Congratulations on being a part of the O’Neill Honors Program! You’re now ready to take on this fun, challenging, and rewarding process of turning a passion, interest or degree into an actual research paper and presentation! Although everyone’s process and path to putting idea to research to finished paper will be a little bit different, here are some tips that I found useful (if you’re interested in what I have to say).
CHOOSING A TOPIC IS A FLUID PROCESS
It’s okay if your question changes and progresses throughout the year! When I first sat in the V491 class in the middle of September, I knew exactly what I wanted my research question to be and I knew exactly what I wanted to look at in terms of research and data. I was going to look at how telehealth services were being used by hospitals in all of the United States…so a big undertaking and a lot of things to work with.
Well, as the semester progressed and as I moved into the spring I ended up with a completely different question and a different area of research than what I was expecting back at the start of the year. I was looking at how Critical Access Hospitals affected mortality rates in rural Indiana counties AND I was also looking at how unemployment rates affected mortality rates. I found this to be much more interesting as I got into the research, and I go into the data and started thinking of conclusions and implications. Talking with your advisor, doing your literature review, and thinking over what you’re interested in are all parts of the process, and it’s okay if you end up with a different topic than you expected, you will still have a great paper and a phenomenal presentation!
FIND AN ADVISOR EARLY
I took V491 in the fall and then took V499 in the spring, and all throughout the fall semester and for the first two weeks in the spring, I did not have a thesis advisor. Although it worked out to where I was able to have Prof. Alex Hollingsworth as my advisor and receive help from him in order to finish my paper and presentation on time, I would suggest finding an advisor as soon as you know your research topic or research question! This will reduce the amount of anxiety you may feel about tackling this project because an advisor will help you think of other areas of research to look at to find more supporting evidence for your question, they will be able to help you with creating your data methodology and help with interpreting results, they will be able to review your writing and leave comments and notes, and so much more.
Having someone in this position for only one semester will not put you at a disadvantage but having them for the entire academic year will be more advantageous.
IT’S OKAY TO BE NERVOUS
I was very nervous about giving my final presentation when it finally got to be that day…and it’s a perfectly normal feeling to have. I am very detail oriented, an overthinker, and a perfectionist so I was wanting to make sure I explained everything and didn’t leave out any detail. If you are great with public speaking, you may not be as nervous to give this presentation, so you’ll do just fine! When the day comes to present, it will be a very laidback environment as there will be about 5-15 people in your panel and they just want to hear you explain your project and celebrate how you came to the end of this thesis writing journey. Just practice, practice, practice, and bring notes…you’ll give the best presentation ever and it will feel so good once you finish it!
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Good luck! Happy writing! Go out there and lead for the greater good!
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