Initiative and how it relates to what we do.
 * 2/23**

I submitted the revised proposal to the Mentor IRB system and updated my advisor to Professor Fortun.
 * 2/25**

I finished the section of my thesis that talks about the CLASS Initiative and how it relates to my work. I have also finished my literature review on sustainability. I have talked about a few different definitions for sustainability and which ones are more applicable to my thesis. I have also started to fine tune my literature review on Participatory Action Research.
 * 2/27**

I am halfway through with my literature review of Participatory Action Research and have been reading multiple articles about PAR. I found one that was a literature review of PAR and found this very helpful. It was able to give me a nice foundation as to what PAR is as well as core values that PAR usually encompasses. This article was also very helpful to outline challenges and pitfalls that I may face.
 * 2/28**

I finished my literature review of Participatory Action Research. An article that I found listed various points and definitions of what PAR is and I found it helpful. I also finished my literature review of sustainability after talking with my Jacqueline at the CCP. I added several pages about what the culture of sustainability is and why it is important.
 * 3/1 - 3/8**

I got IRB approval and conducted 6 interviews. I also presented in the STS Undergraduate Research Symposium. Because research is iterative, I will be continuing to work on it next year because I liked the topic and hope that I can bring it to the Office of Residence Life and Office of the First Year Experience.
 * April-May**